EIVIND OPSVIK: Overseas IV (Loyal Label)

themilkman on Apr 12th 2012 01:23 am

Eivind Opsvik: Overseas IV

EIVIND OPSVIK
Overseas IV
LLCD011
Loyal Label 2012
10 Tracks. 50mins30secs

Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD

Norwegian-born bass player Eivind Opsvik has spent the last decade living and working in New York where he has been a near-permanent fixture on the local jazz circuit. During that time, he has recorded three albums with guitarist Aaron Jennings, published on NCM, Rune Grammofon and Opsvik’s own Loyal Label imprint, and has regularly played with various formations, but it is with Overseas, the ensemble he set up ten years ago and with whom he has released three albums so far, that he is perhaps best know.  Overseas comprises Opsvik (double bass), Jacob Sacks (piano, organ), Tony Malaby (saxophone), Kenny Wollesen (drums, percussions), with the recent addition of guitarist Brandon Seabrook.

For their first outing as a quintet, Overseas are in resolutely inquisitive mood. Continue Reading »

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OPSVIK & JENNINGS: A Dream I Used To Remember (Loyal Label)

themilkman on Jul 13th 2009 10:11 pm

Opsvik & Jennings: A Dream I Used To Dream

OPSVIK & JENNINGS
A Dream I Used To Remember
LLCD007
Loyal Label 2009
10 Tracks. 44mins55secs

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It is the third time that New York-based Norwegian multi-instrumentist Eivind Opsvik and Tulsa, OK, born guitarist Aaron Jennings get together to collaborate on an album. Both renowned musicians in their own right, the pair got together in the late nineties when they both moved to New York. Their first album together, Fløyel Files, was published in 2005 on NCM East, was a pretty electronic affair, built around extremely delicate treated acoustic brushes and feeding on both Opsvik’s jazz and Jennings’s pop influences. Since, their sound has progressively moved to incorporate fuller acoustic textures. Their 2007 Commuter Anthems, published on Rune Grammofon, gave Jennings’s guitar playing a much more prominent space, while Opsvik’s warm bass also came through much more clearly.

Released on Opsvik’s relatively new Loyal Label, A Dream I Used To Dream continues where Commuter Anthems left off, and brings in richer soundscapes and more ambitious melodies. Continue Reading »

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RICH JOHNSON: Up The Turret Mil (Loyal Label)

themilkman on Feb 3rd 2009 01:06 am

Rich Johnson: Up The Turret Mil

RICH JOHNSON
Up The Turret Mil
LLCD004
Loyal Label 2008
11 Tracks. 43mins09secs

Where exactly does Rich Johnson fits is anyone’s guess. On his debut album, published on Eivind Opsvik’s Loyal Label, he flirts as much with experimental electronica as he does with avant-garde jazz. A trumpeter by trade, Johnson also works with acoustic guitars and pianos which he blends in with electronics and samples. With influences stretching from Bob Dylan to Low and Fugazi, the scope of his work could only be wide.

Sole operator on board, Johnson is found here occupying a ground stretching from the more experimental side of Rune Grammofon (think Supersilent or Humcrush) to more angular electronic forms, sometimes close to musique concrète. Continue Reading »

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EIVIND OPSVIK: Overseas III (Loyal Label)

themilkman on Oct 7th 2008 12:20 am

Eivind Opsvik: Overseas III

EIVIND OPSVIK
Overseas III
LLCD003
Loyal Label 2008
07 Tracks. 53mins08secs

With his first two albums as leader, Overseas, published on Fresh Sound New Talent in 2003, and its follow-up, Overseas II (FSNT, 2005), Norwegian-born jazz bassist Eivind Opsvik created a unique sonic universe which, although firmly set within contemporary jazz grounds, freely fed on rock, pop to ambient. Since, Opsvik has been involved in a variety of projects, of which perhaps the most prominent is his collaboration with guitarist Aaron Jennings, with whom he has released two albums to date.

Now returning with the full Overseas formation for a third slice of fine contemporary jazz like only Scandinavians musician can create. But, having lived in New York for ten years, Opsvik’s work is tainted with unique flavours. Continue Reading »

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