The Jan Harbeck Quartet play modern acoustic jazz with a warm, accessible and expressive delivery. In 2008, the quartet received a Danish Grammy for their release ‘In the Still of the Night’ and they have since become one of the best selling Danish instrumental jazz groups. The quartet play a mix of Harbeck’s compositions and selected lesser-known jazz standards with a focus on strong melody and irresistible swing alongside heart-wrenching melancholic blues.
“The tenor saxophone is the sound of jazz. The soul of the music. Once Copenhagen had Ben Webster to blow that soul to life. Now we have Jan Harbeck.” – Politiken 10/7 2010...
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The Jan Harbeck Quartet play modern acoustic jazz with a warm, accessible and expressive delivery. In 2008, the quartet received a Danish Grammy for their release ‘In the Still of the Night’ and they have since become one of the best selling Danish instrumental jazz groups. The quartet play a mix of Harbeck’s compositions and selected lesser-known jazz standards with a focus on strong melody and irresistible swing alongside heart-wrenching melancholic blues.
“The tenor saxophone is the sound of jazz. The soul of the music. Once Copenhagen had Ben Webster to blow that soul to life. Now we have Jan Harbeck.” – Politiken 10/7 2010
The band’s latest release ‘Variations in Blue’ features American sax star Walter Smith III. The album was highly acclaimed by the press and the world’s leading jazz magazine DownBeat wrote the following:
“Danish saxist Jan Harbeck has put together a gorgeous set of bluesy standards, tangos and originals. Since the tracks are all unhurried – recorded live with no cuts or overdubs – the whole program slips down like a vintage port. Despite the familiarity of “Don’t Let the Sun…” and “Blues In the Night”, Harbeck’s originals fit the rundown like silk stockings, slowly unfurling.”
4 of 5 stars — Michael Jackson, DownBeat Magazine, March 2015.
The music is indebted to the jazz tradition, but each of the four musicians contribute their own personal modern-day take on the compositions. Henrik Gunde is one of the most in-demand Danish jazz musicians with his eloquent virtuoso piano playing, bassist Eske Nørrelykke is the backbone of the quartet with his unique minimalistic style, whilst Anders Holm unites swing and groove with charisma and understated finesse at the drums. The quartet are able to create an intimate world with a perfect acoustically balanced sound, where nothing comes between the audience and the musicians.
Danish newspaper ‘Politiken’ describes Jan Harbeck Quartet’s show at Copenhagen Jazz Festival, in a review by music editor Thomas Michelsen: “Harbeck demonstrated, that nobody can put their soul into a jazz ballad like he can”.
Jan Harbeck and Henrik Gunde will be receiving the Ben Webster Prize 2018!
Jan
Jan Harbeck er blevet kaldt én af de ypperste blandt
danske saxofonister. Han hører til den gruppe af
jazzmusikere, som bekender sig til den store tradition fra
swingtiden, men er samtidig med til at forny genren og give
den et personligt præg.” - DR K
Jan Harbeck Quartet spiller moderne akustisk jazz
med et varmt, nærværende og personligt udtryk. I
2008 modtog Jan Harbeck Quartet en Grammy
for ‘In the Still of the Night’ som Årets Jazzplade
og har siden været blandt de bedst sælgende
danske instrumentale jazzgrupper. Kvartetten
spiller en blanding af Harbecks egne kompositioner og udvalgte jazzstandards af den mere sjældne
art. Fælles for dem er dog, at den stærke melodi og den til tider melankolske dramatik er i centrum.
Den seneste udgivelse ‘Variations in Blue’, der er skabt i samarbejde med den amerikanske
stjernesaxofonist Walter Smith III, blev taget virkelig godt imod af pressen. Verdens førende
jazzmagasin DownBeat skrev følgende:
‘Danish saxist Jan Harbeck has put together a gorgeous set of bluesy standards, tangos and originals. Since
the tracks are all unhurried - recorded live with no cuts or overdubs - the whole program slips down like a
vintage port. Despite the familiarity of “Don’t Let the Sun…” and “Blues In the Night”, Harbeck’s
originals fit the rundown like silk stockings, slowly unfurling.’
4 ud af 5 stjerner — Michael Jackson, DownBeat Magazine marts 2015
Musikken bekender sig til jazzens historie og har samtidig et personligt særpræg, hvor hver af de fire
musikere bidrager til helheden. Pianist Henrik Gunde er med sit nærværende og virtuose spil en af
de mest efterspurgte danske jazzmusikere, bl.a. som medlem af Danmarks Radios Big Band og en
lang række mindre ensembler. Bassist Eske Nørrelykke farver hele bandet med sin unikke
minimalistiske spillestil, og Anders Holm på trommer forener råswing og groove med finesse og
underspillethed. Kvartetten formår at skabe et intimt rum med en akustisk balanceret lyd, hvor intet
står mellem publikum og musikere.
5 hjerter i Politiken - anmeldelse af koncert med Jan Harbeck Quartet på Copenhagen Jazzfestival,
musikredaktør Thomas Michelsen: ”Kapelmester Harbeck selv demonstrerede, at der bare ikke er nogen, der kan
lægge sjæl i en jazzballade som han”, og tidligere i samme avis kunne man læse at ”tenorsaxofon er selve lyden
af jazzen. Genrens sjæl. Engang havde vi Ben Webster i København til at blæse sjælen til live. I dag har vi Jan Harbeck”.
www.janharbeck.com
www.instagram.com/janharbeck
www.facebook.com/jharbeck
Jan Harbeck Quartet: Petite Fleur, Live at PizzaExpress Jazz Club, London, 21 September 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r40tRI4aHuE
Jan Harbeck Quartet - Sing Sing Sing, Live at PetroJazz Festival 2016, Saint Petersburg, Russia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32M7Ba4GgGA
Jan Harbeck Quartet live at Copenhagen Jazz festival - performing on Danish national television
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfmolIRtP-w&t=31s
1 ”East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” (Bubber Miley/Duke Ellington) - ”Jan Harbeck Quartet feat. Walter Smith III - Variations in Blue” Stunt Records:
2 ”Nordic Echoes” (Jan Harbeck) - ”Jan Harbeck Quartet feat. Walter Smith III - Variations in Blue” - Stunt Records:
https://soundcloud.com/jan-harbeck/jan-harbeck-variations-in-blue-nordic-echoes
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