Contemporary Tradition

This is Nymark Collective's second album, released May 2002 on the SONOR / Herman Records label (SONCD8002). Contemporary Tradition started as a commissioned work for the Oslo Jazz Festival in 2001. The CD presents the main parts of the concert; recorded in a studio setting but with a definite live feeling. It features Kre Nymark Jr.'s and Tord Gustavsen's fresh compositions, as they develop in the care of the strong individuals and the intimate interplay of the quartet. Large portions of jazz history are called upon in this creative fusion; blending in a distinguished ensemble sound avoiding the carelessness of much post-modernist genre mixing. You'll hear the roots in early New Orleans jazz, the afro-Caribbean ancestors of it all, the funky hard bop and gospel influences, and the reflective moods of Nordic improvisational traditions. Call and response is really happening here, on every level; between musicians in interplay, between poques, and between continents. Recorded live in Rainbow Studio - Oslo, December 2002.