KROKOFANT
6 (HOT PINK VINYL)

Over a longer period, Krokofant has included organist Ståle Storløkken and bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten. With two albums, loads of concerts and raving reviews with this line-up, this constellation is over for now - and Krokofant is back again as a trio. This is of course marked with a new trio album with brand new music. The resurrection of the trio has been a doozy for the band and has rekindled the joy of a more intense improvisational interplay and fun of making songs together again. While the quintet was more of a playground for Hasslan´s prog-rock compositions, the trio is more focused on the collective and sculpting the music together rather than the more rigid song structures of the quintet. Krokofant’s sound is deeply rooted in the 70s, with subtle nods to King Crimson, Soft Machine, combined with a strong John Coltrane influence from Jørgen. Even though this is not a rare thing in today’s plethora of Norwegian jazz/rock bands, their sound is still quite unique, and Krokofant stands as one of the founders of the current progressive jazz sounds sweeping the Country. From the first tune “Harry Davidson”, it’s apparent that the classic Kroko sound is still intact with a chugging riff and catchy melody, to the more jazzy chord based tune “Triple Dad”, and the spacial atmospheric sound of “The Ballade”, this album ensures to hit both rock fans, free jazzers and jazz-rock nostalgics in the gut.