New and hard swinging single from A Tonic for the Troops: A cup of ambition

Release: 18/08/2023
Artist: A Tonic For The Troops
Title: A Cup of Ambition
ISRC: NOFUA2384050
Label: ODIN / Grappa Musikkforlag 

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Energetic, melodic, straight, free, swinging, intense, high and low: "A tonic for the troops" mixes all these ingredients into one drink and is a proper remedy in the shape of a jazz quartet. 

Bass player Ellen Brekken is a versatile performer, and she usually holds down the fort with her deep tones in Hedvig Mollestad trio, Falkevik and numerous other projects. In "A tonic for the troops", she is the General at the front lines as a composer and band leader. In the music we hear echoes of bassists/songwriters such as Marc Johnson, Ray Brown, Charlie Mingus and Scott LaFaro. 

Brekken has gathered a troop of very active performers with backgrounds from both the American jazz tradition as well as modern European jazz, who attack the music with both fire and finesse. Pianist Espen Berg has consolidated Trondheim's status on the jazz map both with his own trio and in several collaborations with the Trondheim jazz orchestra. Saxophonist Magnus Bakken has, after graduating from Berklee College of Music in the USA, returned to Norway and has established himself as an accomplished and versatile saxophonist. Drummer Magnus Sefaniassen Eide eats grooves for breakfast and is one of the most hard-working young jazz musicians today. He masters both mainstream jazz and straight pop and has an unshakeable beat as well as a delicate touch.