Opening Karin Hammar Fab4 invites Rita Marcotulli featuring Andreas Hourdakis, Niklas Fernqvist, Fredrik Rundqvist

• Karin Hammar (b. 1974):
• 1Hammar: Opening04:47
• 2Hammar: Hook05:32
• 3Hammar: Apart05:29
• 4Hammar: The Key03:52
• 5Hammar: Rest in Peace (and stay alive)05:22
• 6Hammar: 1305:52
• 7Hammar: Nadar com tartarugas06:28
• 8Hammar: Moset-The Cleanse06:35
• 9Hammar: Prayer05:18
• Total Runtime49:15

Info for Opening

With three critically acclaimed albums under their belt, Swedish trombonist Karin Hammar’s Fab4 boasts international recognition from publications including Downbeat Magazine, over 50 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify and over 10 million streams to date. Their upcoming record ‘Opening’, featuring Rita Macotulli.

Karin Hammar is one of Sweden’s most in-demand freelance trombonists; she has been a bandleader for over 25 years, co-leads ‘The Sliding Hammers’ with her fellow trombonist and sister Mimmi Hammar, and has worked with international household names including Gary Burton and Maria Schneider. Rita Marcotulli has been an important name of European jazz for over four decades, touring with giants including Pat Metheny, Chet Baker, Kenny Wheeler and Billy Cobham and winning several awards and prizes in the field of film music scoring.

After having combined the Fab4 with several different guests over the past few years, Hammar felt the timing was right to invite a pianist into the quartet’s world. Being a long time fan of Marcotulli, Hammar asked her to collaborate. The quintet came together in Stockholm in April 2022 and recorded a collection of nine new songs together.

With a contemplative ECM-esque tone, the record boasts emotive, balladic passages of soaring melody and high-energy, virtuosic musicianship in equal measure. Marcotulli’s seamless integration into the established quartet opens the door to a greater world of intricacy, harmony and interplay, as the roles of soloist and accompanist flutter frequently between instruments.

Hammar’s voice as a seasoned composer and effortlessly technical trombonist are in the spotlight, with thoughtful quintet arrangements shifting focus to different areas of the ensemble to create striking changes in mood and texture.

2023 promises to be a great year for the Fab4, with a particular highlight including their headline performance at Jazz Baltica festival in Germany.

Rita Marcotulli, piano
Karin Hammar, trombone, bass-trombone
Andreas Hourdakis, guitar
Niklas Fernqvist, double bass
Fredrik Rundqvist, drums, percussion

Karin Hammar
Born 1974 in Boden, Sweden, Karin Hammar, a Swedish trombonist, had already accumulated a long list music references. Neben tours and CDs with jazz stars such as Kenny Werner and Tim Hagans, Steve Swallow and Gary Burton, it was Nils Landgren who first and foremost brought her to the forefront, whether that be as a member of the Jazz Baltica Orchestra, or the EBU Bigband. Her recordings in Japan as Sliding Hammers, together with her sister Mimi (also a trombone player), were also highly acclaimed. Karin Hammar Fab 4 was founded in 2014. The first album, “Imprints”, was released by Red Horn Records in 2016. It was warmly received by critics in Sweden. Karin Hammar uses the guitar as the “generator” for the harmonic sound. This creates a wide range of sounds that are close to blues and bossa nova, but with the melodical, lyrical jazz as musical compass. The second CD, Circles (Prophone/Naxos), was released in 2018. It has received a positive response from international jazz media such as German Jazz Thing, Austrian Concerto, and many others.

This album contains no booklet.