THE VERGE – The Verge

RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://the–verge.bandcamp.com/album/the-verge The latest release on the lovable Is It Jazz? Records is a proper tour de force in every conceivable way and a dizzying yet incredibly cohesive output that harbors a raw, authentic power unlike anything else that I have come across.   This musically tasty and elegant yet highly explosive…

ERLAND DAHLEN – Racoons

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://erlanddahlen.bandcamp.com/album/racoons Talk about being overwhelmingly surprised by something that turns out to be so much cooler and more captivating than anticipated – yes, that is exactly what this original and uniquely crafted LP by legendary drummer Erland Dahlen (Madrugada, Stian Westerhus, Nils Petter Molvær Group) is. How to describe this evocative…

BUSHMAN’S REVENGE – All the Better for Seeing You

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://bushmansrevenge.bandcamp.com/album/all-the-better-for-seeing-you What a magnificent piece of work this cleverly written opus by jazz rockers Bushman’s Revenge is. Six beguiling compositions that add something fresh and vital to the genre are what lie in store for you, and there is atmosphere and dynamics in spades throughout not to mention that it is…

SOLSTEIN – Solstein

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://solstein.bandcamp.com/album/solstein Boasting a stellar lineup consisting of Jacob Holm-Lupo (Donner, White Willow, The Opium Cartel), Keith Carlock (Toto, Steely Dan, Sting), Stian Larsen, Brynjar Dambo (White Willow), and Bill Bressler, it would be fair to say that this exciting new endeavor from the US and Norway does not exactly lack musical…

LEAGUS – Flora Eallin

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://leagus.bandcamp.com/ This exquisitely crafted stroke of musical excellence is undoubtedly one of the most unique and deeply emotive albums that I have come across in quite a while. With its shimmering beauty and seemingly endless musical textures, the talented duo from Tromsø have joined forces with the North Norwegian Jazz Ensemble…

DATADYR – 23.02.2023 – Bergen, Norway

VENUE: Apollon PlatebarDATE: 23.02.2023 ORGANIZER: Apollon Platebar/Is It Jazz? Records   Being a huge fan of Datadyr’s two outputs on Is it Jazz? Records, it goes without saying that yours truly could not miss out on the ridiculously skilled trio’s mini-concert at the awesome and always attractive Apollon Platebar in the city center yesterday. With…

AKSEL RØED’S OTHER ASPECTS – 22.02.2023 – Bergen, Norway

VENUE: Bergen KjøttDATE: 22.02.2023 ORGANIZER: Bergen Kjøtt   Being rather infatuated and taken with the vibrant and playful debut offering by Aksel Røed’s Other Aspects titled Do You Dream in Colours?, I could not resist the temptation to witness this talented ensemble live on stage in the cozy environs of Bergen Kjøtt. While jazz (and…

DATADYR – Keymaster

RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://datadyr.bandcamp.com/album/keymaster A sparkling and brand-new digital EP by the immensely talented Datadyr is a most welcome thing to these ears, and those of you who enjoy the jazzier aspects of prog rock, blues, and Americana will undoubtedly find something worth celebrating and cherishing here. Bursting with energy and filled to the…

AKSEL RØED’S OTHER ASPECTS – Do You Dream in Colours?

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://isitjazzrecords.no/ With Do You Dream in Colours? we are quite far removed, musically and stylistically speaking, from what you are probably accustomed to reading on the Eternal Terror Live website, but I would feel like a complete tit if I did not write a few short lines about this stellar offering…

INTRODUCING IS IT JAZZ? RECORDS – AN INTERVIEW WITH MARTIN KVAM

Earlier this year, a very exciting new venture named Is It Jazz? Records was launched by the gentlemen who are also responsible for running and handling everything in relation to the well-known Norwegian labels Karisma Records and Dark Essence Records. Now, the thing is that jazz is many things to so many people, which is…

DATADYR – Woolgathering

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: Datadyr – Startside | Facebook The Norwegian trio known as Datadyr is a musically enticing one, and this dynamic group shows impeccable skill here with respect to delivering powerful tunes that are rooted in jazz but where prog, blues, and traces of Americana are expertly woven into the mix. What amazes…

SOFT FFOG – Soft Ffog

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://facebook.com/Softffog/ The recently launched Norwegian label named Is It Jazz? Records is off to a flying start with this deftly executed 4-track LP by prog rockers Soft Ffog who also hail from Norway. Well, jazz prog rockers, I suppose. For those of you out there who crave thunderous riffs, fret not…