The american website Jazz Review has listened to Trio Askeladd's CD (dec 2005).

The reviewer Brenton Plourde writes:
"With the same context as Norwegian folk songs, hymns and traditional music, Trio Askeladd has given a great album and a great example of how a trio can work. "
Read more here

The english website Music Web International reviews Trio Askeladd's CD (dec 2005).

The reviewer Glyn Pursglove writes:
"This record came as a delightful surprise to me. I had never before heard of Trio Askeladd, ..."
Read more here

Concert in Olofström Church 28/6-05

The Trio Askeladd music style is
not easily labeled.
It's based on improvisation on traditional folk music and sacred
music.
The band members all have a classical musical education and master their instruments into perfection.
This, in combination with a strong inspiration and joy of playing, as we heard in many brilliant solos, was a great experience to all of us in the audience.


Bror Hellström,
repr. of the Chamber Music Society in Olofström

Concert in Stora Tuna Church
4/4 -04 Trio Askeladd

A strong musical experience to me.
I got a feeling that Trio Aske-ladd melted into the music or
w a s the music, flowing out to those listening.
Joy of music!
Thank You for being so generous with it!

Inga Widell, Church musician
Borlänge

"Askeladd plays with their heart for the heart. You don't have to worry about style, it's simply very good music"

Åke Björänge
Sandviken Big Band

"Trio Askeladd is a very gifted musical trio, performing their music in a professional, personal and entertaining way. A musical experience that grips."

Karin Björk, Church musician
Sandviken

Unique trio plays blue chorals

Annonsbladet Sandviken - Hofors, Feb 10 2004

Harmonic engaging themes

Gefle Dagblad, Oct 07 2003


Annonsbladet Sandviken - Hofors, Feb 10 2004

Unique trio plays blue chorals

Trio Askeladd is a young and close to unique constellation. The group was formed last year by Odd Inge Gjelsnes on trumpet, Geir Anfinsen on trombone and Niklas Bjarnehäll on the piano.
Their music is already much played on the radio... in Russia.
A trio formed by trumpet, trombone and piano is not quite common.
Neither Geir, Odd Inge nor Niklas know of a similar established ensemble in Sweden.
So far they've given three appearances in Sweden, they have quite a few booked for the nearest future and have also been invited to Moscow and Norway. The wheels are obviously spinning fast.
- We've been much appreciated and have received a positive response to our performances and our demotape.
Because we are playing the music we love ourselves, we are even more delighted by the appreciation of the audience, Niklas Bjarnehäll explains.

Although Trio Askeladd may be a recent phenomenon, the group members are definitely no novices.
Geir Anfinsen played with the Gaevle Symphony Orchestra for twelve years. Later this year he'll take a leave and take a seat in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Stockholm.
Also Odd Inge Gjelsnes plays with the Gaevle symphonists and is frequently engaged as soloist in churches and the like.
The pianist, Niklas Bjarnehäll, is the most known of them in our community, as he has been a member of Sandviken Big Band for years.
Being asked to describe the musical repertoire of the trio, Niklas Bjarnehäll begins with the words "blue choral". I immediately confess my musical limitations and all three guys start to give me an explanation easier to understand.
- Traditional chorals and folk-songs, performed in a improvised way, says Geir.
- Simple and pure harmonies to which we add a perso-nal touch and can implement the strength of each one of us, Odd Inge continues.
- Pure melodies, simple and personal music, where every note has a meaning, Niklas concludes.

A great part of the reportoire consist of traditional folk-songs and chorals by unknown composers.
On the other hand they also play music by e. g. Iver Klejve and Dollar Brand - and Niklas Bjarnehäll.
- I write some music myself and beside that I arrange existing songs. Or else the music is elaborated all the time while we play. The arrange-ments are based upon our personal interpretation and improvisation, Niklas says.
Thanks to the agent of the trio and her contacts in Russia, a wellknown music critic with a TV- and radio show of his own in Moscow, got the demo of the trio in his hands. The music is now played in the russian radio over and over.

- We've been invited to come to Moscow and we are planning for a tour coming season, which of course all is very exiting.
In addition we expect some engagements in Norway, where our concept and our style of music is more common than here, Niklas explains.

Back on home ground they'll give a concert in "Kanalkyrkan" next Sunday and after that they are booked for other different concerts.

Still being a bit uncertain of the gentlemen's description of their music, I ask for a taste of it. Unable to review the musical qualities I can just describe their music as emotional, pretty and enjoyable. It's a kind of music that evokes feelings to everybody, whether you are a music critic or just a plain ignorant listener.
The unique Trio Askeladd is formed by the excellent musicians Niklas Bjarnehäll, Odd Inge Gjelsnes and Geir Anfinsen and their first appearance in Sandviken is given in "Kanalkyrkan" on Sunday.

Marica Ericson

(The original article was written in Swedish, here translated by webmaster)


Gefle Dagblad, Oct 07 2003

Harmonic engaging themes

Trio Askeladd is a fairly new instrumental group formed by Niklas Bjarnehaell piano, Geir Anfinsen trombone and Odd Inge Gjelsnes trumpet and they gave their very first performance last Sunday evening in a crowded Forsbacka Church.

Blue chorals were the theme of the concert, a norwegian concept of a blueslike choral music, and we were promised music from Norway, Sweden and South-Africa.
When seated, we were playfully told we shoulld have brought cushions as we throughout should be treated to a restful and melodic music.
Had we followed the recommendation we could have leaned back in the otherwise rather awkward churchbenches, closed our eyes and let the associations fly at will to the music.
In the tune Askeladd, composed by the trio's pianist, I would have thought of streets, wet from rain, a tired detective on his way home to his lonely den and the touching piece "Elegi" would have made me think of a half empty jazzclub, one last dancing couple and red flashing neon signs outside the window.

HAD I brought a cushion that is. As a matter of fact, some tunes contained something of recurrent themes but without getting ordinary or shallow. On the contrary, there was an inherent pleasure in the music as well as in the performance and in spite of the somewhat lazy theme, it didn't ever get dreary.

The songs are easy listened to but beautiful and all the time there is a stringency and commitment from the musicians side.
Both Geir Anfinsen and Odd Inge Gjelsnes are true masters of their instruments and it's always nice to see and listen to musicians, able to in a playful way, charm the most unlikely sounds out of their instruments, distinct clear notes as well as bare silent whispers.

As time went, the Forsbacka Church Choir was invited to take part in an exciting choral meeting, where the well sung form of the choir, contrasted sharply to the freely soaring melody trails of the trombone.


Two African folksongs followed and at last Niklas Bjarnehaell was given room to swing loose on the piano. And did he swing!
Also, here the full trio showed off and demonstrated they know the art of improvisation and should anybody possibly had doubted their professionality, they undoubtedly proved their case.

Unfortunately the choir fell a bit short, here mostly acting walkers-on. But on the other side, this was meant to be the evening of Trio Askeladd and it surely was, with a vengeance.

The Church in Forsbacka
Trio Askeladd
The Choir of the Church in Forsbacka
Kajsa Westerman

(The original article was written in Swedish, here translated by webmaster)
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