Friday 12 June 2015

Julie Kjaer All You Need to Know

Saxophonist and flautist Julie Kjær’s edgy and thoughtfull playing and ‘dark, otherworldly imagery’ (Jazzwise) has become incerasingly evident around Europe, inhabiting ground between composition and free improv.

Since she graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus DK in 2007, she has played with various jazz groups and ensembles in Denmark and England.

She is a member of the Danish experimental bigband Blood Sweat Drum’n Bass, with which she has recorded several cd’s and toured internationally with amongst others Dave Douglas, Arve Henriksen, Palle Mikkelborg and Jørgen munkeby.

She has toured internationally with with Django Bates and his band StoRMChaser and can be heard on his cd: “Spring Is Here (Shall We Dance?)” (Lost Marble’08).

She has played with Aarhus Jazz Orchestra (then Klüvers Bigband) on various projects amongst others a tour in Denmark featuring American trumpeter Terell Stafford.

She plays with London Improvisers Orchestra, Paulo Duartes Overground Collective and Jeff Chambers variable n-tet.

Own projects:

In 2009 she released her debut cd “Baglæns ind i det forkerte rum” with her danish quartet.

Currently she is working on a new trio project with two of the most interesting and inventive improvisers on the english avantgarde scene, John Edwards  and Steve Noble and on a project with the Danish-English sextet ‘Pierette Ensemble’. The ensemble’s cd will be released spring 2014.

She is a leader and co-leader of various ensembles and groups. Amongst others: Pierette Ensemble, Cardboard Whale, Julie som en engelsk kvinde, Julie Kjær quartet, Musson Kjær Duo, Wigdump, Witte/Kjær Duo.

With her english quintet, Cardboard Whale, she has already made an impression on the British Jazz-scene. Of her F-IRE session with the quintet at the Others, London, Joseph Kassman-Todd wrote [Jazzwise, Dec ‘09]:

“Dark, otherworldly imagery was palpable as Kjær on alto saxophone and Dylan Bates on cornet interwove folkloric melodies like the unravelling of a malign Heinrich Hoffmann nursery rhyme” … “Kjær’s playing reached Braxton-esque levels of surreal linguistic expression. This was a synthesis of dark Scandinavian folk with the Art Ensemble of Chicago.”


She plays with various other duos, trios etc. and has played with people like: Veryan Weston, Steve Beredsford, Oren Marshall, Chris Biscoe, John Edwards, Steve Noble, Steve Watts, Gimo Mendes.


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