Talking and Improvising

Àlvaro Torres & James Paul Nadien

Episode 9The ninth and final episode of Talking & Improvising! This episode features conversations in words and music between bass player Jesper Nordberg and the two New York-based musicians James Paul Nadien (drums) and Àlvaro Torres (piano). The podcast was recorded at Brooklyn Music Conservatory and Eastside Sound in November 2024, with financial support from the Swedish Arts Council. James Paul Nadien is a percussionist, improviser, composer, and organizer based in Brooklyn, NY. He has worked with the likes of Joe Morris, Tony Malaby, Ravi Coltrane, Darius Jones, the Flying Luttenbachers, and noise rock trio Toadal Package. Pianist and composer Álvaro Torres is an emerging voice in New York City's creative jazz scene. Since his debut album in 2019, "Specious Present", Álvaro has released three more albums as a leader for record labels like Sunnyside Records and Fresh Sound New Talent, featuring notable collaborations with musicians such as Barry Altschul, Tony Malaby, John Hébert, and Kresten Osgood. Jesper Nordberg is a young Swedish double bass player. He has studied at the famed Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He has worked with a number of prominent European and American improvising musicians, such as Okay Temiz, Brandon Lopez, Jesper Zeuthen, and Kasper Tranberg. With a grand tone and characteristic feel for rhythmical changes and displacements, he has established himself as an individual voice at the jazz scenes of Copenhagen and Malmö. He takes a big interest in folk music from the Balkans, and has collaborated with musicians from Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Turkey, and Romania.

Tijana Stanković

Eighth episode of Talking & Improvising. This episode features conversations in words and music between bass player Jesper Nordberg and the Serbian violinist, ethnomusicologist, and radio host Tijana Stanković. The podcast was recorded in September 2024, with financial support from the Swedish Arts Council. Though a dedicated free improviser, Tijana Stanković’s background in folk and Ethnomusicology puts her in touch with an ancient emotional syntax. Her key tools - violin and vocals - both yearn with an organic and creaking fragility, tied irrevocably to old cultures. Jesper Nordberg is a young Swedish double bass player. He has studied at the famed Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He has collaborated with numerous prominent European and American improvising musicians, including Okay Temiz, Brandon Lopez, Jesper Zeuthen, and Kasper Tranberg. With a grand tone and a characteristic feel for rhythmic changes and displacements, he has established himself as an individual voice at the jazz scenes of Copenhagen and Malmö. He takes a big interest in folk music from the Balkans, and has collaborated with musicians from Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Turkey, and Romania.

Laura Toxværd

Seventh episode of Talking & Improvising. This episode features conversations in words and music between bass player Jesper Nordberg and the Danish saxophone player, composer, and researcher Laura Toxværd. The podcast was recorded in February 2024, with financial support from the Swedish Arts Council. Laura Toxvaerd is a Danish saxophonist, composer, and researcher brought up in the tradition of jazz music. Her particular interests became avant-garde and free jazz, and eventually contemporary music. As a composer, she often explores the realm of graphic notations. In this special working technique, she brings together visual art and music. The author of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, Brian Morton, describes her scores as ”a clever combination of visual material”, the music is ”as sensuous as it is intellectually challenging”, and the compositions ”are simply wonderful”. In later years, she has been researching as a PhD student at Agder University in Norway, resulting in her doctoral thesis ”The making of manifold musical becomings”. Jesper Nordberg is a young Swedish double bass player. He has studied at the famed Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He has worked with a number of prominent European and American improvising musicians, such as Okay Temiz, Brandon Lopez, Jesper Zeuthen, and Kasper Tranberg. With a grand tone and characteristic feel for rhythmical changes and displacements, he has established himself as an individual voice at the jazz scenes of Copenhagen and Malmö. He takes a big interest in folk music from the Balkans, and has collaborated with musicians from Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Turkey, and Romania.

Maria Bertel

Fifth episode of Talking & Improvising. This episode features conversations in words and music between bass player Jesper Nordberg and the Danish trombone player Maria Bertel. The podcast was recorded in June 2024, with financial support from the Swedish Arts Council. Maria Bertel is a Danish trombone player, improviser and composer. The amplified acoustic sound of her instrument creates an output that draws inspiration from drone and noise music. What is normally not hearable is presenting itself, movements, metal, and breath become a swirling part of her compositions. Changing organic patterns are emerging, tiny sounds become brutally clear as well as the range of overtones of the instrument.Jesper Nordberg is a young Swedish double bass player. He has studied at the famed Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He has worked with a number of prominent European and American improvising musicians, such as Okay Temiz, Brandon Lopez, Jesper Zeuthen, and Kasper Tranberg. With a grand tone and characteristic feel for rhythmical changes and displacements, he has established himself as an individual voice at the jazz scenes of Copenhagen and Malmö. He takesa big interest in folk music from the Balkans, and has collaborated with musicians from Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Turkey, and Romania.

Szilard Mezei

Fifth episode of Talking & Improvising. This episode features conversations in words and music between bass player Jesper Nordberg and the Hungarian viola player Szilard Mezei, based in Senta, Serbia. The podcast was recorded in September 2024, with financial support from the Swedish Arts Council.  The multi-instrumentalist and composer Szilárd Mezei is one of the most original and interesting voices working in the fields of jazz and improvised music today. His multi-faceted work includes leading multiple groups, both inside of Serbia and internationally. A major cornerstone of his work is the blending of traditional Hungarian folk music with free jazz, as well as his endeavors in solo and ensemble free improvisation. Jesper Nordberg is a young Swedish double bass player. He has studied at the famed Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He has worked with a number of prominent European and American improvising musicians, such as Okay Temiz, Brandon Lopez, Jesper Zeuthen, and Kasper Tranberg. With a grand tone and characteristic feel for rhythmical changes and displacements, he has established himself as a individual voice at the jazz scenes of Copenhagen and Malmö. He takes a big interest in folk music from the Balkans, and has collaborated with musicians from Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Turkey, and Romania.