Atomic in Austin!

[epistrophy arts]

the only other US date is in Seattle at Tula's

then on to Edmonton and British Columbia

Epistrophy Arts celebrates 10 years of bringing international adventurous music to Austin with the Texas debut performance of Scandinavian powerhouse jazz quintet Atomic.

Wednesday January 23. 8PM

Austin's Historic Victory Grill

1104 E. 11th St.

$12 advance tickets available at End of An Ear and Waterloo Records

$15 door

"One of the most exhilarating groups on the European circuit" (The Guardian, UK)

Atomic, a key exponent of the 'new wave' of Nordic jazz, was formed in 1999 by five important young musicians from the burgeoning jazz scenes of Sweden and Norway. Combining the powerful, cutting-edge Oslo rhythm section of Håvard Wiik on piano, Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten on bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums with the Stockholm front line of trumpeter Magnus Broo and saxophonist Fredrik Ljungkvist, the quintet is one of the hottest acoustic ensembles to have emerged at the turn of the century. Atomic plays original music that mixes grooves and modes with a distinctive approach to free playing.

One of the key bands of the 'new wave' of Scandinavian jazz, the ensemble features members of Ken Vandermark's Free Music Ensemble, The Thing with Mats Gutstafsson, Peter Brötzmann's Tentet and Scorch Trio. Together, these emerging musicians from the Scandinavian jazz underground have performed and recorded with acclaimed artists as diverse as Chris Potter, Iain Ballamy, Sonic Youth, Joe McPhee, Marilyn Crispell, Bobo Stenson among many others.

Think classic Miles Davis meets late-period Coltrane meets Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers with a decidedly contemporary feel and you'll get an idea...

A Jazz Festival favourite, the band has released four outstanding CDs, Feet Music, Boom Boom, The Bikini Tapes, Happy New Ears (Norwegian Grammy for Best Album, 2006), on Bugge Wesseltoft's Jazzland label.

www.atomicjazz.com

[Johnny E]

I'll be at the Tula's show!

[clifford_thornton]

Yeah, I have to come back up to Austin to clean my flat, so I'll definitely stay an extra several hours to catch this gig!

[blake]

I think I might just make the drive down for this one.

[Johnny E]

I'll be at the Tula's show!

WOW!

[A Lark Ascending]

Great, great band! They were absolutely thrilling at the UKs Cheltenham Festival a few years back.

[A Lark Ascending]

Just noticed this on Dusty Groove:

Retrograde (3CD box set)

An incredible 3CD set from Atomic -- the increasingly amazing group of Scandinavian scene firebrands Fredrik Ljungkvist on reeds, Mangus Broo on trumpet, Havard Wiik on piano, Ingegbrigt Haker Flaten on bass and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums & percussion -- who separately, and as a unit must be acknowledged as some of the best modern free jazz players on the planet! If you thought that the title Retrograde might indicate a 3CD retrospective, think again. The set features 2 CDs of material captured over 2 days in July of 2007 -- and a bonus third disc with the group doing their inimitable thing live at Tula's Jazz Club in Seattle! The studio work is as masterful as ever, always finding a killer groove and impeccable rhythmic dynamics -- ratcheting up the intensity without the blunt force trauma that others in the free jazz underground bring on, balanced by spare moments, and strains of the 60s heroes of avant garde jazz lurking in the shadows. Really wonderful stuff from players we love and respect more with each successive project! Titles include "Db Gestalt", "Retrograde", "Invisible Cities", "Correspondence", "Sweet Ebony", "King Kolax", "Invisible Cities II", "Papa", "Don Don", "Swedish Oklahoma" and more. The live disc has us kicking ourselves for not catching one of the group's Chicago shows, and the titles include "Crux", "Db Gestalt", "Painbody", "ABC 101b" and more.

http://www.dustygroove.com/item.php?id=fx9...p;ref=index.php

Edited July 2, 2008 by Bev Stapleton