A successful and eventful term for the 2nd year Nomazz students ended in Helsinki. Thank you to all the teachers and students at the Sibelius Academy for their excellent hospitality. We experienced some great teaching and playing, and invaluable masterclasses from Jason Moran, Ben Monder, Adam Nussbaum, Will Vinson and Mike Moreno.
The students still found time to pursue thier own musical interests. Here is a clip of one of the projects undertaken by Lars Fiil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=364VmX8WZD0&feature=youtu.be
Adam Dyer also recorded some new music in Sibelius' brand new (and extremely well-equipped) studio. Together with two Finns, Sampo Kasurinen (sax) and Eero Seppa (bass); and an American, Matt Carroll (drums) they recorded some original compositions (some can be found here: http://www.reverbnation.com/adamdyerjazz )
Lars Fiil (second year Nomazz), is touring with his quartet (which includes Nomazz drummer, Andreas Skamby). They will be playing in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, so take the time to check them out. http://www.myspace.com/larsfiilkvartet
Another year, and the first year Nomazz students are now in their second year, and in Helsinki, Finland. After a very warm reception, they have settled in and made many new friends and acquaintances. On the horizon - masterclasses with Jason Moran and his trio, and Cuban drummer, Ignacio Berroa.
Four intrepid Nomazzers travelled halfway across the globe to the IASJ meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Adam, Lars, Andreas and Alex travelled first to Rio and then on to Sao Paulo for a week long course of jazz under the directorship of Dave Liebman. Not only was there a lot of interesting music being made, but also plenty of time to sip some Caipairinhas in the local samba clubs and take in the music and culture of an amazing country. Thanks to the schools of the Nomazz for paying for the hotel accommodation in Sao Paulo.
Sam Andreae (second year Nomazz) and his band 'Silence Blossoms' came over to Stockholm on Sunday to play a set as part of their tour of Scandinavia. Formed as a group for which to compose settings of various poems, it has an unusual line up of Electronics/Sax (Andreae), Pump Organ (Alexander Zehtson), Voice (Hanna Olivegren Wessblad) and Double Bass/Saw/Guitar (Gus Loxbo). They created some truly beautiful music, which always served to enhance the poetry without ever getting in its way.
See more here
Lars Fiil (first year Nomazz), recently released a record of his quartet, "Reconsideration", which has been garnering a lots of interest and positive reviews. It not only features Fiil on piano, but also another Nomazz student, Andreas Skamby, on drums. Read a review on All About Jazz here, and download a free track
A few weeks ago, the Nomazz students traveled from Stockholm and Trondheim to Tallinn in Estonia, for the Intensive Project Week (IP), ‘Nomazz meets the Baltics’. Funded by the NordPlus scheme, the week proved to be a great success, as a meeting point of Nordic and Baltic jazz scenes and great music from all over the world.
Three ensembles were the focal point for musical collaboration, and the after hours jam sessions in the Kuku Club were a great way to put into practise some of the ideas learned during the ensemble sessions. A great variety of music was played, from more straight-ahead jazz to Balkan music and free improvisations that were full of energy and well constructed.
Tallinn itself was a very welcoming city, and although the schedule lived up to it’s ‘intensive’ label, there was a little time for sight-seeing in the old town, which really felt like the gateway to the East, the old churches with their onion shaped domes and the cobbled streets with faux-peasants selling almonds from their stalls.
Thanks to the following for making the project such a success:
Team of teachers: Mika Kallio (drums), Mikko Innanen (saxophone), Michael Francis Duch (double bass), Liudas Mockunas (saxophone), Darryl Andrews (guitar), Milic Petrovic (guitar), Jay Rodriguez (saxophone), Jaak Sooäär (guitar), Tanel Ruben (drums).
Project partners: Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, NTNU in Trondheim, Latvian Academy of Music, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Sibelius Academy, Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg.
We will keep you updated with their progress!
