He is the younger brother of saxophonist erik balke. Orchestra and siwan, and as solo pianist on book of velocities, a sequence of aphoristic pieces that. Norwegian keyboardist composer jon balke and moroccan vocalist amina alaoui come together to produce a stunning work of rare beauty, which combines east and west or in this case south and north, proving the obvious again. The latest on anodyne from 2012 was based on the poem anodyne by yusuf komunyakaa, and has led to the comission of a new piece with trondheim voices, munchen chamber orchestra and jon balke, where the string group merges with the voices to become one instrument, carefully surrounded. Book of velocities is a solo album by pianist jon balke recorded in 2006 and released on the ecm label in 2007. Listen to your favorite songs from book of velocities by jon balke now.
Norwegian pianist jon balke has been at the forefront of the european composed and improvised music scene for decades playing with arild andersens group, before cofounding maqualero, forming oslo and the magnetic north orchestra, which he still leads. Later he was a cofounder of the masqualero group, with. Norwegian pianist jon balkes firstever solo disc is a remarkable book of 19 short pieces, grouped into four chapters and an epilogue, of music composed and improvised, exploring a whole vocabulary of ideas, techniques, rhythms, textures and soundcolours. He has been featured as leadercomposerarrangerkeyboardist of oslo, magnetic north orchestra and siwan, and as solo pianist on book of velocities. Book of velocities and also produced african drummer miki ndoye for the label. Norwegian pianist jon balke is an avantgardeleaning musician with a bent toward mixing various stylistic influences, including. Amina alaoui is a virtuoso singer, born in fez and originally schooled in the moroccan gharnati tradition, who continues to research connections between fado, flamenco and the music. Jon balke norwegian pianist jon balke first appeared on ecm in 1974. Instead its a unique and deeply moving work that, with a broader stylistic viewpoint revealing more with each listen, deserves to be an early contender for 2008 best of lists. Over the years tronheim voices has comissioned and performed a series of compostions from jon balke.
On paper, norwegian pianist jon balkes first solo album reads like challenging stuff. Siwan nahnou houm jon balke to stream in hifi, or to download in true cd quality on. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library. Jon georg balke is a norwegian jazz pianist who leads the magnetic north orchestra. Wolfert brederode, currents ecmode minimalism may have run its course but there are pieces on this appealing album by pianist brederode and group which find a romantic heart within the steady pulse. Check out book of velocities by jon balke on amazon music. Jon balke piano recorded september 2006 at radio studio drs, zurich engineer. Jon balke biography, albums, streaming links allmusic. Nineteen pieces, many of them beautiful miniatures that blend intricvate composition with improvisation.
Jon balke 1955 was born in furnes, norway, and has been a professional musician since 1974. Jazz fusion, ecm style jazz, andalusian classical music. Jon balke book of velocities jon balke piano recorded september 2006 at radio studio drs, zurich engineer. Sitemap contact us distributors faq credits privacy policy terms and conditions facebook twitter newsletter contact us distributors faq.
Start with the pretentious way the disc of short read more jon balke. Remember me, my dear live in bellinzona 2014 jan garbarek. Book of velocities by jon balke on amazon music unlimited. Stream adfree or purchase cds and mp3s now on amazon. Big vicious lp avishai cohen big vicious cd avishai cohen angular blues cd wolfgang muthspiel here be dragons lp oded tzur life goes on lp carla bley. Debut solo piano session by norwegian pianistcomposer, whos led the ecm projects masqualero, magnetic north orchestra and batagraf. He has written extensive compositional works for a vast variety of ensembles and projects like ballets, theatre plays, symphony orchestras. Warp situates the solo piano of norways jon balke within a subtle architecture of composed soundscapes, in fluctuating dimensions of space.
Balke has no formal education in music or composition and has mainly worked within the realm of improvised music. Jon balke and siwan call for coexistence on nahnou houm norwegian pianist and composer jon balkes latest album takes listeners back to a. Book of velocities is an album that, with balkes selfless pursuit of roads less traveled, may not immediately impress. On paper, norwegian pianist jon balke s first solo album reads like challenging stuff. Listen free to jon balke book of velocities giada, scintilla and more. Markus heiland produced by manfred eicher we believe that mere movement is life, and that the more velocity it has, the more it expresses vitality. Book of velocities is the kind of album that keeps the uninitiated away from improvised music. Shop for vinyl, cds and more from jon balke at the discogs marketplace. Jon balke composer 1955 play streams in full or download mp3 from classical archives, the largest and best organized classical music site on the web. Norwegian pianist, composer, and conceptualist who has worked in a wide range of settings and genres and leads several bands.
The great sled journey the life and deeds of knud rasmussen. Book of velocities, an album by jon balke on spotify. Norwegian pianist, keyboard player, composer, arranger, bandleader and percussionist jon balke has an association with ecm dating back to his teens, when he joined arild andersens group to record clouds in my head 1975. His main instrument has been the piano and this has led, in time, to the use of electronic keyboards. Met zijn nieuwe album warp, zijn tweede solopianoalbum voor ecm, maakt hij wederom grote indruk. Nothing but ice the adventurous but somewhat sad monotony of unchanging landscapes time piece. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. Art ensemble of chicago jon balke batagraf mktickets.