Om utgivelsen
Im so proud of being able to present this fantastic line up of Friends and Heroes I have been so fortunate to hear and work with the last 10 years! The Bugge & Friends Project is all about presenting a community of music and international artists. All mixing jazz and electronic music together in a deep mutual respect and with a fascination for each others worlds.
After establishing my concept “The New Conception Of Jazz” in 1996 mixing my jazz background with the inspirations and admiration for electronic club music, I got in touch with a whole new and fantastic music scene. Mid 90ties is to me a small version of the late 60ties (my favorite period in music), with a great openness and will to experiment throughout genres and musical directions. This period has been leading to the most interesting mixes of electronic music and Jazz.
One of the first artists I met on my way was the great trumpeter Erik Truffaz from France. We started mixing musical elements around the same time, him in France, myself in Norway. Then we did our first tour together in 2000, him as guest in my group.
Going to clubs listening to great DJs was the factor that really started my fascination for club music. I found an audience worshipping music through dancing and movement instead of clapping after a good solo, but is just as dedicated and skilled in this type of music as the jazz audience that I was used to. The way those amazingly skilled DJs worked and created incredible dynamic energy with records blew me away totally. Their way of thinking of music reminded me of late 60ties Miles, Coltrane, Sun Ra stuff. Long tracks building great dynamic waves. By talking to the DJs I found a deeply rooted openness, curiosity and understanding for music, and we totally met in a common interest for music, from Jazz to experimental stuff.
Hearing Joaquin Joe Claussell live first time at Saturos Beyond Festival in Sapporo was all about that. What a fantastic DJ! Treating records like a percussion instrument the crowd went mad to say it mildly. So did I.
The fortune of being a musician carries me around the world and so I met Swedish/Turkish/American Saxophonist Ilhan Ersahin first time in one of the greatest cities in the world, Istanbul. The two of us also had a similar development, both running a label and a band (him Nublu Records & Nublu Orchestra, myself Jazzland Recordings, New Conception of Jazz), focused on mixing club and jazz music. In addition Ilhan also run the Nublu Club, one of the coolest and most upcoming in New York.
Later, when asking all these incredible artists to join me in the Bugge & Friends project they were all into it! Im so thankful! We had our first concert at the Oslo Jazz festival in August 2011. It was so much fun and we shared good vibes both at the rehearsals and the concert. This type of music is all about artists and audience together sharing and joining forces with the main purpose of creating good energy! I really think we did just that, and if we are clever and lucky I’m quite sure we will do it again!
