Mezzoforte Kongsberg Jazzfestival 2017 (230400)

Mezzoforte is an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creatio ...

fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

from Iceland, formed in 1977.Larkin, Colin (1997) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music'', Virgin Books, , p. 321 They signed a record deal with Icelandic label

Steinar Steinar Baldursson, known by the mononym Steinar (born 1995) is a singer and songwriter. Steinar was born in Grafarvogur, a district of Reykjavík. He released his debut album ''Beginning'' in Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a No ...

. Their biggest

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

was "Garden Party" (1983), taken from their fourth album (second international release) Surprise Surprise. It peaked at number 17 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The solo that takes place two minutes into "Garden Party", was created and played on the flugelhorn by English trumpeter, Stephen Dawson. "Garden Party" was later covered by

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

, at a slower speed than the original, apparently as he had learned the track from the single played at the wrong speed. Another single, "Rockall" spent one week at number 75 in the same listing in June that year, and was used as a signature tune by several European radio chart shows. The band was named after the traditional

musical term A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...

mezzo forte is a 2000 original video animation (OVA) directed by Yasuomi Umetsu, but in the United States these OVAs are edited into an anime movie and released it on DVD on the same year. The OVA, which concerns a young woman, Mikura Suzuki, and her m ...

'', an instruction to play literally "moderately loud".

Band members

Original line-up from 1977: * Eyþór Gunnarsson – keyboards * Jóhann Ásmundsson – bass * Gunnlaugur Briem-Gulli Briem (Gulli) – drums *

Friðrik Karlsson Friðrik Karlsson is an Icelandic musician and songwriter. He studied classical and jazz/rock guitar and had success with the group Mezzoforte in 1983 with the U.K. top 20 hit, "Garden Party". He has contributed to the soundtracks of musical ...

(Frissi) – guitars Other members, present and past: *

Bruno Müller ''Obersturmbannführer'' Bruno Müller or Brunon Müller-Altenau (13 September 1905 – 1 March 1960) served as an SS Lieutenant Colonel during the Nazi German invasion of Poland. In September 1939, he was put in charge of the ''Einsatzkomma ...

– guitars (2005–present) * Sebastian Studnitzky – trumpet & keyboards (2005–present) * Thomas Dyani – percussion (2004–present) * Jonas Wall – saxophones (2013–present) * Ari Bragi Karason – trumpet *

Staffan William-Olsson Staffan William-Olsson (born 13 December 1959) is a Swedish jazz guitarist in the band The Real Thing who has worked with Bob Berg, Lee Konitz, and Palle Mikkelborg. Career He played piano, guitar and drums already at the age of 7, and stud ...

– guitars (2003–2004) * Joel Palsson – saxophones (2003) * Guðmundur Pétursson – guitars (2003) * Óskar Guðjónsson – saxophones (1996–2003, 2005–2013) *

Kåre Kolve Kåre Kolve (born 10 August 1964) is a Norwegians, Norwegian jazz musician (saxophone), and the older brother of the vibraphonist Ivar Kolve. He is known as bandleader of his own Kåre Kolve Quartet, several album releases and the collaborations ...

– saxophones (1991–1994) * Björn Thorarensen – synthesizers (1980–1982) * Kristinn Svavarsson – saxophones (1982–1985) * David O'Higgins – saxophones (1985–1989, 2002–2004) * Jeroen De Rijk – percussion (1984–1986)

Band members

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Video albums

Singles

References

External links