Tracks
- Turning Point
- Strive
- The Space Between
- No Man’s Land
- Moving On
- The Old House
- No Worries
- Fragments
Performers
Adam Forkelid – piano
Carl Mörner Ringström – guitar
Niklas Fernqvist – double bass
Daniel Fredriksson – drums
Record label: Prophone/Naxos
Recorded at: Riksmixningsverket, Stockholm, on February 7, 2023
Release date: May 3, 2024
Adam Forkelid is a jazz pianist and composer based in Stockholm, Sweden. At the age of five, he began taking drum lessons from legendary drummer and educator Petúr Östlund and, at the same time, started playing piano under the guidance of his father. He began performing on stage at a very young age and from the start showed a deep interest in jazz and improvisation. He received his formal education at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where he later also served as Head of Jazz Piano for several years.
Adam’s debut album was released in 2005: Cirkel, an underground success featuring Joakim Milder on saxophone.
He has also played in the futuristic fusion group Soundscape Orchestra and in a trio with Swedish bass legend and master composer Georg Riedel and drummer Jon Fält. He has toured with Brazilian guitarist Pedro Martins, collaborated with British composer Gavin Bryars and the Cullberg Ballet, and was a member of the internationally acclaimed Norrbotten Big Band, where he worked for several years with artists such as Maria Schneider, Angelique Kidjo, and Knower (Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi). He has also performed and toured with many of the most prominent Swedish jazz musicians, including Magnus Öström, Dan Berglund, Nils Landgren, Peter Asplund, and Viktoria Tolstoy. He is also a member of the Svante Söderqvist Trio.
Without a doubt, he has been a highly influential figure in the Swedish and Scandinavian jazz scenes over the past 20 years.
His latest work to date is titled Turning Point. He wrote it in one month and recorded it in a single day.
The album consists of eight original pieces, where the interaction between piano and guitar is both complete and moving.
These compositions reflect Forkelid’s sources of inspiration, which include classical music, rock, and jazz—namely Erik Satie, Frédéric Chopin, Bill Frisell, Chick Corea—as well as Brazilian and Cuban rhythms.
From the first note of the title track “Turning Point,” the sound and its intent immediately draw you in.
From there, the following tracks “Strive” and “The Space Between” move into a quieter, almost intimate atmosphere.
In “No Man’s Land,” a catchy guitar riff leads the song down nearly magical paths.
“Moving On” is an elegant piece where piano and guitar begin in a relaxed dialogue, before gaining speed and intensity.
The album continues with another calm piece, “The Old House,” with a traditional folk flavor.
“No Worries” opens with Fernqvist’s double bass, joined by Forkelid, in a captivating, rock-tinged composition with subtle arrangements.
The album closes with “Fragments,” a track that maintains the high level of the previous pieces.
Forkelid states that the role of his music is “to play for people and give them something to hold on to, not specifically oriented toward the future or the past, but simply to exist here and now.” Forkelid’s compositions convey a variety of experiences, moods, and emotions that shift as life goes on.
Forkelid and Ringström travel through sounds that range from acoustic to electric, from lyrical to powerful, alongside Fernqvist on double bass and Fredriksson on drums.
Jazz that goes beyond the so-called Nordic sound.
La Habitación del Jazz