Om utgivelsen
The Bjørn Alterhaug Quartet – featuring Erlend Vangen Kongtorp on tenor saxophone, Vigleik Storaas on piano, Tom Olstad on drums, and Bjørn Alterhaug on double bass – was formed two years ago.
This recording grew out of a four-day tour organized by the Mid-Norwegian Jazz Center. The approach was inspired by classic LPs from the 1950s–70s, when sessions often took place in a single day. Our studio session lasted about six hours – essentially a musical experiment. “Blame It On My Youth” was one of the pieces recorded at Øra Studio in Trondheim on October 6, 2025. Based on that studio experience and the more private reflections of an 80-year-old, I chose the album title “Blame It on My Age.” At my age, it’s not unusual to think about one’s own physical changes over time. The answer is often clear: everything moves more slowly than before. Shakespeare expressed this inevitable change beautifully: “Old age crept up on me; one day I found myself in its clutches. It carried me to another land, where I was no longer the same.”
Unexpected thoughts have crossed my mind – even giving up playing altogether. Especially after the stroke in 2017, when my index and middle fingers simply refused to obey the musical “commands” from my brain. A long and laborious process began to get my fingers and brain to play together again.
Supportive musicians helped me through a tough period of doubt and uncertainty about whether I could continue playing bass. After five or six years, I felt I had reached a musical level that seemed acceptable to me – and, according to my fellow players, was not a hindrance to them. That felt good.
The sound of deep bass tones has been a passion – perhaps even an obsession – ever since I strummed my older brother’s double bass at the age of eight or nine. This curiosity was tied to exploring the sensual, aesthetic, and existential aspects of music making. Of course, always together with others: creating in the moment, in real time,
which brings joy, insight, learning, and knowledge – not only about music, but about how human interaction unfolds when concentration and collaboration work. I believe passion and motivation can even be healthy, bridging age differences in real-time interaction.
Not least with my fellow players on this album: Erlend (28), Vigleik (63), and Tom (72). The quartet spans generations in a way that is truly special. Here lies the opportunity for our stories and experiences from different times and places to meet, collide, and create something unexpected.
Our music – jazz – is rooted in a long and diverse tradition, one that is never static but always in motion. Passing it on in a generous and creative way, so that the best in each individual can be brought out through interaction, is one of the most important aspects of this art form. Jazz also shares many parallels with life itself: education, politics, social development – where presence, attentiveness, and give-and-take for the common good are essential. In short, it is a participatory and democratic art form. With such existential and human qualities, I believe jazz deserves far greater attention and recognition in today’s world than it currently receives.
Finally, one important person must be mentioned; Celio Barros of Sao Paulo, now running “Klarlyd Studio” in Haltdalen, Trøndelag. His post-production, mixing, creative input, and good humour has been invaluable. Thank you, Celio!
Musikere
Bjørn Alterhaug - Bass
Erlend Vangen Kongtorp - Tenorsaxofon
Vigleik Storaas - Piano
Tom Olstad - Trommer
