NEW FRIENSEMBLE RELEASE: OUT OF SILENCE

Mathilde Grooss Viddal/FriEnsemblet ft. Naïssam Jalal - Out of Silence

Giraffa Records, GIR 1706

Special guest: Naïssam Jalal: Flute, voice

FRIENSEMBLET: Mathilde Grooss Viddal: Leader, s. and t. sax, bass and contrabass clarinet Dag Stiberg: Alto saxophone Per Willy Aaserud: Trumpet, electronics Eivind Lønning: Trumpet Øyvind Brække: Trombone Britt Pernille Frøholm: Hardanger fiddle, violin Tellef Kvifte: Electronics, laptop, rhodes, piano, grand piano Safaa Al-Saadi: Darbouka Sattar Al-Saadi: Darbouka, riq* Knut Kvifte Nesheim: Drums, vibraphone Siv Øyunn Kjenstad: Drums, vocal Ellen Brekken: Double Bass *guest at National Jazzscene

Distribution: Musikklosen: [email protected] Taragot Sounds: http://www.taragot.com

Out of Silence

New FriEnsemblet release!!

Mathilde Grooss Viddal/FriEnsemblet ft. Naïssam Jalal - Out of Silence

Giraffa Records, GIR 1706

Out of Silence, FriEnsemblets 5th album. 

FriEnsemblet features the great French/Syrian flute player and composer Naïssam Jalal. The music is mainly composed and arranged by Jalal and Viddal and consists of a mix of Arabic and Norwegian, contemporary jazz music.

Mathilde Grooss Viddal and Naïssam Jalal met for the first time in Paris in 2015, after Viddal heard Naïssam on the Norwegian Radioshow «Jungeltelegrafen». She immediately took contact. Second time they met was on stage at the National Jazzscene of Norway. This record consists of the three concerts they have had together with Friensemblet; at National Jazzscene, Bø Jazzklubb and Kampenjazz in Norway during 2015-2016.

The cover art is made by the French/Syrian painter Ibrahim Jalal, and designed by Chris Mentzen.

FriEnsemblet was established in 2004 and consists of a generous group of musicians with very different individual expressions. Together they constitute a large ensemble with a significant impact. The music is mainly composed and arranged by Viddal, while each of the members’ improvisational and sonic expressions gives the band it’s unique and distinctive sound.

Previous releases are Holding Balance 2006, Come Closer 2009, Undergroove 2012 and El Aaiun - Across the Border 2014.

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OUT OF SILENCE

Special guest: Naïssam Jalal: Flute, voice

FRIENSEMBLET: Mathilde Grooss Viddal: Leader, s. and t. sax, bass and contrabass clarinet Dag Stiberg: Alto saxophone Per Willy Aaserud: Trumpet, electronics Eivind Lønning: Trumpet Øyvind Brække: Trombone Britt Pernille Frøholm: Hardanger fiddle, violin Tellef Kvifte: Electronics, laptop, rhodes, piano, grand piano Safaa Al-Saadi: Darbouka Sattar Al-Saadi: Darbouka, riq* Knut Kvifte Nesheim: Drums, vibraphone Siv Øyunn Kjenstad: Drums, vocal Ellen Brekken: Double Bass *guest at National Jazzscene

Distribution: Musikklosen: [email protected] Taragot Sounds: http://www.taragot.com

New FriEnsemblet release: El Aaiun - Across the Border.

Includes the award winning composision El Aaiun - Across the Border, and the comission work for Vossajazz Jazz Festival, Kali & Vossavatn.

Released 31/10/2014, available from friensemblet.bandcamp.com

EL AAIUN - ACROSS THE BORDER

Mathilde Grooss Viddal´s composition “El Aaiun - Across the Border” for large jazz ensemble got “Honorable Mention” at SWOJOs First Annual Jazz Ensemble Composition Contest for Women Composers. ”El Aaiun - Across the Border” will be performed with guest artist Ingrid Jensen and SWOJO at the Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle, WA, USA on October 24. 

"I am honored and proud to receive the "honorable mention" for my composition "El Aaiun - Across the Border" in the Seattle Woman´s Jazz Orchestra´s First Annual Composition Contest. My composition El Aaiun – Across the Border, was written directly after I performed a concert in the Sahara dessert in Morocco in December 2011. The meeting of cultures from east and west inspired me to write this song. It was originally written for Vossa Jazz, an internationally renowned festival in Norway for jazz, folk and world music with performers from all over the world. The composition had its premiere this spring performed by FriEnsemblet at Vossajazz’ 40th anniversary." 

http://friensemblet.com,

http://facebook.com/friensemblet

MATHILDE GROOSS VIDDAL

Norwegian musician/composer - living in Oslo, Norway.

Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Saxophones, Bass clarinet, Composer

Mathilde Grooss Viddal is an artist with deep foundation in several different styles, whose own work goes beyond the boundaries of genre. 

Viddal studied music and composition at the Department of Musicology at the University of Oslo, and the Music Conservatory in Agder. She studied jazzsaxophone with Odd Riisnæs and Jon Eberson and composing with Rolf Inge Godøy, Bjørn Kruse and Egil Kapstad. From 1993 – 1995 she held the title Regional Musician in Mo i Rana. She has been a permanent employee as a saxophone and clarinet teacher at the Bærum Scool of Music and Culture since 1999 and is also a bass clarinet teacher at the University of Oslo.

She is highly regarded and much used as an arranger and bandleader on the contemporary Norwegian jazz scene. She has released 3 CD's with her band, FriEnsemblet, to great critical acclaim amongst reviewers of jazz in Norway and internationally. She has performed with several different bands and orchestras both at home and abroad, and has been commissioned to compose works for amongst others; University of Oslo, Henie Onstad Art Center, Dunas Duradas B.C. Portugal  and Vossajazz 40th anniversary. She has performed on dozens of CD releases, and is bandleader for FriEnsemblet, performs in the bands Ellayali, Lucky Loop and Eick/Viddal duo. In 2006 she received a three - year grant from the Arts Council Norway. Her composition ”Undergroove” has been chosen to be part of the JazzCD.no 5th set, jazz from Norway – produced for promotional use internationally by The Norwegian Jazz Forum in close cooperation with The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mathilde Grooss Viddal´s composition "El Aaiun - Across the Border" for large jazz ensemble got "Honorable Mention" at SWOJOs First Annual Jazz Ensemble Composition Contest for Women Composers. "El Aaiun - Across the Border" will be performed with guest artist Ingrid Jensen and SWOJO at the Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle, WA, USA on October 24.

http://friensemblet.com

http://mgviddal.com

Photo: Ann Iren Ødeby

WORLD PREMIERE OF THE WINNING COMPOSITION

World premier of the winning composition.

First Annual Jazz Ensemble Composition Contest for Women Composers.

SWOJO is excited to announce the winner of the first annual jazz composition contest for women is Jessika Leek for "Lights". Honorable Mention goes to Mathilde Grooss Viddal for "El Aaiun - Across the Border". SWOJO will perform both compositions on Oct 24 at Kirkland Performance Center as part of the Earshot Jazz Festival. Congratulations to both composers!! 

Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra, posted 16th aug 2013

EICK / VIDDAL DUO

MATHILDE GROOSS VIDDAL (bass clarinet, saxophones)/ TRUDE EICK (french horn)

A duo freely playing music from a lot of genres, still with their roots in freeimprovisation, freejazz and from contemporary classical music. CD-debut November Log 2008. They have been playing a lot of various gigs, from jazzfestivals too school concerts. They have also had their own series of concerts in Biermannsgården in Oslo, which sere over a 3-years period.

New project: ”Dolls Hanging in a Thin Rope”