Frode Haltli ‘Avant Folk’ is an all-star cast of Norwegian musicians spanning all ages, generations and genres, an elaboration of Frode Haltli’s work somewhere in the twilight zone between jazz, contemporary and folk music. Jazzland Recordings is proud to present «Avant Folk Triptyk», the third album by this exceptional constellation of musicians led by one of the Norwegian scene’s most unique and innovative band leaders.

Norwegian saxophonist Trygve Seim sets the poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273), using the inspired contemporary English-language versions of Coleman Barks and Kabir Helminski as his source texts. Trygve responds both to the musicality of the translations and to Rumi’s gifts as a storyteller and with Rumi Songs seems to have invented a new kind of Lieder with a Nordic-Oriental orientation. The line-up is strikingly unorthodox, with each of the quartet members bringing their own musical personalities to the material. Classical mezzo-soprano Tora Augestad is well-known as the leader of her own ensemble Music For A While, and for her numerous music-theatre collaborations with Christoph Mathaler. She finds an intimate tone to convey Rumi’s thoughts, underlined by the elegant arrangements and the improvisational input of Seim, Haltli and Henryson.

The opening track of ‘Avant Folk’ is like a dream of what contemporary experimental folk-meets-jazz-meets-chamber-music might be…