Friday, December 18, 2020

Frode Gjerstad Galore

By Stef Gijssels

Some people profit from the lockdown to clean up their house, others to clean up their archives. Norwegian saxophonist Frode Gjerstad is clearly in the second category, even if his archiving virus started well before the pandemic. 

The art work above shows the time span of this archival effort. "Afternoon Tea" is a duo performance by Gjerstad and guitarist Ferdinand Bergstrøm, recorded in Gjerstad's home on December 4 of this year and released on December 13. As fresh as it can be, and so is the music. It is direct, intimate and it sounds as if the audience is in the room with them, with a very good sound balance between the acoustic guitar and the sax. Even if this is not breaking new ground musically, it is a fun and pleasant album to listen to. 

The second illustration is of a performance by Gjerstad, William Parker and Hamid Drake, dating from the year 2000. It's the second set of a concert, and by itself it already lasts more than an hour. This trio with Parker and Drake has produced some of the best albums by the Norwegian, and it is great to hear this music for the first time. The list also presents the trio at various occassions during their long career, and it's a real treat to have it available. 

I am sure that the list below is still incomplete. He released new material not only on his own Circulasione Totale label but also on some other labels and platforms. 

It is all a little much to digest, but on the other hand it allows fans for some cherry-picking, identifying their preferred musicians and ensembles, such as Detail, Calling Signals, the Circulasione Totale Orchestra or mainstays of the free jazz scene such as Peter Brötzmann, Steve Swell, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Johnny Dyani, John Stevens, Bobby Bradford, Paul Rutherford, and many more ...

Enjoy and ... listen in moderation. 

  1. Bobby Bradford, Frode Gjerstad, Kent Carter, John Stevens - Blue Cat (NoBusiness Records, 2019)
  2. Frode Gjerstad & Dag Magnus Narvesen ‎– Live At Tou (FMR, 2019)
  3. Frode Gjerstad & Jeffrey H. Shurdut ‎– The Continuous Broken Flow (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  4. Frode Gjerstad - Hasselt Complete (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  5. Frode Gjerstad, Fred Lonberg-Holm & Matthew Shipp - Season of Sadness (Iluso, 2019)
  6. Frode Gjerstad - The Continuous Broken Flow (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  7. Frode Gjerstad & Fred Lonberg-Holm - Two birds, One Stone (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  8. Frode Gjerstad & Peter Brötzmann - Soria Moria, Duo Tour 2003 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  9. Frode Gjerstad Trio - Fukuoka 2016 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  10. Frode Gjerstad, Borah Bergman - NY '95 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  11. Frode Gjerstad, David Watson, Kevin Norton - Tipple '14 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  12. Frode Gjerstad, Eivin One Pedersen, Kevin Norton - The Walk (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  13. Frode Gjerstad, Eivin Pedersen, John Stevens - X-Mas Cards 1&2 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  14. Frode Gjerstad, Fred Lonberg-Holm & Jon Rune Strøm - Seattle 2016 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  15. Frode Gjerstad, Hamid Drake, William Parker - At The Velvet Lounge Vol.1 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  16. Frode Gjerstad, Hamid Drake, William Parker - At The Velvet Lounge Vol.2 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  17. Frode Gjerstad, Hamid Drake, William Parker - In Memory Of Lester Bowie (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  18. Frode Gjerstad, Hamid Drake, William Parker - On Reade Street (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  19. Frode Gjerstad, Han Bennink - Belleville '08 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  20. Frode Gjerstad, Jon Rune Strøm, Øyvind Storesund, Paal Nilssen-Love - Okayama '19 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  21. Frode Gjerstad, Jon Rune Strøm, Paal Nilssen-Love - Gromka '13 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  22. Frode Gjerstad, Kevin Norton, David Watson - Game Over (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  23. Frode Gjerstad, Lasse Marhaug - Red Edge (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  24. Frode Gjerstad, Øyvind Storesund, Jon Rune Strøm, Paal Nilssen-Love - Spot Tavern, Lafayette 2018 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  25. Frode Gjerstad, Øyvind Storesund, Paal Nilssen-Love - Last First (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  26. Frode Gjerstad, Øyvind Storesund, Paal Nilssen-Love & Jeb Bishop - Weaving (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  27. Frode Gjerstad, Øyvind Storesund, Paal Nilssen-Love & Peter Brøtzmann - Molde '02 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  28. Frode Gjerstad, Paal Nilssen-Love, Øyvind Storesund, Jon Rune Strøm - The Door (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  29. Frode Gjerstad, Paul Rutherford, Nick Stephens, Terje Isungset - Sheffield '95 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  30. Frode Gjerstad, Paul Rutherford, Nick Stephens, Terje Isungset - The Vortex (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  31. Frode Gjerstad, Peter Brøtzmann, Øyvind Storesund, Paal Nilssen-Love - Live At The Empty Bottle (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  32. Frode Gjerstad, Sabir Mateen - Good Question (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  33. Frode Gjerstad, Sabir Mateen, Paal Nilssen-Love & Peter Friis-Nilssen - Head Of Fish (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  34. Frode Gjerstad, Steve Swell, Fred Lonberg-Holm, William Parker - New Shoes (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  35. Frode Gjerstad,Steve Noble, Jon Rune Strøm, Pat Thomas - Oslo, MIR 16 (Circulasione Totale, 2019)
  36. Fresh Dust Trio - Hilarious Experts (FMR, 2019)
  37. Frode Gjerstad, Bjørnar Habbestad, Fred Lonberg-Holm - Gjerstadhabbestadlonberg​-​holm (Circulasione Totale, 2020)
  38. Frode Gjerstad, Jon Rune Strøm, Paal Nilssen-Love - Pyramide Club '15 (Circulasione Totale, 2020)
  39. Frode Gjerstad, N.Stephens, Øyvind Storesund, L. Moholo-Moholo, P. Nilssen-Love - Double Trio Minus One (Circulasione Totale, 2020)
  40. Frode Gjerstad, Paul Rutherford, Nick Stephens, Terje Isungset - Artic Fire (Circulasione Totale, 2020)
  41. Frode Gjerstad, Hamid Drake, William Parker - Leer 1 (Circulasione Totale, 2020)
  42. Frode Gjerstad, Hamid Drake, William Parker - Leer 2 (Circulasione Totale, 2020)
  43. Frode Gjerstad & Jon Rune Strom & Paal Nilssen-Love - Valparaiso '17 (Circulasione Totale, 2020)
  44. Frode Gjerstad, Jon Rune Strøm, Paal Nilssen-Love - Big Apple, Kobe '19 (Circulasione Totale, 2020)
  45. Frode Gjerstad, Marc Unternährer, Frank Rosaly - Frode Gjerstad Tuba Trio (Circulasione Totale, 2020)
  46. Bobby Bradford, Frode Gjerstad, Ingebrigt Haken Flaten & Paal Nilssen-Love - Kampen Complete Vol 1 & Vol 2 (Circulasione Totale,2020)
  47. Frode Gjerstad Trio + 1 ‎– Forgotten City (PNL, 2020)
  48. Frode Gjerstad Trio - Microconcierto Vol. XIII (Acéfalo Records, 2020)
  49. Frode Gjerstad, Johnny Dyani, John Stevens, + Paul Rutherford, Barry Guy - A Concert DETAIL + (Circulasione Totale, 2020)
  50. Frode Gjerstad, Fred Lonberg-Holm, William Parker & Steve Swell - Tales From (Fundacja Słuchaj, 2020)
  51. Frode Gjerstad & Steve Noble - MIR Duo-12 (Circulasione Totale, 2020)
  52. Frode Gjerstad, Jon Rune Strøm, Paal Nilssen-Love - Beachland Ballroom (Circulasione Totale, 2020)
  53. Frode Gjerstad, Jon Rune Strøm, Paal Nilssen-Love - New Zealand Beach (Circulasione Totale, 2020)
  54. Nigel Coombes, Nick Stephens & Frode Gjerstad - Telling Tales (Loose Torque, 2020)
  55. Frode Gjerstad, Steve Swell, Jon Rune Strøm, Paal Nilssen Love - Red Leaves 
  56. Frode Gjerstad, Luis Conde, Fabiana Galante, Dag Erik Knedal Andersen - Moon In The Tree
  57. Frode Gjerstad, Jon Rune Strøm, Øyvind Storesund, Paal Nilssen-Love - Fukuoka-19
  58. Frode Gjerstad, Marc Unternährer, Frank Rosaly - First Gig
  59. Frode Gjerstad, William Parker, Hamid Drake - Minneapolis, Vol. 1
  60. Frode Gjerstad, William Parker, Hamid Drake - Minneapolis, Vol. 2
  61. Frode Gjerstad, Kristian Lien Enkerud, Laurits Husø, Michael Lee - Seeds
  62. Frode Gjerstad, Ferdinand Bergstrøm - Afternoon Tea

The full and updated list can be listened and downloaded from Bandcamp

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Phew

Reinhard said...

just gave a quick listen to some of these and, well, i guess i know what i'll be doing over christmas... x-mas cards and leer 1 are absolute stunners

Captain Hate said...

I'll shortly download the Beachland Ballroom concert since I was in attendance and it was the first time I saw and heard Jon Rune Strøm. Frode has played in Cleveland for years and has had a series of excellent bass players but there was something special about Strøm that drove Frode and PNL to new levels. Frode agreed with that in conversations (he's very willing to talk to any fans including extensive email replies) and it was the beginning of a long relationship.

Captain Hate said...

Just to point out the Bandcamp link takes you to Frode's page where you can find everything on Circulasione Totale or self released. The others on NoBusiness and other labels can be found on the labels Bandcamp sites.

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