Ensemble Denada

Ensemble Denadas first festival concert of 2011 took place in beautiful Burghausen in Bavaria. A friendly, well organized festival that provided a full house for the band on Saturday evening March 26. And what an audience! Ensemble Denadas next festivals will be Hamburgs Elbjazz and Jazzfest Bonn on the last weekend of May. From the shipyard of Blohm & Voss to the home town of Beethoven. Germany is great!

..

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

DENADA CLOSED THE 2010-SEASON IN ROTTERDAM

Following a sold out concert at London Jazz Festival, Helge Sunde Ensemble Denada closed the fall season of 2010 with a performance in the De Doelen room at Rotterdams Jazz International. In September, the ensemble toured Norway and Germany with the original line-up from the award-winning album "Finding Nymo". One of the concerts was recorded by German radio (SR). Due to good work by the local sound crew and a fantastic audience in St Wendel, this recording came out very nice. Actually, steps has been taken to investigate to turn the recording into a live album.

..

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ENSEMBLE DENADA INIDIA

Ensemble Denada played at the Ashok Hotels amphitheatre in New Delhi on Saturday February 27, 2010. The band also made an unplugged appearance at a local club and a jam session with New Delhi-musicians the night before the concert. The Norwegian ambassador H.E Ann Ollestad enjoyed the show at the Ashok together with an enthusiastic audience of 400 people. And 3 of the band members actually reached Agra and Taj Mahal...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

HELGE SUNDE ENSEMBLE DENADA “FINDING NYMO”
(CD - ACT 9492-2)

Press quotes by Dec. 8, 2009
(English and German language)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A cracker of a contemporary big-band album...Sunde's Denada ensemble has produced powerful work before, but the balance of moods, melodic variety and arranging ingenuity on Finding Nymo (the sax-playing Nymo brothers Frode and Atle are star soloists) ought to raise his standing outside continental Europe.

The Guardian (UK) John Fordham

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

So fresh, so hot, complex, passionate and style-spreading innovative has no big band played for a long time. Wonderful!

So frisch, heiter, komplex, packend und stilübergreifend innovativ hat schon lange keine Big Band mehr musiziert. Wunderbar!

RONDO Klassik & Jazz Magazin (DE) Werner Stiefele

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Flexible enough to handle the complex writing with aplomb, the band deals dazzlingly with pieces as diverse as the Spanish-flavoured Molto Alghero , an exuberant Obstler and the nocturnal moods of MoonCrier and the dreamlike Valse Trieste.

Irish Times (IR) Ray Comiskey

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Most of the players are featured, but it's when two come together on the title track to engage in some friendly sibling rivalry—brothers Atle and Frode Nymo, on tenor and soprano saxophones respectively—that some of the album's most ambitious free play takes place. Atle also takes an extended solo on "Valse Trieste," another highlight; a lyrical blend of deeper indigo and, finally, blistering red as the ensemble swirls around him in a stunningly vivid arrangement.

Allaboutjazz.com (US) John Kelman

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ensemble Denada is no less then one of the best big bands in Europe, greased by equal portions of electronics, pianist Olga Konkova and the percussionist Marilyn Mazur. That fact that the ensemble after years of work has has grown together is not only shown by titles like “Obstler” (a homage to the Norwegians experience of local alcohol following a festival concert in rural Austria), but in particular by the unrestricted, open and inspired way the musicians perform together.

Ensemble Denada nennt, ist nichts weniger als eine der besten Big Bands Europas, aufgefettet mit jeder Menge Elektronik, der Pianistin Olga Konkova und der Perkussionistin Marilyn Mazur. Dass das Ensemble in jahrelanger Arbeit zusammengewachsen ist, zeigt sich nicht nur in Titeln wie “Obstler” (eine Hommage an einschlägige Alkoholerfahrungen der Norweger beim Inntöne-Festival in Oberösterreich), sondern auch in der souveränen, offenen und inspirierten Art, wie miteinander musiziert wird.

Concerto (AT) schu

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

If you count the snoring voice following the lullaby at the end of the album, Sundes big band adds up to 20 performers. Witty ideas, sampled traffic noise and electronic effects sets the sound of the Norwegian orchestra, an so does the great ability of the musicians. A crazy album!

Wenn man die schnarchende Stimme beim Wiegenlied am Schluss mitzählt, kommt Sundes Bigband auf mehr als 20 Mitglieder. Lustige Einfälle, Einspielungen von Straßenlärm und elektronische Effekte bestimmen den Klang des norwegischen Orchesters genauso wie das große Können seiner Musiker. Ein irres Album!

Kulturspiegel DE, Hans Hielscher

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Finding Nymo” is a richly entertaining and often humorous record but that humour is derived from an enormous degree of musical sophistication. Sunde’s writing is witty, intelligent and colourful and his horn arrangements masterful, sometimes reminiscent of a more eccentric Mike Gibbs. The way he incorporates electronics into his arrangements is also highly impressive. If Sunde ever brings his ensemble to the U.K. they should be well worth hearing.

the Jazzman (UK) Ian Mann

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Piano player Olga Konkova also comes forward with strong minded-solos and an almost Michelangelan sensitivity in the “travel letter” “Valse Trieste”, in a brief sequence arranged by Sunde as if it were a love letter from Maria Schneider to Maurice Ravel

Dagbladet (NO) Terje Mosnes

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Helge Sundes 2nd album on the ACT-label has a fabulous spirit of inquiry, in particular the arrangements. He is applying a broad selection of expressions for his big band Denada; a street smart approach live side by side with orchestral sounds.....Helge Sunde does not create retrospective music. Electronic stunts on the laptop and a selection of awesome solos are of course included.

Lira magazine (SE) Andreas Lagercrantz

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Das Wechselspiel von lyrischer Schönheit und präzise exerzierter Groove-Arbeit, die hohe Kultur der Klangentfaltung, die ungeheure Dynamik im Zusammenspiel und die atemberaubende Vielfalt der Arrangementdetails machen dieses Ensemble Denada zu einem "Objekt der Begierde" für alle, die Spaß daran haben, mit gespitzten Ohren modernen Big Band Jazz zu hören.

BR Klassikk (DE) Beate Sampson

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Many people on the planet were taken by surprise when album “Denada” saw the light of day 3 years ago. They have even more to look forward to with “Finding Nymo”.

side 2.no (NO) Tor Hammerø

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ensembelissimo! Vibrant kicks from groovy art music orchestra. This is intricate music, but far from being introvert and pompous

Bergens Tidende (NO) Geir Dahle

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Elfen, Zverge, Mitternachtsonne, zechende, kauzige Menschen. Und Jazz abseits des Mainstream. Die deutschen Vorstellungen von Skandinavien stimmen eben nur zum teil. Bei Helge Sunde bekommt “kauzig” eine neue Klangfarbe.

Jazzhetik (DE). Angela Ballhorn

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Exzellente Big-Band-arbeid, mit einem Ideenreichtum und einer Bilderpracht, wie Sie hierzulande einzig Dieter Glawischnig herzustellen vermag

Kulturnews (DE)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Und das Erstaunliche: Fast alle Musiker sind tatsächlich Norweger. „Ich bin manchmal sebst überrascht, wie viele gute Saxofonisten es zum Beispiel bei uns gibt“, sagt Helge Sunde.

Jazzthing (DE) Rolf Thomas - interview mit Helge Sunde

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Spanish expression «Denada» has more then one translation, but our man from Nordfjord sets the course southwards featuring «When In Rome», «Valse Trieste» and «Molto Alghero» with thunder and lightning in dazzling music arrangements

Dagsavisen (NO) Roald Helgheim

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Humor und Freude am Kontrast sind Trumpf in Helge Sundes zweiter Bigband-CD mit Norwegens Top-Jazzern. Ein farbenprächtiges Kaleidoskop, das Tonmann Jan Erik Kongshaug famos produzierte

Audio (DE) Peter Steder

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"FINDING NYMO" APPOINTED ALBUM OF THE MONTH BY RONDO KLASSIK & JAZZ MAGAZIN (DE) IN DECEMBER 2009

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PREVIOUS CONCERTS AND PRESS QUOTES:

..Check out this VIDEO BLOG FROM VIENNA..

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ENSEMBLE DENADA CLOSED THE FESTIVAL IN SAN SEBASTIAN JULY 26 2009 BEFORE AN AUDIENCE OF 2 800

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

NOVEMBER 6 & 14 2009:
ENSEMBLE DENADA PLAYED RELEASE CONCERTS AT JAZZFEST BERLIN AND BARENTS JAZZ FESTIVAL IN TROMSOE

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ENSEMBLE DENADA AT "ENJOY JAZZ"

Ensemble Denada performed at the beautiful venue "Alte Feuerwache" in Mannheim on October 21.

The US magazin "All About Jazz" visited the concert

..Read this ..REVIEW..

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other press quotes:

"BRING ENSEMBLE DENADA BACK TO LONDON!"

"This is one of the most versatile, high-spirited and original 15-piece bands heard in London for years. As they strode up to the bandstand, playing spiky counterpoint, an evening of free-form New Orleans beckoned. Moments later, their four saxes, three trumpets and three trombones punched out meaty ensembles with the precision of a top Las Vegas showband". (Evening Standard, London UK)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

August 14 2009 (Norwegian language only - will be translated)

STOR LYD

Ensemble Denada er oppdatert jazz-velklang i stort format.

Onsdagens konsert på Nasjonal jazzcene (Victoria) under Oslo Jazzfestival var mitt første møte med Ensemble Denada, et femtenmanns-band ledet av Helge Sunde. Det er også han som står for de fleste komposisjonene og som bære hovedansvaret for at det låter som det gjør.

Det låter godt. Med det mener jeg at det først og fremst er klangen, hvordan arrangementene utnytter de utmerkede musikerne, som sitter igjen i meg to dager etter at siste ekstranummer tonet ut. (Noen ganger kan det være ok å vente litt før man skriver). Denada klinger av Europa. Her er ikke poenget å dokumentere en gammel storbandtradisjon, men å utforske mulighetene i et stort ensemble dog uten å forlate den moderne jazzens rammer. Sundes klo er ikke til å ta feil av. Den klår fram velklang uten at likegyldighet får overta.

Ensemble Denada er oppdatert jazz-velklang i stort format.

Det gjelder i mine ører først å fremst i arrangementene og de mange gode soloene (jeg kommer til å huske Per Mathisens bass-solo aller lengst) og ikke så mye i komposisjonene. Jeg vet ikke om det er en følge av bandets arrangement-ambisjoner, eller bare det faktum at det ikke var plass på Victoria til å få blåse-solistene fram på scenen, men jeg har en følelse av at bandet kunne tjene på, fra tid til annen, å "vinkle" enkeltlåter tydeligere, gi noen klare "poenger" litt større plass i lydbildet, hvis dere unnskylder journalist-metaforene.

Ikke minst i Frøy Aagres bestillings-stykke "Fabric", som var det eneste hvor bandet låt litt famlende.

Det er ikke overraskende at Ensemble Denada er mye ute og farter. Bytt gjerne ut en hel avdeling av UD og send dette bandet i stedet, hvis poenget er å vise fram hva godt som kan komme fra Norge.

Eller som Jack Massarick i Evening Standard skrev ifjor: "Bring Ensemble Denada back to London".

Ensemblet skulle etter planen hatt ny plate klar til Oslo Jazzfestival. Den ble ikke helt ferdig, og lanseres i stedet i Berlin om noen få uker.

Ballade.no (NO) Tellef Øgrim

......

..  

Members:

Helge Sunde - composer, bandleader, trombone

Frode Nymo - soprano saxophone

Børge Are Halvorsen - alto saxophone, flute, alto flute

Atle Nymo - tenor saxophone, bass clarinet

Nils Jansen - bass saxophone, tubax, flute, contra alto clarinet

Frank Brodahl - trumpet, flugelhorn

Marius Haltli - trumpet, flugelhorn

Anders Eriksson - trumpet, flugelhorn

Even Kruse Skatrud - trombone

Erik Johannessen - trombone

Peter Baden - percussion, electronics

Olga Konkova - piano

Jens Thoresen - guitar

Per Mathisen - bass

Håkon Mjåset Johansen - drums

Slide show: Italy, Germany, Austria, Syria, Norway, Spain 07-09

Video: "Io" in Damascus, August 2008

Video: "Bryk" at Oslo Jazz Festival, August 2009

Video: "Knegg" at Oslo Jazz festival, August 2009