It all began during a snowy Christmas in 1999: saxophonist Jonas Knutsson met up for the first time with guitarist Johan Norberg to do some spontaneous recording sessions at Norberg’s flat, and got carried away during several hours of playing. They reached such a level of mutual understanding that the recordings were passed between friends of the two Swedish musicians for the next few years. Then Knutsson and Norberg listened again to the recordings - and decided to go to a proper studio. The result is a CD which both moves between and merges jazz and Swedish folk elements: "Norrland". The nature of the deep understanding between two musicians: thus "Norrland" can be described. Knutsson and Norberg cultivate the fine shadings, and a sensitive dialogue. They create floating, but in some ways plausible, sounds: tender, but never harmless musical images of the landscape, which give the listener an incredibly immediate atmosphere and develop a unique world of colour. It is music that deserves recognition way beyond the jazz and folk communities. It makes you wonder why these two Swedes didn’t discover each other sooner.

"This is an extremely beautiful album and reflects saxophonist Knutsson’s abiding interest in the folkloric aspects of Sweden’s musical heritage"

(JAZZWISE, UK)