Saturday 20 December 2014

Phroneis What You Need to Know

Jasper Høiby (Denmark) - double bass, Ivo Neame (UK) - piano,
Anton Eger (Sweden) - drums.


“One of the most exciting bands on the planet today!” (Jazzwise)


Scandinavian/British jazz trio Phronesis have the ability to excite, inspire and move people in a way that few bands are able to do. Formed by Danish double-bass player Jasper Høiby in 2005, their charismatic live performances have captured the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide and prompted Jon Newey (Editor of Jazzwise Magazine) to describe them as “the most exciting and imaginative piano trio since EST”.


With the critically acclaimed release of their fifth album 'Life to Everything', a reputation for spell-binding roller-coaster live performances and a second MOBO Award nomination for 'best jazz act', Anglo-Scandinavian trio Phronesis have been on a meteoric rise in 2014. This year's performing schedule has taken them to concert stages across the world from Morocco to Brazil, to festivals including North Sea, Copenhagen, Middelheim and Elb, and on tours across the UK, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, marking their rise to the forefront of the European club scene.


In 2013 Phronesis began the year touring in Australia, Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland and the UK. They returned to North America in the summer to perform at Montreal, Vancouver and Edmonton jazz festivals in Canada and Rochester Jazz Festival and the Jazz Standard NY in the USA. In September the trio toured on the West Coast of the USA for the first time, including two performances at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and in October they repeated their extraordinary ‘Pitch Black’ project for three shows in Belgium. The trio recorded their fifth album of brand new material, live in the round, over three sold out EFG London Jazz Festival performances in November. The album, titled ‘Life To Everything’ was released in April 2014 on Edition Records.


In 2012 the trio rose to the peak of their creative power with fourth album, Walking Dark (Edition). Described in a 5* review in BBC Music Magazine as “arguably the best disc yet from one of the best of the bunch of contemporary bands”, it is the first album in which all members of the band contribute to the writing as well as the arranging. The album launch saw the trio touring in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, France, Romania, Ireland and the UK including performances at Istanbul, Vitoria, Palatia, C- Mine and Copenhagen Jazz Festivals. Earlier in the year Jasper Høiby was awarded the Copenhagen Jazz Festival’s ‘Young Spirit Award’ and in June the trio won the ‘London Jazz Award’ at the London Awards for Art and Performance. With their “rare combination of solid jazz credentials and zeitgeist” (jazz journal), Phronesis were chosen by the International Jazz Festivals Organisation, (as one of only six groups worldwide), for the IJFO new talent support programme, which includes performances for the trio at up to 17 IJFO festivals over the coming two years.


In 2011 the trio received an outstanding reception on their first tour of North America, including the Rochester, Montreal and Ottawa International Jazz Festivals and the legendary Jazz Standard club in New York. In August 2011, they premiered their ‘Pitch Black’ project at Brecon Jazz Festival – a performance in total darkness, which was described in a 5-star review by the Telegraph as a ‘unique, unmissable triumph’. ‘Pitch Black’ was also repeated in Germany and to a sell-out house at the 2011 London Jazz Festival in November.


In 2010 Phronesis developed a fierce reputation as one of the most formidable trios in the UK. They were nominated for ‘Best Jazz Ensemble’ in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards, featured on the front cover of Jazzwise Magazine and nominated for ‘Best Jazz Act’ at the prestigious 2010 MOBO Awards. The trio gained increasing attention in Europe, with acclaimed performances at the Banlieues Bleues Festival in Paris, and the Copenhagen and North Sea Jazz Festivals in addition to the Brecon, Glasgow and London Jazz Festivals in the UK. The trio’s third album, Alive (Edition), featuring guest drummer Mark Guiliana (Avishai Cohen/Meshell Ndegeocello), was released in July 2010 to great critical acclaim and chosen as ‘Jazz Album of the Year’ by Jazzwise and MOJO Magazines.


The energy and individuality of Phronesis comes from an extraordinary democracy of expression and intuitive empathy between the musicians - British pianist Ivo Neame and Swedish drummer Anton Eger come together with Høiby to create a propulsive groove-driven sound that is utterly accessible despite its underlying complexity. “Phronesis have a precocious compositional strength, hitching striking themes to engaging grooves; they have improv virtuosity to spare, but never show off, and make light of travelling the most devious rhythmic routes.” – the Guardian

...'Phronesis is the ability to think about how and why we should act in order to change things, and especially to change our lives for the better'...

Website for more details: http://www.jasperhoiby.com/



No comments:

Post a Comment