Tellef Kvifte's "Upstairs in a Tent" Album: A Nordic Jazz Journey that Breaks Genre Barriers

Musical visionary Tellef Kvifte, from Norway, is back with "Upstairs in a Tent", the second album from Tellef's genre-travelling quartet, where contemporary jazz influences sometimes mix with Norwegian and Irish folk music. "Upstairs in a Tent" includes 11 tracks that explore Kvifte's unique identity as a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and long-time visionary in the Scandinavian music community.

The heartbeat in their music is the Eastern European woodwind instrument, the taragot (think soprano saxophone with a body made from wood instead of metal and the exciting harmonics of a clarinet). Kvifte plays the taragot with fluidity and soul, entwining serpentine melodies around Magnus Wiik's nimble guitar playing, Åsmund Reistad's dark and bass-heavy grooves, and Knut Kvifte Nesheim's tasteful percussion. The musical combination of the taragot, guitar, bass, and percussion is organic and polished, and the players' intent shines through in their combining of exposure and experience with their deep musical interplay and light mood.

Whereas their debut focused heavily on traditional tunes, the vast majority of "Upstairs in a Tent" demonstrates the group's ability to push the boundaries of arrangement, movement, and composition. Kvifte and the band create music described as sophisticated yet danceable, cerebral yet warmly human. While the song title and album title "Upstairs in a Tent" is a nod to an Irish tune that did not make the album, the whimsical nature lives on in the music.

For Tellef Kvifte, respected producer, educator, and cultural archivist, this new chapter has reclaimed some energy. Tellefs isn’t simply preserving tradition, but carrying it forward and building a sound which is as intimate as it is global.