Froy Aagre
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Froy Aagre

Oslo, Oslo County, Norway

Oslo, Oslo County, Norway
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"Jazzreview.com"

Frøy Aagre has done it again, she has put together a blend of compositions that further demonstrates her skill and talent. But more than showcase her own gifts, they incorporate the talents of each of the musicians in offbeat as well as the guests.

This latest work Countryside is a collection of original compositions that uplift, carry and deliver the listener to a place that is pleasant and demands return. The integration of the cello in the first two tracks as well as track seven is an example of Aagre's command of texture in her music. The cello provides a thickness to the music that compliments the melody and the rhythms. The subtlety of the voices in these two pieces set the stage for the rest of the work.

The artist paints images of time and space using all the colors and textures on her palette. This music was so easy to listen to, so engaging. It is downright entertaining, at an emotional level, like the soundtrack to a great movie, where the story is half told without the music. This new CD tells the whole story. The moods ebb and flow and transition so smoothly you begin to anticipate the coming changes. Aagre does not alter your state abruptly but handles the listener gently with brilliant use of dynamics. Offbeat is an ensemble of very talented young musicians, and they are led by a creative and gifted leader in Frøy Aagre. I was privileged to get an advanced copy to review; I invite everyone to give it a listen.
- Chuck Vecoli


"AllAboutJazz.com"

Featuring finely crafted compositions and precise, yet stirring performances, Countryside is an ambitious and lovely followup to Frøy Aagre Offbeat's debut album, 2004’s Katalyze. The album sports varying moods, veering from stately elegance to moments of more delicate humor and whimsy.
Composed and arranged by the saxophonist/leader, each track has obviously been worked over with care. While the longest song clocks in at just five minutes, each work features a palpable sense of movement and development. Featuring groaning cello playing by Kari Ravnan (who adds richness to three of the nine tracks) and sparkling piano work by Andreas Ulvo, “Sold Gold” spins and builds from languid solos into a grand restatement of the main theme in an admirably compact arrangement. Likewise, “Last Waltz” progresses from a quirky, high-spirited trot to a suitably grand Old World waltz in a little under four and a half minutes. The title track (with fond clarinet interjections) is simply a perfectly peaceful reverie.

Countryside is dense but far from inaccessible, due to the sheer tunefulness of the writing and the pithy inventiveness of the playing. No instrumental star shines brighter than the others on the album. This unit truly functions as a band, each member playing off one other and, above all, serving the songs.
- Stephen Latessa


"Dagsavisen (NO)"

"Frøy Aagre and Offbeat´s new album Countryside makes me feel like a better human being...Beatiful images come to me when I listen to Countryside as well as the nice feeling you get when you hear music that grabs you because it has something to tell".
- Roald Helgheim


"Dagbladet (NO)"

"Strong follow-up album from exciting saxophonist/composer...It contains lots of surprising and fascinating melodic turns, unexpected rhytmic ideas and smooth transitions between written material and improvisations". 5/6

- Terje Mosnes


"Bergens Tidene (NO)"

"The tunes are even stronger, the saxplaying is more playful and the album as a whole is more varied than the debutalbum Katalyze...Frøy Aagre´s chamberjazz is melodic, elegant and surprising". 5/6
- Olav gorseth


"Review of London Jazz Festival concert feat. Kenny Wheeler"

To bear witness to a live Froy Aagre performance is to be charmed. Her distinctive quality lies in blurring the line between pre-performance composition and in-performance composition (improvisation) by making a clear and concerted effort that both are inspired by the same thought, feeling or conception.
There is therefore a wonderful musical symmetry and cohesion to her playing. This gives rise to a real sense that substantive communication is taking place, that not just this player, nor just this music but each particular song has something to say. This impression is strengthened by Aagre’s playing style which has a great story-telling quality. Her themes and phrases are often invocative of Bach in their enticing lyricism, while their execution and delivery echoes Wayne Shorter at his most playful.
The first set was composed entirely of new, unreleased material which inevitably contributed to the band’s fresh and mischievous spirit. They also demonstrated great variety in their playing, while maintaining a distinctive identity. From a light Latin shuffle on “Cycle of Silence”, through a jaunty funk on “3/4” to an arresting foray into the avant-garde on “Black Old”. Andreas Ulvo’s (piano) muted solo on “Words on an Envelope” was a sublime addition to the Nordic charm and mysticism created by the group.
Kenny Wheeler’s impact in the second set was immediate. His tone, lyricism and range were instantly recognisable and together with his compositions had an utterly thrilling effect on the music. The feeling he conjures is that of a melancholic who has the audacity to hope for a brighter future. The context is melancholy, the feeling is aspiration, hope. Froy Aagre may be described as an emerging artist. If this is the start of her journey, then long may it continue.
Review - Joseph Kassman-Tod - Jazzwise, UK


"Countryside review"

"Aagre, who will be touring here later in the year and appearing at the London Jazz Festival with Kenny Wheeler as a guest, is both an instrumentalist and composer of great promise. On her debut album Katalyze she got the straightahead thing out of her system, and on Countryside she opts for a more floating, elastic rhythmic feel that perfectly suits the often stark, yet haunting melodies she seems tp be able to write at the drop of a hat. On pieces like "The Wheel", 2Solid Gold" or "Nice Walk" there is great symmetry in the organisation of composition and improvisation, with solos seeming to evolve from deep within the soul of each piece, rather like meditations on the very essence of each composition. There is an unhurried grace in the way Aagre goes about her business, not interested in dazzling you with technique, but beguilling you with melody.
Stuart Nicholson, Jazzwise (UK) - Jazzwise, UK


Discography

Katalyze - 2004
Countryside - 2007
New album Cycle of Silence to be released in 2009.
Recorded at Rainbow Studio in Oslo by the legendary sound engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug.

Photos

Bio

Norwegian Saxophonist Froy Aagre is an emerging star on the European scene. With sold-out performances at the London Jazz Festival, collaborations with trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and tours around Scandinavia, USA, Canada, Japan and the UK, Aagre’s international reputation is rapidly growing.

Aagre, touted as the next big thing, is known for her powerful compositions and her individual style of characteristically lyrical Nordic jazz. Her distinctive quality lies in blurring the boundaries between the written and the improvised. Aagres themes and phrases are often invocative of Bach in their enticing lyricism, while their execution and delivery echoes Wayne Shorter at his most playful. (Jazzwise, UK)

Frøy Aagre has released two acclaimed albums; Katalyze (2004) and Countryside (2007). The last was named one of the top ten jazz albums in 2007 by the Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen.

Her group consist of some of the most talented musicians on the Norwegian Jazz scene today; Andreas Ulvo on piano, Audun Ellingsen on bass, Freddy Wike on drums. They have developed a extraordinary musical interaction and “truly functions as a band, each member playing off one other and, above all, serving the songs."(AllAboutJazz, US).

Frøy Aagre and her band was one of six jazz artists worldwide to be selected to play a showcase at the prestigious international music fair MIDEM in Cannes January 09. In October 08 Frøy was fronted as one of the main artists at the jazz festival Earshot Jazz (Seattle, USA), besides Cecil Taylor and Carla Bley.

She has performed for Excellencies like Governor General of Canada, Queen Sonja of Norway and all the Priministers of the Nordic Countries. She was the first saxophonist ever to perform at Stortingssalen, (The Norwegian Parliament building) in Oslo in October 06.

Aagre studied saxophone at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Middlesex University and National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires, composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, and saxophone with David Liebman.