Ilaria Capalbo
— KARTHAGO —
“CAPALBO’S WRITING IS LUSH […] HER RICH BASS TONE, DELICATE TOUCH, AND THOUGHTFUL MELODICISM TIE IT ALL TOGETHER INTO A COHESIVE SOUND. A STUNNING DEBUT.” — KEVIN JOHNSON, NO TREBLE (USA)
“IT IS ALWAYS A JOY TO ENCOUNTER FOR THE FIRST TIME A MUSICIAN WHO SOUNDS SO FRESH AND ORIGINAL AND WHOSE MUSIC IS SUCH A DELIGHT. […] IT BOLSTERS ONE’S FAITH IN THE FUTURE OF JAZZ.” — CHRIS MAY, ALL ABOUT JAZZ (UK)
“THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE HEARD FREDRIK NORDSTRÖM’S DRUMLESS QUARTET “DOLORES” ARE ALREADY ACQUAINTED WITH ILARIA CAPALBO’S STRONG, VISIONARY, ARCHITECTURAL PLAYING”—MAGNUS ÖSTNÄS, LIRA MUSIKMAGASIN (SE)
“ITALIAN BASSIST ILARIA CAPALBO IS A FAST RISING STAR, BOTH ON THE SWEDISH JAZZ SCENE AND INTERNATIONALLY.” — SVERIGES RADIO P2 (SE)
“A MATURE-SOUNDING, SEDUCTIVE WORK OF IMMEDIACY, DEPTH AND BEAUTY” — IAN PATTERSON, ALL ABOUT JAZZ (USA)
“ILARIA CAPALBO IS RAPIDLY EMERGING AS ONE OF ITALY’S MOST BRILLIANT BASS PLAYERS.” — EUGENIO MIRTI, JAZZIT (IT)
“THE MUSIC THROUGHOUT IS PERFORMED WITH THE MAJESTY BEFITTING A STORY AND HISTORY OF SUCH REVERENCE AND IT SERVES AS NOT JUST A FITTING TRIBUTE TO ITS INSPIRATION BUT ALSO TO THE IMMEASURABLE TALENTS OF ILARIA CAPALBO AS WELL” — IMRAN MIRZA, UKVIBE (UK)
PRESS OFFICE: MATT FRIPP @JAZZFUEL, UK
SPRING-SUMMER 2022
JAN 12, 2022 • FASCHING, STOCKHOLM — OFFICIAL RELEASE GIG
MARCH 3, 2022 • UMEÅ JAZZSTUDION, UMEÅ
MARCH 26 • LA GRANDE NOTTE DEL JAZZ FESTIVAL, TEATRO GRANDE, BRESCIA (IT)
APRIL 7 • EX ASILO FILANGIERI, NAPOLI (IT)
APRIL 8 • CASA DEL JAZZ, ROME (IT)
MAY 1 • BRAY JAZZ FESTIVAL, BRAY (IE)
JULY 2 • KALOTT JAZZ FESTIVAL, TORNEÅ (FI)
AUGUST 18 • KULTURFESTIVALEN, STOCKHOLM (SE)
PRESS TEXT
/ENGLISH
Ilaria Capalbo — KARTHAGO
Stockholm-based Italian bassist/composer Ilaria Capalbo is equally at ease building hard-swinging lines and improvising on the whole spectrum of the instrument.
Ilaria has earned her stripes on the international jazz scene as a versatile musician, co-leading the critically acclaimed Italian trio KÓSMOS, alongside Fredrik Nordström in the quartet DOLORES and in Blue Note/Verve pianist Chihiro Yamanaka’s European Trio. She has so far shared the stage with Norma Winstone, Stefano di Battista, Cassie Kinoshi and SEED Ensemble, Mats Bergström, Susanna Risberg and many others. She has composed on commission for Nobel Museum and Swedish contemporary dance company Cullberg.
With her debut release as a bandleader, Ilaria tells the story of the ancient Mediterranean city of Karthago. Inspired by the once-powerful metropolis, ruled by a legendary queen but doomed by its proximity to Rome, she brings the music alive with the help of some of the most creative musicians on the Swedish scene who, between them, have worked extensively with artists including Bobo Stenson, Magnus Öström, Lars Danielsson, Daniel Karlsson & Joakim Milder.
Andreas Hourdakis (guitar) and Fredrik Rundqvist (drums) join Ilaria as the bedrock of the album, with a delicately-orchestrated cast in front: Thomas Backman and Fredrik Nordström lead on reeds, with a guest appearance from Tobias Wiklund (cornet) and Mats Äleklint (trombone).
Her music showcases not just a talented musician (reminiscent of bass legend Charlie Haden according to All About Jazz) but also a bandleader and composer skilled at assembling just the right cast of musical personalities to tell a story.
Lineup:
Ilaria Capalbo: bass/compositions
Thomas Backman: alto sax/clarinets
Fredrik Nordström: tenor/baritone sax/flute
Andreas Hourdakis: guitar
Fredrik Rundqvist: drums
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Tobias Wiklund: cornet
Mats Äleklint: trombone
Fredrik Nordström
Composer and instrumentalist, he has demonstrated striking creativity within diverse settings such as his quintet, STRINGS sextet, big band VIBB, NEEDS octet, Norrbotten Big Band. Awarded with the prestigious ”Jazz in Sweden” in 2002, he has performed and recorded, among others, with jazz heroes Bobo Stenson, Palle Danielsson, Gerald Cleaver.
TOBIAS WIKLUND (OPT)
Copenhagen-based trumpet/cornet player, Wiklund masters the lower register of the cornet, but he also plays through a variety of different effects. Beautiful attack – sharp and clean as a razor cut – and a rich and utterly firm sound, as solid as a bar of brass, together with the throaty, sassy playing that he has inherited from Satchmo are merged with a host of other sounds and inflections so that each piece is an object lesson in the history of cornet in jazz.
/SVENSKA
Ilaria Capalbo — KARTHAGO
“Ni som hört Fredrik Nordströms trumlösa Dolores-kvartett har redan lagt märke till basisten Ilaria Capalbos starka, visionärt arkitektoniska spel.” — Magnus Östnäs, LIRA Musikmagasin
“Den italienska basisten Ilaria Capalbo är en snabbt växande stjärna, både i svenskt jazzliv och internationellt.”
— Sveriges Radio P2
Stockholmsbaserade italienska basisten/kompositören Ilaria Capalbo har i sitt första projekt som bandledare inspirerats av berättelserna kring den av mångfald präglade antika staden Karthago, som också är namnet på hennes debutalbum. Musiken speglar modet, viljestyrkan och sårbarheten i dessa berättelser med starka melodier och inslag av både fri improvisation, tunga riff och ekon från samtida kammarmusik.
Ilaria som ursprungligen kommer från Neapel co-leder den kritikerrosade italienska trion KÓSMOS, är medlem i bl.a. Fredrik Nordström's DOLORES och i Blue Note/Verve-pianisten Chihiro Yamanaka's europeiska trio. Hon är lika bekväm i hårdsvängande jazz som att improvisera fritt och har delat scen med namn som Norma Winstone, Stefano di Battista, Cassie Kinoshi & SEED Ensemble, Susanna Risberg och Karin Hammar samt komponerat musik för danskompaniet Cullberg och Nobelmuseet.
I bandet har Ilaria med sig några av de mest kreativa svenska musikerna med erfarenheter från samarbeten med Bobo Stenson, Magnus Öström, Palle Danielsson, Maia Hirasawa, Daniel Karlsson, Sarah Blasko, Jeanette Lindström och Gerald Cleaver för att nämna några. Deras olika personligheter ges riktigt med utrymme att färga musiken med bandledarens bas som solid grund.
Medverkande:
Ilaria Capalbo: bas/kompositör
Thomas Backman: alto sax/clarinets
Fredrik Nordström: tenor/bari sax/flöjt
Andreas Hourdakis: gitarr
Fredrik Rundqvist: trummor
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Tobias Wiklund: kornett
Mats Äleklint: trombone
ANDREAS HOURDAKIS
Greek/Swedish guitarist, Hourdakis is an extremely versatile and imaginative player. Aside from writing for and performing with his own trio, his contributions to Magnus Öström’s band, Lars Danielsson, Jeanette Lindström, Joakim Milder (to name a few) brought him to some of Europe’s most respected jazz stages — in every setting, his sound is unmistakable.
Fredrik Rundqvist
A creative and sensitive player with a scintillating sound, Rundqvist is a long time collaborator of Swedish Grammy awarded Daniel Karlsson Trio. He has an impressive list of collaborations with many names on the Nordic scene and has played and recorded with Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Goran Kajfës, Lindha Kallerdahl among others.
/italiano
Ilaria Capalbo — KARTHAGO
Contrabbassista e compositrice con base a Stoccolma, Ilaria Capalbo é ugualmente a suo agio nel costruire forti linee di basso e nell’improvvisare sull’intero spettro sonoro dello strumento.
Oltre ad essere leader della sua band, è parte del trio europeo della pianista Blue Note/Verve Chihiro Yamanaka, co-leader dell’acclamato trio italiano KÓSMOS e bassista in DOLORES (Fredrik Nordström). Negli ultimi anni ha condiviso il palco, tra gli altri, con Norma Winstone, Stefano Di Battista, Cassie Kinoshi e SEED Ensemble, Susanna Risberg, Karin Hammar e si è esibita alla Royal Albert Hall, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Casa del Jazz, Blue Note Milano, Jazz Club Torrione e presso importanti club e festival jazz in Italia e in Europa. Nel 2018 si è esibita nell’Auditorium del KMH per Wayne Shorter in un tributo alla sua musica in occasione del Polar Prize. Ha composto musica su commissione per il Nobel Museum, il Cullberg Balletten, Explorations of Now.
Il suo primo lavoro come leader prende il titolo dall'antica storia di Karthago (Cartagine), e trae ispirazione dal racconto di una città fondata da una regina leggendaria e destinata a scontrarsi con l’impero di Roma. Il motivo di questa leggenda, in parte storia e in parte mito come molte delle storie che appartengono al Mediterraneo, si ritrova nel coraggio, la resilienza e la vulnerabilità necessarie a crescere ed a perseguire una visione — qualunque siano le probabilità di successo — per non essere dimenticati.
La band dà vita ad una musica con profondità narrativa e forte personalità. Le composizioni originali sono sinergicamente interpretate all'intersezione tra improvvisazione libera, riff prestati dal rock ed echi del repertorio classico, raggiungendo un suono coesivo e convincente.
Karthago uscirà a gennaio 2022.
Lineup:
Ilaria Capalbo: contrabbasso/composizioni
Thomas Backman: sax alto/clarinetti
Fredrik Nordström: sax tenore/baritono/flauto
Andreas Hourdakis: chitarra
Fredrik Rundqvist: batteria
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Tobias Wiklund: cornetta
Mats Äleklint: trombone
MATS ÄLEKLINT (OPT)
He works mostly in the fields of improvisation and jazz, but also soul, pop and rock. Toured/recorded with: Alberto Pinton Quintet, YunKan10, Torbjörn Zetterberg Octet, Norrbotten Big Band, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Dave Holland, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra, The Thing XXL, Per-Henrik Wallin, Lisa Ullén Quartet, Blacknuss, Angles, and many others.
Thomas Backman
Multi-reedist and composer, Backman draws inspiration from bebop and free jazz as much as from hip-hop, indie pop and chamber music. His critically acclaimed debut album: ”Did you have agood day, David?” was released in 2018 on Modern Musik. His playing is original and innovative, and so is his music, where he experiments with beats, electronics and unconventional instruments.