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Marius Igland guitar
Joakim Bergsrønning saxophone
Magnus Drågen trumpet
Lars Sutterud trombone
Steinar Glas bass
Jens Nyland drums

CD INFO

CD: LOS 128-2
EAN: 7090025831287

Recorded January 2014 by Dani Castelar at Studio Barxeta, Spain
Mixed April 2014 by Dani Castelar
Mastered April 2014 by Tom Kvålsvoll at Strype Audio, Oslo
Front cover photo by Kjersti Holst

Every artist – musician, painter, actor, author, dancer etc., modern or traditional – stands on the shoulders of somebody who was there before them. Even those that we recognize as giants within the various art forms will, at one time or other, have been under the spell of a brilliant predecessor, and will later have experienced a strong need to liberate themselves from this influence as part of developing a genuinely personal voice.

The six musicians in the Mirage Ensemble are in their midtwenties, and «Memory Happens Now», their debut album, reflects this transitional, liberating process. The nine original compositions heard on this album are obviously played by a bunch of very skillful musicians, all of them well educated and equipped with a solid amount of knowledge of and respect for the rich American jazz tradition and its more recent European influences. But the music also radiates an urge for contributing to that tradition with innovating vitality and strength, adding yet another shade of colour to that ever-expanding palette that constitutes «jazz» in 2014. By the way they draw on different musical sources and integrate the various elements in their music, Mirage Ensemble is a true treat for listeners with a keen ear for new jazz experiences as well as for listeners who find pleasure in analyzing the playing of each musician, trying to discover whose musical shoulders each of them stands on.