Whirlwind

On Rebecka Larsdotter's highly anticipated debut album for renowned Norwegian label Losen Records, the Swedish born, New York based singer, songwriter and multi-talented musician stirs up a powerful, sensual and brightly optimistic Whirlwind that artfully blends her ever-deepening passion for jazz with colorful elements of the Scandanavian folk music that has long been a cherished foundational part of her musikal DNA. Musicians on the album include pianists Aaron Parks (a one-time Blue Note artist who has worked with Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Terence Blanchard) and Shai Maestro (Avishai Cohen); saxophonist Dayna Stephens (Kenny Barron, Ambrose Akinmusire, Gerald Clayton, Brad Mehldau); bassists Ben Street (John Scofield, Danilo Perez) and Rick Rosato (Billy Hart, Ben Van Gelder); and drummers Nate Wood (Wayne Krantz, Kneebody, Chaka Khan, Sting) and Ari Hoenig (Joshua Redman, Mike Stern, Dave Liebman). Whirlwind is also notable for its many lengthy instrumental passages and solos between vocal segments - a direct reflection of Larsdotter's being as much influenced by jazz instrumentalists (from Coltrane to Mehldau) as she was inspired by vocalists ranging from Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald to Whitney Houston, Ani DiFranco and Icelandic legends Bjork and Emiliana Travini. Larsdotter and her band will be performing for the first time at Rockwood Music Hall in New York in June, 2016