Nastro Music Review
Great skill as well as great simplicity: this is the essence of the latest production signed Haftor Medboe. He's a norwegian guitarist and composer, and works mainly in Edinburgh, in both jazz and contemporary classical context.
An instant of New:Happy is enough to enter the lightly enchanted, almost mystical atmosphere, underlined by an incessant rhythm with tribal features (thanks to the versatiliy of Signy Jakobsdottir, percussionist from Iceland). All of this follows each track, leading to intense moments of spasmodic tension that always resolve in a return to the origin, tranquility.
The genre is hard to define: it's a very unique crossover, with a strong jazz foundation (the moments of improvisation are dominant), but well aware of the latest developments of popular music. Traces of rock, pop, folk add to this work, and make listeners, less familiar with "pure jazz", appreciate the magnificent sound these expert musicians manage to create.
None of this would be possible without the first class solos by saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski and trombonist Chris Grieve's, the strenght and finesse in Eva Malling's double bass, and last but not least, Haftor Medboe's virtuosity, as a composer and as a skilled musician. Heartily recommended.
James Massaglia - Nastro Music Webzine - November 2008
