Bodil & Borge
Norwegian Bodil Niska is one of the few female tenor saxophone artists around to work in the tradition of jazz legends such as Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims or Coleman Hawkins. Her tone is soft, yet powerful and soulfully expressive. Her musical approach takes the legacy from the golden years of jazz into the 21st. century.
In 1998 Bodil embarked on a solo career with the help and support of jazz legend / piano player / composer / arranger Egil Kapstad. With the incredible bass player Bjørn Alterhaug and Swedish drummer par excellence Pelle Hultén their longtime musical friendship was instrumental in producing Bodil's first solo album First Song in 2000.
First Song went on to became the best selling jazz album in its genre in 2000. The cover for First Song was inspired by Dexter Gordon's famous cover on Ballads and is a tribute to him, his music and his inspiration.
Bodil's latest CD Blue is a labour of love and has taken a long time to plan and put together. In her liner notes she says:
"In jazz, the melody is often used only as a tool for improvisation and invention. Freeing yourself from the the confines of the melody is sometimes considered to be the very essence of jazz.
Personally, I am always touched by a good melodic line, phrase or mood. So on this album I have tried to stay as true to the melody as I could, to clear away some of the musical dust - to find my way back."
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