— 30 years of music's soul language.
Last year's sold-out concert with Ytre Suløens Jass-ensemble inspired us to make the traditional aspects of jazz and folk music a summer tradition. With STREIF, we are featuring an ensemble that has, for 30 years, made precisely the traditional — yet innovative — their trademark.
When Georg Reiss and Tom Karlsrud recorded the album Streif in 1996, their idea was to demonstrate that the same soulfulness found in Jewish klezmer also exists in Norwegian folk music — that music, regardless of its origin, is the language of the soul. This summer, thirty years later, the original lineup reunites. Streif performs popular music in an expanded form, spanning from Turkey in the east to Sogn in the west. The Norwegian source material is treated as authentically as possible, while the Balkan tunes are given virtuosic, free, and improvisational scope. Welcome to one of the summer's most atmospheric evenings.
Georg Reiss clarinet, saxophone & tárogató
Torbjørn Økland guitar, mandolin, bouzouki & trumpet
Tom Karlsrud accordion & tenor horn
Birger Mistereggen percussion, vocals & harmonica
John Børge Askeland bass
Duration approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. The concert has no intermission.
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Georg Reiss is considered one of Norway's most versatile clarinetists — classically trained at the Norwegian Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music in London, but equally at home in jazz, dixieland, and folk music. With a highly developed sense of style and communication skills, he possesses a rare ability to adapt to any musical setting across cultures, whether it's with Magnolia Jazzband, Gjertruds Sigøynerorkester, or playing the tárogató — the Hungarian woodwind instrument where many believe he found his own voice. Reiss leads Streif, the ensemble he founded in 1996, and is a constant driving force in the band's search for new expressions.
Streif was an early pioneer in bringing traditional music into new contexts — a crossover that has since become a model for other bands in the same tonal landscape. The current lineup came together in 2000 and is behind the albums Trollfugl (2000) and Nøring (2004), the latter also released in Germany on the compilation album Nordic Winter. In addition to Reiss, the band consists of Torbjørn Økland on guitars, mandolin, bouzouki and trumpet, Tom Karlsrud on accordion and tenor horn, Birger Mistereggen on drums, percussion, vocals and jaw harp, and John Børge Askeland on bass. Together, they are improvisational musicians who take the listener to new musical landscapes — both surprising, catchy, emotionally charged, and full of humor. We are excited!
We wish you an enjoyable, unique concert experience with us. Welcome!
Photo: Runhild Heggem