DUG034
Tore Ljøkelsøy Quartet
Panorama
Artist: Tore Ljøkelsøy Quartet
Album title: Panorama
Label: Dugnad rec
Catalog number: DUG034
Release: 5th May 2023
Formats and pricing:
- vinyl from €15
- CD from €6
Shipping:
- From Norway to Norway
- From Slovenia to EU and rest of the world
Press
Sparky, raw, and endlessly nuanced, Dugnad rec continues its bold contribution to contemporary jazz with a release that feels both fully formed and unmistakably alive. From the Tore Ljøkelsøy Quartet, one expects music of substance, personality, and compositional clarity, and this album delivers exactly that: a mature and finely shaped statement, charged with wit, energy, and a restless musical intelligence.
There is a striking, dramatic quality to the record, as if each piece were unfolding its own scene. Every instrument is given space, weight, and purpose; nothing feels ornamental, and no voice is treated as secondary. The percussion may guide the momentum, but it is just as attentive in retreat. The piano moves with agility and restraint, while the horns cut through with phrases that shift from fragmentary suggestion to bold declaration. Beneath it all, the double bass provides both anchor and propulsion, steadying the music without ever pinning it down. For all its detail and movement, the album never feels crowded, and for all its intensity, it never feels rushed.
What is especially compelling is the way the Tore Ljøkelsøy Quartet expands the expressive possibilities of the quartet format. The music often carries the colour, breadth, and dynamic range of something much larger, drawing on the full personality of each player and instrument. Some pieces lean into a more angular, searching, and dissonant language, while others unfold from a more grounded and familiar pulse. Throughout, the album resists predictability. It is full of turns, textures, feints, and openings, inviting the listener forward without ever giving everything away at once.
The pacing is equally assured. Brief, improvisatory passages sit naturally alongside longer, more expansive forms, and the shifts in scale feel organic rather than demonstrative. The closing moments bring a subtle sense of release, touched by nostalgia but never weighed down by it. What remains is not resolution in any simple sense, but a widening of emotional space: a final gesture that lingers, opens, and points beyond itself.
At the heart of the album is a profound trust in collective sensitivity. The cohesion of the group comes not only from technical command or musical compatibility, but from a deeper mutual understanding between the players. Each musician seems to know not just how the others play, but how they think, listen, and respond. That shared awareness gives the music its freedom, its elegance, and its sense of risk. The result is a sound that feels searching, generous, and entirely its own: refined without stiffness, adventurous without display, and wholly characteristic of the Tore Ljøkelsøy Quartet.
Artist bio
Tore Ljøkelsøy is a Norwegian drummer, composer, and improviser based in Oslo. Known for his sensitive touch, rhythmic imagination, and strong ensemble instinct, he has become a distinctive voice in Norwegian jazz and improvised music. His work draws on jazz tradition, experimental music, and Nordic folk influence, and he has performed with artists and groups including Ingi Bjarni Skúlason, Lyder Øvreås Røed, Local Store, and Bêl. In his own music, composition and improvisation meet in a sound that is open, precise, and deeply collaborative.
Credits
Tenor saxophone - Arnfinn Langesæter
Piano - Kjetil Jerve
Double bass - Joel Ring
Drums - Tore Ljøkelsøy
Composition - Tore Ljøkelsøy
Recording and mixing - Magnus Nergaard @ Flerbruket
Mastering - Mattias Fridell
Artwork - Kristine Marie Aasvang
Cover design - Dag Clausen
