Review for Bliss Quintet in JazzThing Magazine.

We are pleased to announce that our client, the Bliss Quintet, has received a strong review in the German jazz magazine, JazzThing. The review, penned by jazz critic Ralf Dombrowski, appeared in the December 2023 edition (Issue 151) of JazzThing, offering high praise for the quintet’s innovative approach to Scandinavian jazz.

Dombrowski’s review challenges the typical clichés associated with Scandinavian jazz, highlighting how the Bliss Quintet defies expectations with their energetic, postmodern sound. He describes their music as powerful and diverse, noting the fusion of various elements including “fusion power,” “elegiac elements in the tradition of Stanko,” and “fluid complexity with an urban club feel.”

The review particularly commends the band’s second album, “Glasshouse,” describing it as “timeless and stylistically open, wild in the sense of overflowing creativity.” Dombrowski’s words suggest a bright future for the quintet, concluding with the promising statement, “There’s certainly much more to come.”

For those interested in reading the original German review, it can be found on the JazzThing website.

English Translation of the Review:

“When thinking about jazz from Scandinavia, clichés are not far off. The spherical soundscapes of the North are often served up. But when a band like the Bliss Quintet appears on the scene, these clichés dissolve into imagination. The combo led by saxophonist Zakarias Meyer Øverli and trumpeter Oscar Andreas Haug feels more like a postmodern energetic formation from the early 2000s. Everything is powerful – the tone, the energy – and Benjamín Gísli Einarsson’s electric piano indulges in quite a bit of distortion. There’s fusion power in the air, but also elegiac elements in the tradition of Stanko, or fluid complexity with an urban club feel. Overall, the sources of music and ideas for implementation seem to be chosen based on interests, not trends. And so the band’s second album, “Glasshouse,” also feels timeless and stylistically open, wild in the sense of overflowing creativity. There’s certainly much more to come.”

This review in JazzThing further cements the Bliss Quintet’s reputation as a forward-thinking band within the Norwegian jazz community. Their unique blend of composed and improvised elements, coupled with their distinctive instrumental lineup, continues to captivate audiences and critics alike.

Jazz Media and More is proud to work with the Bliss Quintet, contributing to their growing recognition in the international jazz scene.