Crossing Currents

Little North: Crossing Currents CD / Vinyl (LP, 180g) / digital  Lasse Jacobsen drumsMartin Brunbjerg Rasmussen double bassBenjamin Nørholm Jacobsen pianoFeaturing: Joel Ross vibraphone Hannes Bennich alto saxophone It is ten years since Little North released their debut recording, Yonder. The Danish piano trio’s new album Crossing Currents marks that anniversary and sees them fulfilling long-cherished dreams: not only does the new recording feature American vibraphone innovator and co-producer Joel Ross, it was also made in hallowed New York surroundings, The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn. And before entering the studio, pianist Benjamin Nørholm Jacobsen, bassist Martin Brunbjerg Rasmussen and drummer Lasse Jacobsen made sure that they took time to immerse themselves in the New York jazz scene and to draw inspiration from it. “For us, Joel Ross is quite simply the representative of that world,” says Jacobsen. “His approach is intellectually and spiritually clear, but also emotionally so. It is respectful, and he appreciates wonderful melodies. He has a particular kind of energy that doesn’t look back. And that is absolutely what we wanted on our album.”That energy also suited the trio’s second guest, Swedish saxophonist Hannes Bennich, whom Little North have known since their early days. “We had already worked with Hannes on other projects,” says Lasse Jacobsen. “In this case, he acted as a kind of "sparring partner" for Joel Ross. He brought his own energy, he’s a true virtuoso, and has real knowledge and affinity for the music that Ross stands for. At the same time, we needed someone who could step straight into a recording situation with confidence, and could contribute a musical voice that is entirely his own. Hannes was exactly the right person!”Crossing Currents creates a very special atmosphere which is defined by two things: the juxtaposition of contrasting characters and the interplay of European and American influences. A memorable hallmark of Little North’s ACT debut While You Wait was that they created a special magic by opening up their musical connectedness – grown and developed through their many years of working together – to a soloist. On that earlier occasion, it was the Norwegian trumpeter Oscar Andreas Haug. But here they have taken that a stage further: whereas Haug can be seen as an extension of the same musical world which the trio inhabit, Crossing Currents is about opening up to different energies, venturing out of one’s comfort zone, and being inspired by the spirit of the creative cauldron which is New York.The musicians’ openness towards one another, their mutual respect and regard are palpable and run like a strong thread through the album. Crossing Currents is an encounter on equal terms, sustained by alertness in listening to each other, and an intensity that can often be conveyed with no more than a few notes, harmonies or textures. This is particularly the case with the amount of space which the two harmony instruments – piano and vibraphone – allow each other. Pianist Benjamin Nørholm Jacobsen often lays the harmonic foundation, whilst Joel Ross plays finely nuanced melodies over it, frequently interwoven with the lines of saxophonist Hannes Bennich. And when the energy level increases, it happens collectively and with a shared intensity.Crossing Currents is never about one individual taking up a lot of space, but rather about balance, about sharing. The creative drive is strong, and yet there isn’t any pressure. There are different currents – but they flow together.CreditsRecorded 19-20 November 2023 at The Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, NYCRecorded by Nolan ThiesMixed by August WanngrenMastered by Sofia von Hage and Thomas Eberger at Stockholm MasteringComposed by Little NorthProduced by Little NorthCo-produced by Joel Ross

Limited test pressings of the album by Little North.Album: Crossing CurrentsRelease: 26.06.2026A rare collector's item: A test pressing is the very first sample disc of an album and is used for quality control before the final pressing. It does not always match the sound of the later release exactly, which makes each copy a distinctive collectible with its own history. Every test pressing is a limited edition: ideal for collectors and for anyone who appreciates jazz vinyl, rarities and exclusive editions. Your ACT test pressing package includes:  1 Bio-Vinyl test pressing in its original white sleeve. A beautifully designed card, featuring hand-written key details about the release such as artist names, album title, production year, number of test pressings. Album booklet in PDF format. This sheet provides an in-depth look at the album and includes: The cover artwork, a thoughtfully written text about the album, tracklist, full credits for production and performance,  instrumentation details. Test Pressing Authentication Certificate. This certificate confirms the authenticity of this test pressing, which was produced as part of the quality control process before the final vinyl pressing. Test pressings are made in limited quantities to ensure the highest audio fidelity and manufacturing standards. Each test pressing is carefully inspected and approved by our team before production proceeds. This document serves as verification of its authenticity and uniqueness. For official validation, this certificate bears the company stamp.Please note: A test pressing is a preliminary version of the vinyl record used to evaluate the quality of the pressing before full production. The audio quality may not be identical to the final version and may include some imperfections inherent to the test process. It holds historical significance as part of the production process.

The famous compliation "Magic Moments", curated by Siggi LochTracklist: 01 Elevation of Love // Album: e.s.t. 30 Magnus Öström, Dan Berglund, Magnus Lindgren, Joel Lyssarides, Verneri Pohjola, Ulf Wakenius 02 Second Nature // Album: Life Rhythm Wolfgang Haffner03 Raw // Album: raw Nils Landgren Funk Unit 04 The Answer // Album: The Answer Jakob Manz 05 Shots // Album: Bloom Bill Laurance 06 Das Handtuch // Album: Tough Stuff Iiro Rantala 07 She’ll Arrive Between 10 & 11 // Album: Guitar PoetryMikael Máni 08 Terrible Seeds // Album: While You Wait Little North 09 Se Telefonando // Album: Ennio Grégoire Maret, Romain Collin 10 Wonderland // Album: Wonderland Daniel García Trio 11 Fresu // Album: Inner Spirits Jan Lundgren, Yamandu Costa 12 Hands Off // Album: Stealing Moments Viktoria Tolstoy 13 Hidden Prelude // Album: What the Fugue Florian Willeitner 14 Pralin // Album: Let Them Cook Emile Parisien 15 My Brother Rolf // Album: Komeda Joachim Kühn 16 Passacaglia // Album: Passacaglia Adam Bałdych, Leszek Możdżer 17 Linden Tree Rag // Album: Rag Bag Bernd Lhotzky 18 Zafeirious Solo // Album: Arcs & Rivers Joel Lyssarides, Georgios Prokopiou

Little North - While You WaitCD / Vinyl / digital Benjamin Nørholm Jacobsen piano Martin Brunbjerg Rasmussen bass Lasse Jacobsen drums Featuring: Oscar Andreas Haug trumpet Any conversation about the piano trio in the European jazz of recent decades will inevitably touch on the topic of the "Nordic sound". The leading exponents of it – Jan Johansson, Bobo Stenson, Bugge Wesseltoft, Esbjörn Svensson… – have not just drawn on the vast palette of American jazz, they are also musicians steeped in the songs of their homelands, as well as in the European classical music canon and contemporary music. With their strong feeling for melody, harmony and dramaturgy, pianist Benjamin Nørholm Jacobsen, bassist Martin Brunbjerg Rasmussen and drummer Lasse Jacobsen create a cinematic sound, music which can at times be melancholic, at others enchantingly beautiful, and which is full of twists and turns.The three musicians, all of whom were born in the early 1990s, met while studying at the conservatory in Denmark. In the few years since the first album they made together in 2020, they have quickly managed to build up a loyal following both on- and offline, something remarkable considering that their beginnings were during the time of the coronavirus pandemic. The audience they reached is young; these people tend not to be jazz aficionados. Pianist Benjamin Nørholm Jacobsen says: "I think the song-like, atmospheric character of our music makes it easy for people to connect with. The ingredients are quite complex, but it is never something intellectual, either for us or for our audience; the most important thing is emotion. At our concerts I always hear that people have been impressed by the way the band plays together. They can intuit that there is a real connection between us, and that something new is always emerging from it." The album "While You Wait" consists of eight instrumental tracks in which Little North, in a purely acoustic trio setting, creates very different, haunting moods. That is one of the band's special qualities. Rather than a focus on the "what" of their music, or its formal and conceptual aspects, it is on the "how", in other words the trio’s sound, the interplay between its members and the fascinating narratives which they develop. For their ACT debut, the trio has expanded its line-up for the first time to include young Norwegian trumpeter Oscar Andreas Haug. Like Little North, he is also clearly blessed with the kind of musicality and presence which not only builds on Norway’s unique jazz trumpet tradition, but also carries it into the future. His airy, vocal tone may have echoes of the greats - Nils Petter Molvaer or Arve Henriksen - but at the same time there is something new and without precedent. It is also impressive to hear how closely and dynamically Haug's playing connects with the rest of the band, how his nuanced melodic lines go beyond normal semitones, to open up the world of micro-tones. This is the kind of melodic line that the Sami, the indigenous people of Scandinavia, have been practising for centuries. This is another fascinating and genuinely "Nordic" colour which enriches the spectrum of the music on the album. Reflecting further on things "Nordic", the trio’s original name was simply "North", but that proved to be completely untraceable in the digital space, so it was changed to "Little North". Drummer Lasse Jacobsen reflects: "We all come from the north and I guess Denmark is the smallest part of the north. And at the same time, "Little" also refers to the closeness and compactness of the trio line-up. “It’s where we feel most comfortable, because it allows for such direct, close musical communication." There is, however, nothing little about what the Danish broadsheet Politiken has called their “seriously original expression.” "While You Wait" features four extraordinarily talented young musicians whose hearts, minds and considerable skills are dedicated entirely to the purpose of some superb musical storytelling. Credits: Composed and produced by the artists