FriEnsemblet - Mathilde Grooss Viddal
World Music in a frame of Scandinavian contemporary jazz.
Composer and saxophonist Mathilde Grooss Viddal’s FriEnsemble has for many years been a powerhouse of Norwegian music.
It was more than deserved that among 419 submitted works from 86 different countries, Grooss Viddals Out of Silence became one of 10 winners in the competition Global Women in Music for Human Rights. The works in the competition are all inspired by the fight for human rights. Viddal was even in Rome to receive the award and FriEnsemblet performed at a gala concert in the Teatro Argentina, Rome's largest arena.
Viddal's FriEnsemble includes 10 very strong names in jazz and folk music. Together with soloist, Unni Boksasp, and flautist, Naissam Jalal, they're going to perform at Moldejazz with the commissioned piece "Tri vendur blés ho i den høgaste sky", which offers a fresh blend of medieval ballads, newer folk music, contemporary jazz and tunes from the Middle East. Viddal paints a rich and varied tonal language that keeps us at the edge of our seat all the way through, so we can discern all the details and tones of the music that is a nomadic walk through space and time.
Mathilde Grooss Viddal - saxophone, bass and double bass clarinet / Naissam Jalal - flute / Kristoffer Alberts - alto sax / Per Willy Aaserud - trumpet, electronics / Øyvind Brække - trombone / Britt Pernille Frøhlm - Hardanger fiddle, fiddle / Tellef Kvifte - piano, keyboards, electronics / Knut Kvifte Næsheim - drums, vibraphone / Egil Kalman - bass / Unni Boksasp - vocals.