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
“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
“Italian bassist Ilaria Capalbo is a fast rising star, both on the Swedish jazz scene and internationally.”
— Sveriges Radio P2, Jazzkatten Special, 2021
“Ilaria Capalbo is rapidly emerging as one of Italy’s most brilliant bass players.”
— Eugenio Mirti, Jazzit
PH: KLAUDIA RYCHLYK
press office: matt fripp @jazzfuel, uk
UPCOMING GIGS — 2021/2022
SEPT 11, 2021 • ENSKEDE JAZZ FESTIVAL, ENSKEDE
OCT 16, 2021 • BAS, STOCKHOLM JAZZ FESTIVAL, STOCKHOLM
OCT 19, 2021 • SVERIGE RADIO P2 JAZZKATTEN SHOW+LIVE RECORDING, STOCKHOLM
JAN 12, 2022 • FASCHING, STOCKHOLM — OFFICIAL RELEASE GIG
MARCH 3, 2022 • UMEÅ JAZZSTUDION, UMEÅ
MARCH 26, 2022 • LA GRANDE NOTTE DEL JAZZ, BRESCIA (IT)
APRIL 8, 2022 • CASA DEL JAZZ, ROME (IT)
APRIL 9, 2022 • LANIFICIO 25, NAPOLI (IT)
PRESS TEXT
/SVENSKA
Ilaria Capalbo — KARTHAGO
Stockholmsbaserade italienska basist/kompositören Ilaria Capalbo iär lika bekväm med hårt swingande linjer som med att improvisera på hela spektrat av instrumentet.
Vid sidan av att leda sitt egna band är hon medlem i Blue Note/Verve pianisten Chihiro Yamanaka’s Europeiska Trio, co-leader till kritikerrosade italienska trion KÓSMOS och basist med Fredrik Nordström’s DOLORES. Hon har dessutom delat scen med Norma Winstone, Stefano di Battista, Cassie Kinoshi och SEED Ensemble, Susanna Risberg, Karin Hammar bland andra och framfört originalverk vid Royal Albert Hall, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Casa del Jazz, Blue Note Milano och på framstående klubbar och festivaler i Italien och Europa. Hon komponerade musik i samarbeten med Nobel Museet och NobelCreations, Stockholmbaserade nutida dansgruppen Cullberg Balletten och festivalen Explorations of Now.
Hennes första jobb som bandledare är inspirerat av berättelsen om Karthago, en stad präglad av mångfald grundad på den sydvästra kusten av medelhavet av en legendarisk drottning och dömd utav dess närhet till det rasande romarriket. Motiven i berättelsen om Karthago, delvis antik historia och delvis myt, liksom många av medelhavets berättelser, berör modet, viljestyrkan och sårbarheten som behövdes för att kunna växa i skenet av det unika, för att kunna arbeta mot en vision och stå fast vid den, oavsett oddsen, för att inte falla i glömska.
Kvintetten ger liv till musik med ett narrativt djup, som ritar upp en berättelse. Musiken befinner sig mellan fri improvisation, rockigt riffbyggande och ekon från samtidiga kammarmusik, och bandet levererar i samklang med ett orätt sound.
Karthago släpps i januari 2022.
Medverkande:
Ilaria Capalbo: bas/kompositör
Thomas Backman: alto sax/clarinets
Fredrik Nordström: tenor/bari sax/flöjt
Andreas Hourdakis: gitarr
Fredrik Rundqvist: trummor
+
Tobias Wiklund: kornett
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
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.
/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.
Aside from leading her own band, she is a member of Blue Note/Verve pianist Chihiro Yamanaka’s European Trio, one of the co-leaders of critically acclaimed Italian trio KÓSMOS and bass player with Fredrik Nordström’s DOLORES. She has so far shared the stage with Norma Winstone, Stefano di Battista, Cassie Kinoshi and SEED Ensemble, Susanna Risberg, Karin Hammar among others and performed original work at Royal Albert Hall, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Casa del Jazz, Blue Note Milano and at prominent clubs and jazz festivals in Italy and Europe. She has composed on commission for Nobel Museum, Sweden’s prominent contemporary dance company Cullberg Balletten and Explorations of Now. In 2018, she performed for Wayne Shorter at KMH’s Auditorium in a tribute to his music on occasion of his Polar Prize.
Her first work as a leader is inspired by the story of Karthago, a diverse city founded on the southwest coast of the Mediterranean by a legendary queen and doomed by its closeness to the colliding empire of Rome. The lingering motives in this tale, part ancient history and part myth like many of the stories that the Mediterranean tells, are the courage, resiliency and vulnerability needed to grow in the light of uniqueness, to pursue a vision and to stand by it — regardless of odds — not to be forgotten.
The quintet gives life to music with a narrative depth, as though outlining a story. The tunes are crafted at the intersection between free improvisation, rock riff-building and echoes of contemporary classical repertoire and the band delivers them through a cohesive and fearless sound.
Karthago will be released in January 2022.
Lineup:
Ilaria Capalbo: bass/compositions
Thomas Backman: alto sax/clarinets
Fredrik Nordström: tenor/baritone sax/flute
Andreas Hourdakis: gitarr
Fredrik Rundqvist: trummor
+
Tobias Wiklund: cornet
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
+
Tobias Wiklund: cornetta
Mats Äleklint: trombone
MATS ÄLEKLINT
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.