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Haftor Medbøe Group has rapidly become a mainstay of the Scottish Music Scene both headlining and supporting visiting artists such as Esbjorn Svensson Trio and Bill Frisell. With roots in Norway, Iceland, Poland and Australia the group brings a fresh and invigorating approach by fusing contemporary sound worlds with strong melodies over driving grooves. Taking inspiration from Scottish bands Mogwaii and Boards of Canada, HMG brings jazz with an edge to a new and eager audience.

The touring set features music from the band’s latest album NEW:HAPPY recorded in Scotland and Denmark in 2007.

PRESS QUOTES:

"envelope pushing" - pick of the week in the Guardian

"bold and strident" - "one to watch" - Glasgow Herald

"contemporary and beautiful" **** - Noise magazine

"vivid musical soundscapes" - List magazine

"... and yes, the hairs on the back of my neck moved" the Islay Directory

"... the perfect contemporary jazz" - The Skinny

"A dazzling venture into contemporary jazz!" - www.jazzreview.com

"... reinventing the balance of opposites of the musical universe" - www.jazzworldquest.com

REVIEWS:

Haftor Medbøe Group - NEW:HAPPY

The current line-up of Haftor Medbøe’s group is the strongest yet. The guitarist’s accomplished soloing is supported by powerful contributions from two of the leading horn players on the Scottish scene, saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski and trombonist Chris Greive, while Danish bass player Eva Malling and Icelandic percussionist Signy Jakobsdottir add shimmering colour and rhythmic drive in response to the shifting needs of the music.

The guitarist’s new compositions continue to evolve his exploration of jazz-rooted but pop-aware instrumental forms. His writing pays characteristically careful attention to intricacies of musical texture, timbre and interwoven electronic effects, but the slower moving and more impressionistic elements are balanced by highly energised accelerations that raise both the temperature and momentum of the music. Available as an on-line exclusive from http://www.fabrikant-records.net/

The List - September 2008

Haftor Medbøe Group - NEW:HAPPY

So far in my lifetime of following the music of jazz since growing up with the sounds of the big bands back in the early forties, I’ve seen jazz grow and nurture, lending itself to other cultures from distant lands and becoming an international musical art form.

Haftor Medbøe and his group come to us from Scotland and New: Happy is their latest release on Fabrikant Records.

This group has a haunting, melancholy and mesmerizing sound that draws you deeper into their music. This is music you must listen to several times over in order to understand where they are taking us. The group is able to capture the sounds of brooding while at the same time uplifting our spirits by a deeper meaning of all these original compositions.

While they don’t solo that often or at any great length the strength of this group comes to us in their ensemble playing. Their technical prowess is impeccable. Someplace in my head I keep hearing their charts transposed into a big band format. Someone like Toshiko Akiyoshi could probably arrange some of their charts into a big band venue. That’s only my feeling and may not be in the cards for this group.

Since my first listening to this group on CD I came away with the feeling that they’re on to something new and exciting for international jazz music. I look forward to the future and what they have for us down the road.

Jazzine - August 2008

Haftor Medbøe Group - NEW:HAPPY

"New: Happy" could be anything: a surrealistic ballet music, a soundtrack of a mysterious movie, or a timeless collection of jazz poems. The fusion goes multidimensional, from classical to modern, from evocative to exhilarating and dissonant, switching tempos and moods, crossing genres and musical maps. All these compositional incursions don't break the artistic cohesion of the album crafted in filigree arrangements, remarkable in clarity and balance. leaving enough space for a warm melodic improvisational flow. Every song tells a story about a comedy or drama, there's a melody, or a surprising contrast you'll remember later after the music has grown in you. Then you may want to go back and listen again the elegant intros on "New: Happy" , Tys Tys or on Amulet ( Haftor Medboe's guitar ethereal, atmospheric, Signy Jakobsdottir's colorful, magical crystal percussion), or the Nordic vibes (guitar, bass(Eva Malling ), percussion) followed by a superb unison sax-trombone(Konrad Wiszniewski and Chris Grieve) on Fri Bo. Although there are other highlights to discover, just to mention the melancholic introspective harmonica solo on Nothing Gulch, and the sax and trombone solos on These Little Things, the album as a whole is a beautiful piece of art.

JazzWorldQuest.com - August 2008

Haftor Medbøe Group - NEW:HAPPY

Multilateral jazz

Bandet har base i Skotland, men medlemmerne er fra Norge, Island, Polen, Australien og det senest ankomne medlem er fra Danmark. Deres opfattelse af jazz kender heller ikke rigtig nogen grænser. Bandet ledes af guitaristen Haftor Medbøe, der både skifter mellem elektrisk og akustisk guitar. Derudover består gruppen af Konrad Wiszniewski på sax, Chris Greive på basun, Signy Jakobsdottir på percussion og danskeren Eva Malling på bas.

Genremæssigt kommer man på en rundtur udi hvad man kan tillade sig i nutidig melodisk jazz. Diverse kontinenter popper op i hovedet når man hører musikken. Ligefra Asien, Afrika, Amerika til Europa. Hele tiden er der små afstikkere og detaljer i musikken, der i det hele taget fremstår som utroligt gennembearbejdet. Et nummer som Nothing Gulch er et fremragende eksempel på det, med Jakobsdottir's indisk inspirerede percussion og en mundharpe midt i det hele, der sender et billede af en støvet western-by frem på nethinden.

Det er et band der har en stor integritet og originalitet. Dette er en meget anbefalelsesværdig plade.

Jazznyt - July 2008

Haftor Medbøe Group - NEW:HAPPY

Norwegian guitarist Haftor Medbøe is a well established figure on the music scene in his adopted Scotland. He continues to evolve his exploration of evocative jazz-rooted but pop-aware instrumental forms in this latest outing with his fine group, now featuring Danish bass player Eva Malling.

Medbøe's new compositions pay characteristically careful attention to intricacies of musical texture and timbre with interwoven electronic effects, but the slower moving and more impressionistic elements are balanced by highly energised accelerations that raise both the temperature and momentum of the music.

The guitarist's own focused soloing is augmented by powerful contributions from two of the best horn players on the current Scottish jazz scene, Konrad Wiszniewski (sax) and Chris Greive (trombone), while Malling and the Icelandic percussionist Signy Jakobsdottir add both shimmering colour and rhythmic drive according to the shifting demands of the music.

KENNY MATHIESON - The Scotsman - Friday 25th July 2008

Haftor Medbøe Group - NEW:HAPPY

Guitarist and composer Haftor Medboe delivers with his latest album New: Happy an engaging assortment of Contemporary jazz compositions. Performed with Konrad Wiszniewski, Chris Greive, Eva Malling, Signy Jakobsdottir and guest Tommy Harmonica this album is a startling group work The music shows a great interplay inside the collective. Notable is trombonist Chris Greive, who sets a wonderful groove.

Haftor Medboe Group appeal is hearted within its conjunctive brew to interact heterogeneous styles into a special musical atmosphere that conveys feathered soundscapes. The sextet channels through the eight pleasant pieces via enacted harmonies and nicely sound spaces. The music of this album defines a unique style which blends elements of Contemporary jazz with high energy and artistry. Konrad Wiszniewski and Chris Greive create an exchange of swing while the guitar explores the tunes “New : Happy”, “These Little Things”, “Fri Bo”, “Tys Tys” with a dreamy mood. Brilliant are the voices of Greive on trombone and Wiszniewski playing the saxophones on “Heartrush.” On this, Haftor Medbøe adds a notch of tension.

Haftor Medboe is an artist very active on the Scottish scene, supported by Scottish Arts Council; his voice fits perfectly in wide contexts. This wonderful release New: Happy conveys great music reaching fulfillment and intensity. Highly recommended.

DR. ANA ISABEL ORDONEZ - Jazz Review.com - July 2008

Haftor Medbøe Group, Jazz Centre @ The Lot

Not so much Jazz Centre @ the Lot here as jazz creche as guitarist Haftor Medboe's Danish guest, double-bassist Eva Malling's five-year-old daughter slept the sleep of the innocent in the curtained-off section they call the green room. That the youngster didn't stir says more about her tiredness than her quarters because Medboe's group, while gentle in parts and never likely to be labelled heavy metal, didn't exactly hold back when it came to the crunch, in Medboe's case literally.

The Edinburgh-based Norwegian-rooted guitarist doesn't hog the limelight. His compositions, often with the strong folk influence of much Nordic jazz, are designed to create a mood and feature the two main voices, Konrad Wiszniewski's tenor saxophone and Chris Greive's muscular trombone.

We were four tunes in before Medboe soloed, carefully threading his thoughts together, although in the second half he featured more heavily, working a staccato chord sequence and a jubilant melody into a sampled and layered solo on one piece and using distortion to considerable effect on another.

With Wiszniewski showing the form he's in these days, it's little wonder that Medboe, as a composer, finds him inspiring. His tone, out of the Brecker-Garbarek axis but warmer, is magnificent and his solo-building combines thematic understanding with an exuberance that really lifts the music as whole. New:Happy, the title track of Medboe's latest album with its melody reminiscent of Keith Jarrett's Scandinavian quartet, featured a particularly notable example of Wiszniewski in spate. Generally, though, this was a group effort, with Malling providing a melodic backbone and percussionist Signy Jacobsdottir adding colour or clout as required.

ROB ADAMS - Glasgow Herald - Friday 2nd November 2007

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

On the 3" CD, Birdsongs, Haftor Medboe and Susan McKenzie wove delicate spells of ambient altered jazz that were soothing, meditative and invigorating. Now expanded to a full group, Haftor's compositions draw upon a wider palette to bring together jazz, broken electro-funk, vast, sweeping string sections and electronics with little regard for genre or contrivance, and in doing so Medboe avoid a lot of the perceived limits of jazz without sacrificing beauty and melody for freedom, as liberated music is so often forced to.

'In Perpetuity' is a perfect showcase for Haftor's vision. As well as McKenzie's haunting soprano sax, the band also features Chris Greive on trombone, and the distant almost-calypso drumming of Signy Jakobsdottir which blends in more as important intergral piece of the pie than a mere thumping backbeat.

Also on board helping raise the bar are the Edinburgh Quartet whose strings illuminate the songs in a magnificent manner. It's a Super Audio CD and absolutely meticulously produced, which is to say, it sounds absolutely fantastic, every element coming through with a sublime clarity that few albums can match.

Haftor's guitar playing only occasionally touches upon traditional jazz language, moving through spaced out Morricone-esque spaghetti western, noise-surf to gorgeously lumbering rhythms.

But live, he shows himself to be a hugely entertaining performer as well, proving equally adept on electronics, with a rack of effect units stretching halfway across the stage, even playing a dictaphone through his guitar pickups at one point. The fact that he looks like Marc Ribot does little to dissuade comparison.

At The Lot-staged launch gig, Konrad Wiszniewski, stood in on saxophone, and although his playing is breathtakingly virtuosic, he seemed slightly at odds with the group, albeit partly due to the sound mix. Of course, the results of the live mix are difficult to compare to the pristine quality of the SACD.

But Haftor and Signy are a joy to watch, sculpting wondrous aquatic soundscapes equally capable of enthralling and grooving. This is music that truly transcends the genres it might be associated with, and ultimately is, however much purists might scoff, the perfect contemporary jazz.

Ali Maloney - the Skinny - April issue 2006

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

Diversity and innovation in music often comes when tender characters are cooking and swinging. Guitarist Haftor Medboe from Norway, mixes up different cultures, bringing into his new release the sundry voices of Scottish saxophonist Susan Mckenzie, Australian trombonist Chris Greive and Icelandic percussionist Signy Jakobsdottir. To this line up he has also added the famous Edinburgh String Quartet and Kenny MacDonald’s electronic knowledge.

In Perpetuity is the second album of the Medboe quartet. Recorded in Scotland (precisely in Edinburgh in 2004), this album fetches a jazzy, electro-funky rhythm coupled with an embroiled string section. Each voice is wonderfully heard and the arrangements are out-inspired.

Haftor Medboe’s release conveys stunning moments of classical and jazz hitched onto Metheny , Frisell and Reich-like influences. Furthermore, the album is sonically produced, outlandish and finicky.

Medboe is without a doubt a gifted guitarist able to paint soundscapes with his many different palettes. His cohort’s input is worth listening to. Susan Mckenzie’s soprano sound’s easy and lurid in whatever water she is testing, as on “Little Auk”, “Charivari” and “Teetotum”s introduction. Chris Greive’s languid trombone is accurate and poignant as on “Little Auk” and “Spor”. His horn is always marshalling with high skill punctuations. On "Little Auk", Medboe showcases the lofty, well-demeanoured strings, all at the hands of a grounded Signy Jakobsdottir’s percussion. Guitar and percussion endorsements are impressive on “Charivari”.

“Tetetotum” comes together in a dialogue, out of which kicks off a rising up upon the string background, providing intensification to this theme. In Perpetuity allows every section to burnish, both in the troupe’s work and being self-assured by Haftor Medboe’s proficient arranging abilities, and for solos, which take on the guitar. The Edinburgh String Quartet and Kenny MacDonald’s endowments are awesome from “Little Auk” to “Maikro”.

A dazzling venture into contemporary jazz!

Dr Ana Isabel Ordonez - www.jazzreview.com/cd/review-18086.html

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

You may call it contemporary music or symphonic jazz fusion or whatever you like but Haftor Medboe Group is much more than a melting pot. Sometimes abstract or melodic, experimental or minimalist, part modern, part classical, their last release, "In perpetuity" can be listened as a musical story about time and spaces, or it may be the music for your next mental movie populated with colours impressions and... memories of Brian Eno or Bill Frisell. Placed between composition and improvisation, strange experimental folkish harmonies alternate with interludes of crystalline Mediterranean melodies, or more aggressive percussion bursts reinventing the balance of opposites of the musical universe.

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

WHERE once jazz musicians were wary about the use of the label for fear of alienating potential customers, the current - and better - tack is to expand the meaning of the term. The group led by Edinburgh-based Norwegian guitarist Medboe, with saxophonist Susan Mckenzie, Australian trombonist Chris Greive, and Icelandic percussionist Signy Jakobsdottir has a global sound to match the line-up. With strings provided by the Edinburgh Quartet, this is a very classy disc indeed and Medboe's compositions are as genre-defying as the production. This Scottish combo sits happily in the same contemporary bag as the Bad Plus, Bill Frisell, and Esbjorn Svensson - all acts with whom Medboe's band has shared a stage.

Keith Bruce - Glasgow Herald - 15th April 2006

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

The Norweigan Haftor Medbøe, now resident in Edinburgh, performs in an international partnership drawn from Britain, Australia and Iceland, here reunited for their second recording with support from the Edinburgh Quartet. At first, his music appears to be ambient jazz, exploring backgrounds and textures, open-aspected and inventive. Soon it becomes more urban and filmic:Alain Delon, smoking his third Gauloise, moving moodily through the rain-swept streets of Paris. In some ways, his music recalls Philip Glass in his use of themes and strong rhythms that develop over time. Written in Edinburgh in 2004, this is performed with skill on a variety of instruments and definitely worth the plunge.

Alexander Bryce - Scotland on Sunday, 2nd April 2006

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

Lacing electronic Scandinavian "nu jazz" with classical strings and lyrical improvisation, In Perpetuity feels like a set of sound portraits. The meeting between the sinuous strings of the Edinburgh Quartet and Medboe's musical arrangements turn a corner - the gorgeous "Spor" for example is a sophisticated number, almost trip hop in its moodiness. Trombonist Chris Greive is an excellent soloist although the leader shows off his delicate Metheny colours on the melancholic "Hop Skip". Medboe's classical leanings create soundscapes that are alternatively eerie or quirkily romantic... at its best, In Perpetuity weaves a delicate web.

Jazzwise - May 2006

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

Another Edinburgh based band, Haftor Medbøe is a guitarist and composer really doing something different. This album heavily features Susan Mckenzie on soprano saxophone, a player with a classical background, but utterly at home with this type of intense jazz. They are joined by Chris Greive on trombone, Signy Jakobsdottir on percussion (a one-woman percussion section!) and the Edinburgh Quartet on strings. Despite the unusual line up, there's a really coherent sound - the sax & trombone trading lines across the disjointed angular guitar/percussion backings in the middle of this track flow as well as if there was a conventional funk groove. Live, this band puts on some of the best gigs I've seen too - highly recommended.

The Pickles - jazznoises.blogspot.com - 29th March 2006

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

Liberating jazz with classical curtseys and subtle electronic poking is perhaps the most accurate way to describe the music of the Edinburgh based Haftor Medbøe Group. A sugary sax weaves a syrupy trail over well-mannered strings and close to ground percussion on "Little Auk". The pretty "Spor" receives a pulse from its percussion, which sits contently under flexing guitars and flourishing strings. "In Perpetuity" stretches out, as guitar notes are plucked over a bed of level brass, shining strings and melodica kisses.

John Freer - mosoul.co.uk - 24th January 2006

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

THIS group's debut on Linn is a swansong for the former line-up, in which the guitarist Medboe is joined by soprano saxophonist Susan Mckenzie, trombonist Chris Greive and percussionist Signy Jakobsdottir, with additional strings from the Edinburgh Quartet and programming by Kenny MacDonald. Mckenzie's strength is the purity of her sound, and Medboe's semi-impressionistic compositions make clever use of the interplay between the instruments.

Kenny Mathieson - The Scotsman - April 2006

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

Glasgow-based (?) guitarist Haftor Medbøe makes his recording debut for Linn Records with this disc, although the line-up of the band has changed since it was recorded last year. This recording features soprano saxophonist Susan Mckenzie, who has recently given way to the very different Konrad Wiszniewski.

Her almost classical purity of sound on soprano provides a nice contrast with Chris Greive's trombone, and the guitarist's diverse, self-impressionistic compositions make clever use of contrasting shades of instrumental timbre and textures. Percussionist Signy Jakobsdottir completes the band, with guest contributions from the strings of the Edinburgh Quartet and subtle programming by Kenny MacDonald.

Kenny Mathieson - The List - May 2006

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

[The] opener Little Auk offers a mellow, summery stroll, thoroughly enhanced by expert orchestration and well-levelled strings, percussion and a tenor sax lead which HMG seem to use almost like a lead vocalist. Spor brings more conviction and funk and again demonstrates the real craft of HMG, in particular a splendidly dancing middle section, featuring invitees on strings, The Edinburgh Quartet. Their addition augments the contemporary element of HMG's music and no doubt increases the possibilities.

TEQ cement their influence on the album with a fantastically sinister string stramash that opens Teetotum, TGR's favourite track on the album. Clarinet, trumpet, sax, melodica and maybe even flute vie for attention at the forefront of a toothed, disfigured track, invoking feelings of tension, madness and overpowering darkness. The title track follows, conjuring a wispy, almost numb landscape in which to find respite from the previous lunacy. Flowing, dreamy, echoed effects confirm HMG's passion for production as well as performance.

The Glasgow Reviewer - July 2006

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

Gitaristen Haftor Medbøe er bosatt i Edinburgh, men som navnet røper, er han nordmann. I bandet sitt har han med Susan McKenzie på sax, Chris Greive på trombone og Signy Jakobsdottir på trommer. I tillegg er en strykekvartett fra Edinburgh med på dette albumet. Kenny Macdonald med sine programmeringer skal heller ikke glemmes.

Sammensetningen av musikere fører til en musikalsk miks som kan virke noe uklar i profilen, Medbøe prøver å skape en syntese mellom elementer fra klassisk musikk. elektronika og mer tradisjonell melodiøs jazz. I mine ører blir dette litt sprikende. Gode prestasjoner og spennende øyeblikk er det nok av, men det er verre å finne et tydelig helhetlig grep.

Likevel er dette en plate som viser at Medbøe tør å satse på å jobbe utradisjonelt med uttrykket sitt. Han er ekperimentell i en litt annen retning enn mange av de mer søkende yngre musikerne vi kjenner til i Norge. Derfor er det grunn til å merke seg gitaristen, komponisten og bandlederen som også er jazz musician in residence ved Napier-universitet i Edinburgh.

Olav Gorseth - BergensTidene - January 2007

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

DEN norske gitaristen Haftor Medbøe har slått seg ned i Edinburgh, der han er «Jazz musician in residence» ved Napier-universitetet. Han har komponert musikk for TV. film og teater, og ikke minst for sin egen kvartett som er i ferd med å få et visst ry. På «In Perpetuity», hans andre album som omsider er klart for norsk utgivelse, består bandet av den skotske saksofonisten Susan Mckenzie, den australske trombonisten Chris Greive og den islandske perkusjonisten Signy Jakobsdottir, og i tillegg bidrar strykekvartetten The Edinburgh Quartet og elektronikamusikeren Kenny MacDonald.

Musikken virker først og fremst melodibasert, gjennomkomponert og omhyggelig arrangert. Komponist/arrangør Medbøe gir likevel romslig plass for solistisk utfoldelse, rom som særlig Mckenzie (sopran og melodika) og Greive fyller på habilt vis. Medbøes gitar opererer lenger tilbake i lydbildet, men er likevel en klanglig viktig brikke i denne musikken der ekko av såvel kammerjazz som funk også inngår i den overveiende rolige, nesten kontemplative stemningen.

DAGBLADET - January 2007

Haftor Medbøe Group - In Perpetuity

Som vikingene fant gitarist og komponist Haftor Medbøe veien til de britiske øyer. Til forskjell fra sine forfedre har Medbøe hatt en mer forsonende og imøtekommende tone. Dette har resultert i flere skotske venner og sammen med disse utgjør han Haftor Medbøe Group. Deres andre plate «in perpetuity» tar med lytteren inn i evigheten, et eksperiment i klangvariasjoner kombinert med folketoner, elektronikk og improvisasjon. Gitaren er hovedinstrumentet, men de to blåserne (Susan Mckenzie - sopransaksofon og Chris Greive –trombone) sammen med strykerne (The Edinburgh Quartet) har fremtredende roller som solister og musikalsk grunnfjell. Man kann nærmest fornemme det skotske landskapet når man hører plata. Høye fjell, frodige mosegrønne daler, åpne landskaper, sjøsprøyt, slott, middelalder og en pittoresk pub med… ja, whiskey. Det er med andre ord melodiøst og forankret i tradisjonelle musikalske uttrykk, men uten at musikken på noen måte kan sammenlignes med tradisjonell pubmusikk. Musikken har mer et kammermusikkpreg, noe The Edinburgh Quartet i stor grad har skylden for. Musikken og gjennomføringen er fri og uten bindinger, men framstår samtidig som strukturert og vell gjennomført.

«In perpetuity»er en absolutt hørverdig plate.

Lars Rønn - Jazznyt January 2007

Biographies

Haftor Medbøe is Jazz Musician in Residence at Napier University Edinburgh, where he lectures in composition and improvisation as well as directing the big band and various extramural courses. As composer, he has scored award winning music for more than a dozen film and television productions as well as delivering numerous commissions for contemporary dance and theatre projects. Haftor has toured Scandinavia, France and USA as both side-man and band leader and performed regularly at international jazz festivals at home and abroad.