In The End Of The Night Oddgeir Berg Trio

• 1Vagabond06:26
• 2American Dream04:12
• 3The Escape05:25
• 4List04:59
• 5Travellers03:45
• 6Way Home04:33
• 7Future Has Come04:01
• 8Lullaby For A.O.02:52
• 9Stars Aligned04:38
• 10In The End Of The Night02:30
• Total Runtime43:21

Info for In The End Of The Night

Not a year has passed since the Oddgeir Berg Trio presented its debut and toured the world. In the End of the Night feels inspired by the tight rope act of their live gigs. The familiar bittersweet harmonies and cinematic sound are still present. This time, however, they're juxtaposed by subtle electronic experiments and furious rock. All ten tracks were recorded in a mere two days. It is testimony to the basic creed of jazz: Looking for eternity in each passing moment.

Eternity in a Moment: First, Before Dawn, now In the End of the Night – the first two albums by the Oddgeir Berg Trio essentially take place at the same time: The hours before the break of day, this unreal and meditative phase which the Portuguese call madrugada. Outwardly, not a lot has changed in terms of the music. In the End of the Night still features an equally withdrawn and cinematic sound, subliminally resonating grooves as well as the bittersweet harmonies of Oddgeir Berg's piano. And yet, this album is definitely not without its surprises.

Not a year has passed since the Oddgeir Berg Trio presented its debut. On paper, it looked like the work of three hungry young instrumentalists. In truth, the individual members had long established themselves as top-notch session musicians on the Norwegian scene. The courage to 'do their own thing' has paid off: The album received rapturous reviews in publications worldwide, from All About Jazz to Japanese mag JazzSpace and Germany's renowned Jazzthetik. On the ensuing tour, the band managed to magically translate the sound of this unique record to the stage. At the same time, they also opened themselves up to experimentation. Some of the results have now found their way to the new album.

In the End of the Night certainly seems to be inspired by the suspenseful tight rope act of the live gigs. On the one hand, pieces like "List" still feature the recognizably intimate interaction between Berg, bassist Karl-Joakim Wisløff and drummer Klaus Blomvik. On "The Escape", meanwhile, the band add electronic sound effects to their palette, making Berg's minimalist piano motives sound like an electro bass. It is opener "Vagabond", however, which constitutes the most radical departure from routine here: For four minutes, the trio luxuriate in their characteristically dreamy melodies, before Wisløff suddenly unleashes hell, running his arco bass through a fuzz box and channeling the ghost of Jimy Hendrix.

As per last time, the band recorded in their very own Bonker Studio in Oslo. Even though they could have taken their time, all ten tracks were produced in a mere two days. The urgency shows how serious this group is about the basic creed of jazz: Looking for eternity in each passing moment. And yet, experience has taught the musicians of the Oddgeir Berg Trio that you cannot force these moments. You have to patiently wait for them to happen – even if it takes until the end of the night.

Oddgeir Berg, piano, keyboards
Karl-Joakim Wisløff, double bass
Klaus Robert Blomvik, drums

Recorded at Bonker Studio 20th–21st April 2018
Mixed by Oddgeir Berg
Mastered by Hans-Jörg Maucksch, Pauler, Acoustics, Germany
Produced by Oddgeir Berg

Oddgeir Berg Trio
Electroacoustic jazz with one leg in melancholy and the other in ecstasy

Jazz trios named after the piano player give certain expecations, be it Horace Silver and his tender "Que Pasa" or Esbjørn Svensson and his Northern sounds, clarity and intimacy are common to these, with a hint of tonal melancholy.

These characteristics also feature on "Before Dawn", the debut album from The Oddgeir Berg Trio, who are clearly familiar with a Scandinavian jazz tradition. Tunes such as "The Mermaid’s Dance" and "Springeren" summon images of bonfires by the sea lit to herald the summer solstice, and the inevitable turn of the season when Autumn arrives and buries its roots and turns with fine melodic lines into the silence of winter.

The trio has some other tricks up its sleeve though, most importantly an urgency for action, pace and adventure, best heard in "A.C.M" and "Slogro" with their rhythmic relocations and aggressive radiance. Here the Oslo based trio has more in common with Miles Davis’ Jack Johnson than Scandinavia’s Jan Johannson. The Jimi Hendrix rock sound of the doublebass and the propulsive drum sound energetically support Berg’s playing. Berg’s curiosity in experimenting with Wurlitzer\Rhodes and synthesizer sounds sneaks into the soundscape and lends a distinctive colour to the sound panorama.

Booklet for In The End Of The Night