The Squid's Ear Magazine


Amado, Rodrigo Northern Liberties (w/ Johansson / Strom / Nilssen): We Are Electric (Not Two)

A leader on the Portuguese free jazz scene, tenor saxophonist Rodrigo Amado assembles a collective quartet with three exemplary Norwegian improvisers--Thomas Johansson on trumpet, Jon Rune Strom on double bass and Gard Nilssen on drums--for a dynamic concert at ZDB club in Lisbon in 2017, three dialogs of sparking, fiery interactions and a final "Response".
 

Price: $15.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 4.00 units


EU & UK Customers:
Discogs.com can handle your VAT payments
So please order through Discogs

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Rodrigo Amado-tenor saxophone

Thomas Johansson-trumpet

Jon Rune Strom-double bass

Gard Nilssen-drums


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 5906395187768

Label: Not Two
Catalog ID: MW 1016-2
Squidco Product Code: 31468

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2021
Country: Poland
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded live at the ZDB club in Lisbon, Portugal, on July 11th, 2017, by Cristiano Nunes.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Improvised music is a convenient catch-all for a host of spontaneous styles, from ambient to noise, conversational to chance, but what Northern Liberties play is insistently free jazz, a category to which it might have belonged before its 2017 recording date. There is, however, nothing dated about this music. It might be the contemporary music that best befits the category of jazz in general, an acoustic music at once collectively improvised and insistently rhythmic. Its roots aren't far from the surface. While Amado has already released CDs by his best-known ensembles in 2021, This Is Our Language and Motion Trio, the present CD demands attention, presenting a band with three stand-out younger Norwegians -- trumpeter Thomas Johansson, bassist Jon Rune Strøm and drummer Gard Nilssen - who match Amado's hand-in-glove rhythmic precision and intensity. While Amado's This Is Our Language band name invokes Ornette Coleman, two of the Norwegians -- Johansson and Strøm - are members of Friends & Neighbors, a band named for a Coleman composition.

Part of what makes Amado a special musician is the absence of rhetoric, those too-common wanderings in the tenor's storehouse of volume and assorted noises. Certainly, his playing can be as vast and dense as almost anyone's, but it's always intensely focussed on the communicative and collective potential of the moment, with elements like tension, necessity and possibility informing the spontaneous act. This may be only the band's third get-together, recorded live at Lisbon's ZDB following a concert in Porto and a Lisbon studio session, but they're communicating at the molecular level of pitch, rhythm and figuration. At the opening of "Spark", Amado and Johansson are playing repeating micro-figures, rapidly varying them, shifting notes, subdividing beats and multiplying both connection and distinction, all highlighted by the quality of the recording and mix.

The interaction is fundamental here. Johansson plays trumpet as a high-wire act, a free improviser who seems to live in the wonder rather than the shadow of the recorded history, knowing there was once a Lee Morgan or Woody Shaw, playing free trumpet with an incandescent brilliance that makes him insistently the partner here, not simply a foil. While Strøm does the things that are expected of bassists, fluid but forceful maintenance of pulse and tonal centres, he also brings in arco elements that range from chamber orchestra to industrial, expanding the collective creation. Nilssen is a powerhouse, touching on everything else that is going on. For all of the energy that informs "Spark" and "Ignition", however, the first half of "Activity" is pure cave of the mysteries, long drones and split tones draped on space.

Companion listening? Time runs deep here. I'd suggest Rollins with Don Cherry at the Village Gate 1962, Cherry's Where Is Brooklyn? with Pharoah Sanders, or maybe Ornette on Tenor. None is a precise match, but they all share something ineffable."-Stuart Broomer, The Free Jazz Collective


Get additional information at The Free Jazz Collective

Artist Biographies

"Portuguese saxophonist (alto, C melody, baritone, and tenor) Rodrigo Amado specializes in free-form, composition-in-the-moment jazz, and his various projects and trios have given him an international following. Born in Lisbon in 1964, Amado began studying the sax at the age of 17, briefly at the Hot Club Music School of Lisbon and with mentors Carlos Martins, Pedro Madaleno, and Jorge Reis, among other leading Portuguese jazz artists. With diverse musical interests, he explored how improvisation is handled in other genres, although his work with his various ensembles like the Lisbon Improvisation Players and the Motion Trio (with Miguel Mira and Gabriel Ferrandini) falls clearly under the umbrella of 21st century jazz, and he has been an in-demand studio player on numerous recorded projects. He started his own label, Clean Feed, in 2001, with brothers Pedro and Carlos Costa, before leaving the imprint in 2005 to start a second label, European Echoes. Also an accomplished professional photographer, Amado continues to be a bright light on the Portuguese and international improvisational jazz scene."

-All Music, Steve Leggett (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rodrigo-amado-mn0000249324/biography)
2/12/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Thomas is born and raised in Skien,Telemark. With a bachelor degree from the University of Stavanger, and Masters from The Norwegian Academy of Music, he is a part of the strong young Norweigan jazz elite. He has done extensive touring in Scandinavia, Europe, Japan and USA, with both his own projects and as a sideman in several other bands.

His main project is Cortex, which is a quartet consisting of Thomas, Kristoffer Alberts, Ola Høyer and Gard Nilssen. Cortex is a Norwegian band which plays enerergetic jazz of the finest brand. With over one hundred live perfomances and four highly acclaimed albums, they position themselves as one of the strongest additions to the Norwegian jazz scene.

Thomas is also active in several other projects, such as: All Included, Friends & Neighbors, Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit, and Scheen Jazzorkester.

Thomas currently lives in Skien, working as a freelance trumpet player and composer. Thomas has in recent years toured and played at several festivals and clubs at home and abroad, with both his own and others projects. For projects and livedates, check the pages on the menu at the top of the page."

-Thomas Johansson Website (http://www.thomasjohansson.no/?page_id=22)
2/12/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Strøm grew up on an island in the north-west of Norway. Influenced u. A. By Gary Peacock and Frode Gjerstad , with the first shots were (East of the West, 2011), he plays in the Norwegian free jazz scene with Paal Nilssen-Loves Group Large Unit, Petter Wettre and Mats Gustafsson Nu Ensemble, also with musicians like Mats Äleklint , John Dikeman , Martin Kitchen , Thomas Johansson and Tollef Østvang in formations such as SAKA Trio, Universal Indians, All Included and Friends & Neighbors. 2013, it issued a solo album Jøa.

-Wikipedia (translated Google) (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Rune_Str¿m)
2/12/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Gard Nilssen (born 24 June 1983 in Skien, Norway) is a Norwegian Jazz musician (drums) and composer, and member of the bands Bushman's Revenge and Puma.

Nilssen was educated on the Jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium (2003). He was voted this year's young jazz musicians in 2006 with the group Puma. Otherwise Nilssen is very active in bands like Bushman´s Revenge, Lord Kelvin, and Heidi Skjerve Kvintett.

Nilssen was chosen to represent Norway in the artist development program Take Five, a music developer program promoted by the London-based concert promoter Serious."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gard_Nilssen)
2/12/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Spark 17:23

2. Ignition 12:23

3. Activity 12:34

4. Response 5:24

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Collective Free Improvsation
Quartet Recordings
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Staff Picks & Recommended Items

Search for other titles on the label:
Not Two.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Kaucic, Zlatko (Kaucic / Amado / Dorner / Grom / Guy / Fernandez / Snekkestad)
INKLINGS [4 CD BOX SET]
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Marking drummer/percussionist Zlatko Kaučič's 70th birthday, this 4-CD set presents his collaborations with luminaries including Torben Snekkestad, Axel Dörner, Rodrigo Amado, Barry Guy, and Agustí Fernández, blending intimate and transformative improvisations recorded across Slovenian festivals, showcasing Kaučič's mastery and the profound synergy of these exceptional ensembles.
Attic, The / Eve Risser (Amado / Almeida / Govaert / Risser)
La Grande Crue
(NoBusiness)
The title translating to The Great Flood, French Pianist Eve Risser joins the trio of Rodrigo Amado on tenor saxophone, Goncalo Almeida on double bass, Onno Govaert on drums, aka The Attic, for a collective interpretation in four parts of a vividly descriptive prose piece titled "ANGLE" by Portuguese essayist, poet, writer, novelist Nuno Júdice (1949-2024).
Sulida (Lea / Stom / Andersen)
Utos
(Clean Feed)
The debut by a Norwegian trio comprised of Martha Lea on saxophone and flute, Jon-Rune Strom on bass and Dag Erik Knedal Andersen on drums, solidly in the free jazz realm as they present a mix of collective improvisation, plus composition each from Lea and Strom, ending with an interpretation of late bassist Charlie Haden's "Song for Che".
Bridge, The (Amado / von Schlippenbach / Haker-Flaten / Hemingway)
Beyond the Margins [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Trost Records)
Assembled by Portuguese saxophonist Rodrigo Amado, this stellar quartet bridges nations with German pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, Norwegian double bass player Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, and American drummer Gerry Hemingway, presenting the extended, masterful collective title track, along with two shorter works, particularly revisiting Albert Ayler's "Ghosts".
Friends & Neighbors (Roligheten / Johansson / Gronberg / Strom / Ostvang)
Circles
(Clean Feed)
An exuberant album of modern jazz from the Norwegian quintet of Andre Roligheten on tenor saxophone, Thomas Johansson on trumpet, Oscar Gronberg on piano, Jon Rune Strom on double bass and Tollef Ostvang on drums & percussion, their 6th full album of lyrically rich, energetic free jazz taking the 60's & 70s New Thing movement into new modern directions; excellent!
Scheen Jazzorkester & Cortex
Frameworks - Music by Thomas Johansson
(Clean Feed)
Merging jazz organizations, Norwegian trumpeter & composer Thomas Johansson brings together the third stream large band Scheen Jazzorkester with the electric jazz band Cortex (Kristoffer Alberts (baritone & tenor saxophone), Ola Høyer (double bass) and Dag Erik Knedal Andersen (drums)), for a rousing, exciting and diverse live concert at Hamar Teater in Norway.
Swell, Steve
Dances with Questions [3-CD SET]
(Not Two)
Recorded during the 2019 Kraków Jazz Autumn Festival, NY trombonist Steve Swell leads a series of small groups and a large ensemble, recording at Radio Kraków and at Alchemia with some of Europe's most active improvisers: Gebhard Ullmannm, Elisabeth Harnik, Niklas Barno, Paal Nilssen-Love, Jon Rune Strom, Carlos Zingaro, Mikolaj Trzaska, Signe Emmeluth, Hanne de Backer, Elisabeth Coudoux, & Per Ake Holmlander.
Miguel, Sei
The Original Drum
(Clean Feed)
Four unique compositions from Portuguese trumpeter Sei Miguel, whose work embraces jazz history while incorporating his own music systems, here each piece varying the size of each grouping with one constant, his frequent sideman, alto trombonist Fala Mariam; plus luminaries including Rodrigo Amado, Ernesto Rodridgues, Helena Espvall, Nuno Torres, Rafel Toral, Paulo Curado, &c.
Large Unit (Paal Nilssen-Love)
Clusterfuck
(PNL)
One of a pair of albums--New Map and Clusterfuck--recorded in the studio in Oslo, Norway by percussionist and composer Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit, a 15-piece, incredibly flexible and open-minded ensemble, here improvising over a work of graphic notation where the composed structures are balanced with blocks of improvisation, allowing for quick dynamic shifts in direction.
Large Unit (Paal Nilssen-Love)
New Map
(PNL)
One of a pair of albums--New Map and Clusterfuck--recorded in the studio in Oslo, Norway by percussionist and composer Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit, a 15-piece, incredibly flexible and open-minded ensemble, here performing a work where the improvisers are provided with a series of open-form "cells"--concrete ideas, notes and directions--to which they must respond.
Amado, Rodrigo Motion Trio / Alexander von Schlippenbach
The Field
(NoBusiness)
Portuguese tenor saxophonist Rodrigo Amado's Motion Trio with cellist Miguel Mira and drummer Gabriel Ferrandini in his bands 7th full album, recorded live at the 2019 Vilnius Jazz Festival in Lithuania performing with special guest, pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, for an extended improvisation of masterfully evolving changes and dynamics.
Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & The Maxx
Live [VINYL]
(MNJ)
The Norwegian big band Trondheim Jazz Orchestra joins together with the Swedish-origin trio The MaXx (Oscar Gronberg-keyboards, Petter Kraft-guitar & saxophone, Tomas Jarmy-drums) to develop and perform this monumental work of modern electric jazz, an abstract rock opera written specifically to leverage the power of the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra.
Cortex (Hoyer / Nilssen / Alberts / Johansson)
Legal Tender
(Clean Feed)
Seriously joyful and consequential "avant-garde party music" from the Norwegian Cortex quartet of Ola Hoyer on double bass, Gard Nilssen on drums & percussion, Kristoffer Berre Alberts on saxophone, and Thomas Johansson on trumpet, in their 6th album of irresistible, upbeat free jazz.
Friends & Neighbors (Roligheten / Johansson / Gronberg / Rune Strom / Ostvang)
What's Next?
(Clean Feed)
A great example of the Norwegian creative jazz scene, the quintet of Andree Roligheten on sax & clarinet, Thomas Johansson on trumpet, Oscar Gronberg on piano, Jon Rune Strom on double bass, and Tollef Ostvang on drums take their name from an Ornette Coleman LP, as they show us 'What's Next' by blending lyrical and free approaches with unexpected twists and turns.
Gjerstad, Frode Trio + Steve Swell
Bop Stop
(Clean Feed)
The indefatigable Norwegian saxophonist Frode Gjerstad invites trombonist Steve Swell, with whom he collaborated in 2011 on the live album "At Constellation", to join his trio with Jon Rune Strom on double bass and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, at Cleveland's Bop stop during their 2017 tour, recording this impressive concert of exemplary collective free jazz.
Strom, Jon Rune Quintet
Fragments
(Clean Feed)
Playing both upright & electric bass and doubling that with 2nd bassist Christian Meaas Svendsen, Jon Rune Strom leads his quintet of young Norwegian players--trumpeter Thomas Johansson, saxophonist Andre Roligheten, and drummer Andreas Wildhagen--for a live set at one of Norway's premiere jazz clubs, Nasjonal Jazzscene, for a jazz album of powerfully expressive free playing.
Friends & Neighbors (Roligheten / Johansson / Gronberg / Rune Strom / Ostvang)
What's Wrong [VINYL]
(Clean Feed)
Following jazz traditions blending lyrical and free approaches with unexpected twists and turns from the Norwegian quintet of Andree Roligheten on sax, Thomas Johansson on trumpet, Oscar Gronberg on piano, Jon Rune Strom on double bass, and Tollef Ostvang on drums.
Friends & Neighbors (Roligheten / Johansson / Gronberg / Rune Strom / Ostvang)
What's Wrong?
(Clean Feed)
Following jazz traditions blending lyrical and free approaches with unexpected twists and turns from the Norwegian quintet of Andree Roligheten on sax, Thomas Johansson on trumpet, Oscar Gronberg on piano, Jon Rune Strom on double bass, and Tollef Ostvang on drums.
Universal Indians w/ Joe McPhee
Skullduggery [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Clean Feed)
The free improvising trio of John Dikeman on sax, Jon Rune Strom on bass, and Tollef Ostvang on drums, invites Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet and alto sax for a release of rugged free improv using unorthodox approaches and amazing dexterity in their playing.
Miguel, Sei
(Five) Stories Untold
(Clean Feed)
A collection of "stories untold" with varying line-ups, from a duo with Fala Mariam to a sextet with Mariam, Nuno Torres, Rodrigo Amado, Jose Bruno Parrinha & Paulo Curado, including the participation of other musicians like Carlos Santos, Hernani Faustino, Luis Desirat & Moz Carrapa.
Starlite Motel (Alberts / Saft / Haker-Flaten / Nilssen)
Awosting Falls [VINYL]
(Clean Feed)
Scandinavian and American musicians join together to form this quartet, with Kristoffer Berre Alberts on saxes, Jamie Saft on organ and keys, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten on electric bass, and Gard Nilssen on drums & electronics, for an album of spacey and groove oriented jazz.
Nilssen's, Gard Acoustic Unity (Roligheten / Eldh / Nilssen)
Firehouse [VINYL]
(Clean Feed)
Norwegian drummer Gard Nilssen (Zanussi 5, Bushman's Revenge, Puma, &c.) leads his new Acoustic Unity trio of Petter Eldh on double bass and Andre Roligheten (Albatrosh) on sax through 8 tightly conceived original jazz compositions with contributions from all 3 players.
All Included
Satan in Plain Clothes [VINYL]
(Clean Feed)
With members from Angles, Universal Indians, Frode Gjerstad Trio, Friends and Neighbors, &c. the quintet of Martin Kuchen (sax), Thomas Johansson (trumpet), Mats Aleklin (trombone), Jon Rune Strom (bass) and Tollef Ostvang (drums) play modern, energetic jazz that kicks Satan's ass; highly recommended!
Cortex
Live! [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Clean Feed)
Four Norwegian jazz musicians--Thomas Johansson (cornet), Kristoffer Alberts (reeds), Ola Hoyer (double bass) and Gard Nilssen (drums)--representatives of a new generation of Scandinavian jazzmen playing creative music with the tools and forms of the older generation.
Nilssen's, Gard Acoustic Unity (Roligheten / Eldh / Nilssen)
Firehouse
(Clean Feed)
Norwegian drummer Gard Nilssen (Zanussi 5, Bushman's Revenge, Puma, &c.) leads his new Acoustic Unity trio of Petter Eldh on double bass and Andre Roligheten (Albatrosh) on sax through 8 tightly conceived original jazz compositions with contributions from all 3 players.
Universal Indians + Joe McPhee (Dikeman / Strom / Ostvang)
Skullduggery
(Clean Feed)
The free improvising trio of John Dikeman on sax, Jon Rune Strom on bass, and Tollef Ostvang on drums, invites Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet and alto sax for a release of rugged free improv using unorthodox approaches and amazing dexterity in their playing.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC