«Over the last couple of years in New York one method for deciding where to hear jazz on a given night has been to track down the pianist Kris Davis.» New York Times
For the first time one of the key performers on the vibrant New York scene – Kris Davis – is joined by three of Scandinavia’s most sought after musicians. Despite her young age, she has already made a name for herself with her trio comprising Tom Rainey and John Hebert, and through her collaboration with Tyshawn Sorey and Ingrid Laubrock in Paradoxical Frog. She was recently voted second best performer in Downbeat’s list of most promising jazz performers internationally. Davis composes and performs music in the border landscape of modern jazz and contemporary music, a terrain that has given rise to her band’s name – Inland Empire.
In recent years Davis and drummer Øyvind Skarbø have met several times to plan what has now become Inland Empire. The compositions by all band members are treated democratically and with a minimum of bureaucracy. Complete equality. Anarchic outbursts are, however, entirely permissible.
Line-up: Kris Davis – piano, Øyvind Skarbø – drums, Fredrik Ljungkvist – saxophone/clarinet, Ole Morten Vågan – bass