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In The Country

In the country is a piano trio consisting of piano player Morten Qvenild, bass player Roger Arntzen and drummer Pål Hausken.

Morten Qvenild is probably best known for being the orchestra in Susanna and the Magical Orchestra but has plenty more to show for. He has been a member of both Shining and Jaga Jazzist and is since long a member of Solveig Slettahjell's Slow Motion Orchestra. He formed In The Country with fellow music students Roger Arntzen and Pål Hausken at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo in 2003. Since then they have been selected best young jazz artists in Norway, played concerts in Europe and USA and released their debut album This Was The Pace Of My Heartbeat (Rune Grammofon 2005) to much critical acclaim. Down Beat called it "one of the finest and most arresting albums to come out of Europe" that year, Mojo said "startling," Straight No Chaser said "fantastic," and a host of others followed.

Losing Stones, Collecting Bones is 11 Qvenild originals recorded in the legendary Atlantis Studio in Stockholm, home of the first classic Abba recordings. Avant-garde guitarist and downtown NYC icon Marc Ribot is participating on this record. Also the Swedish singer Stefan Sundstrom has joined forces with this unusual piano trio.

Photo Credit
Colin Eick

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326
Extended Analysis

In the Country: Sounds and Sights

Read "In the Country: Sounds and Sights" reviewed by John Kelman


In the Country Sounds and Sights Rune Grammofon 2011 Since releasing its 2005 debut, This Was the Pace of My Heartbeat, Rune Grammofon's In the Country has, in the softest, gentlest way possible, evolved its purview and sound world, establishing itself as a piano trio like no other. Through two more recordings, 2006's Losing Stones, Collecting Bones and 2009's more ambitiously expansive Whiteout, this young Norwegian trio has gradually shifted its angle without deserting ...

604
Album Review

In The Country: Whiteout

Read "Whiteout" reviewed by John Kelman


Terms like magnum opus can be dangerous, setting unrealistic expectations for the present and a precedent against which the future will always be measured. Whether or not this release represents a magnum opus is far too early to tell, but In The Country's Whiteout is certainly this Norwegian piano trio's most ambitious album to date, standing to supplant its debut, the marvelously understated This Was the Pace of My Heartbeat (Rune Grammofon, 2005), as its most compelling and evocative album ...

377
Album Review

In the Country: Losing Stones, Collecting Bones

Read "Losing Stones, Collecting Bones" reviewed by John Kelman


Leaving behind the staid piano trio tradition, In the Country broke new ground in 2005 with its Rune Grammofon debut, This Was the Pace of My Heartbeat. Unlike the more assertive Bad Plus and the generally more refined EST, this Norwegian trio managed to create a new paradigm for Grammofon's first self-described “jazz" record, one that was high on resonance and short on shtick. While the same could be said for EST's early days, they've become predictable lately--and in many ...

474
Album Review

In the Country: This Was the Pace of My Heartbeat

Read "This Was the Pace of My Heartbeat" reviewed by John Kelman


When Norwegian label Rune Grammofon announces (in the press release for the debut album by the piano trio In the Country) that “Rune Grammofon presents its first 'jazz' record," you know it's going to be a unique take on a well-worn tradition. No standards to be found here, and with an approach that intentionally steers away from emulating any kind of expected jazz tradition, This Was the Pace of My Heartbeat is nevertheless the most organic recording the label has ...

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243

Recording

Deep Cuts: George Benson "Valdez in the Country" (1976)

Deep Cuts: George Benson "Valdez in the Country" (1976)

Source: Something Else!

By Pico When we last visited a George Benson recording, it was about his remake of the still fresh-out-the-oven Abbey Road. Fast forward seven years later, to 1976: Benson had just ended his long and artistically successful stint with CTI Records, having been enticed back to the majors by Warner Brothers. Warners put Tommy LiPuma in charge of producing Benson's records and the relationship, which spanned four years and four albums, transformed the guitarist/singer from a jazz star to a ...

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Sunset Sunrise

Unknown label
2013

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Sounds And Sights

Unknown label
2011

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In the Country:...

Rune Grammofon
2011

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Whiteout

Rune Grammofon
2009

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Losing Stones,...

Rune Grammofon
2006

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This Was The Pace Of...

Rune Grammofon
2005

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