João Almeida trumpet
Johannes Gammelgaard tenor saxophone
Johannes Berg drums
Asger Thomsen double bass
Portuguese trumpeter João Almeida and Danish saxophone player Johannes Gammelgaard met for the first time at an improvisers’ event in Paris, September 2022, and immediately found interest in each others’ playing. Now they have put together a quartet with two prominent musicians of the Danish improv scene, bassist Asger Thomsen and drummer Johannes Berg.
João Almeida is a Portuguese trumpeter, improviser and composer based in Lisbon, Portugal. In recent years, he has collaborated with some of the most important musicians in the national and international music scene, released a number of records on his own as well as major labels, and toured through Europe.
Johannes Gammelgaard is a Danish saxophone player and composer living in Stockholm. The last several years, he has been active on the jazz and improv scene in Scandinavia, having toured and released music with several of his own bands and as a sideman. His musical output draws inspiration from the folk songs and hymns of his childhood as well as the American jazz tradition and the current Scandinavian jazz and improv scene.
Asger Thomsen is a bass player and composer living in Copenhagen, Denmark. He works primarily in the field of contemporary improvised music. With a physical, detail-oriented approach and a rich palette of sounds – often strengthened by the use of unconventional extended techniques, he aims for contrast and dynamic forward motion in his music. Thomsen has established himself as a versatile improviser on the Copenhagen scene, and tours internationally.
Johannes Berg is a versatile and wide-ranging drummer who is an active player on the Danish jazz and improv scene. In addition to this, Johannes is an active composer inspired by nature and under strong influence of the Northern minimalistic folk tradition. His playing is deeply grounded in his focus on sound – the art of creating music that is relevant and important is at the core of his playing.
Photo: Cassidy Clash