The Source was put together in the autumn 1993 .
At the time, The Source was: Øyvind Brække-trombone, Trygve Seim-saxophones, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten-bass, and Per Oddvar Johansen-drums. All four has studied at the jazzsection of Trøndelag Musicconservatory - the only education-possibilities for jazz-musicians in Norway at the time.
The Source quickly acclaimed a reputation as one of the most exiting bands on the Norwegian scene, both by the press, and the Norwegian jazz-society.
During the summer of 1995, Ingebrigt wanted to give more attention to another group he was playing in, Element, and desided to give the bass-seat in The Source to someone else. This led to a period where The source tried alot of different settings, but finally Finn Guttormsen joined on bass. He has now left The Source, and we are joined by Mats Eilertsen.
What have they done:
In the spring of 1994, The Source was ranked second in a european jazz-competition, where over 60 bands participated! This contest was arranged (still is) by th Getxo International Jazzfestival in Bilbao - Spain.
Trofee!Later that year, came their debut-CD: Olemanns kornett (Curling Legs Prod. CD 10), and the year after (1995), came their controversial christmas-CD named The Source:of Christmas (Curling Legs Prod. CD 21). Both have received great critics in innumerous newspapers and magazines, both in Norway, and abroad!
The Source did a lot of touring in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 covering Norway, Sweden, Germany and Finland! They played at several Norwegian, as well as European jazz-festivals, and was fully represented in Norwegian and international TV and radiostations.
In the year 1997, however, The Source paused for a brief moment, and ressurected with noticeble force in 1998 doing alot of TV performances, festivals and club conserts..
The Source did most of their work in Norway, but in May 1998, they did a series of conserts in Russia a.o. in Moscow, Novosibirsk, at the Novosibirsk International Jazzfestival, Omsk, and the city of Akademgorodok.
Groundbreakers:
The Source always strives to find new grounds to explore, an urge that has led the band into exiting, untraditional cooperative projects with a long list of other musicians, as well as other artists.
To give an idea of what The Source has done over the years.(not chronological):
1995: The Source cooperated with the London-based rapper David Boid, and d.j.gazz from Bergen, at the jazz-festival Nattjazz in Bergen
The Source has made a habit of using a string-quartet, incorporating it as a fifth instrument. At the jazz-festival Dølajazz, in Lillehammer, the same year, The Source got the opportunity to develop this consept further, both musically, as well as visually. This led to the birth of a project called Den Pluralistiske Sitron (The Pluralistic Lemon) with the well-renomated contemporary string-quartet Cikada, decorating artist Silje Sagfjæra, and the great sound-sculptor Rune Skogstad.
Den Pluralistiske Sitron was performed in 1998 at the festival Soddjazz at Inderøy and in Olavshallen in Trondheim, and the 27th, and 28th of Oktober 1999, Den Pluralistiske Sitron played two concerts at the jazz-club Blå, wich were recorded by Jan Erik Kongshaug (live-sound by Asle Karstad).
1996: The Source held a konsert at the jazz-club Fasching in Stockholm, together with the coach of the Swedish national skating-team, one of their skaters, and a string-quartet from the Musikhøgskolan (Swedish college of music).The skaters ran the 5000m, on a sliding-board mounted in front of the stage, while The Source and the string-quartet improvised a composition to accompany. A new world record was set!
Together with the Norwegian progressive rock group Motorpsycho, they presented a consert at Kongsberg jazzfestival, containing spontaneously composed music.This consert was called the rebirth of jazz-rock, by Adresseavisen!
At a small rock-festival outside Kristiansund, named Bolgstockfestivalen, The Source experimented with yet another setting: drums, trombone, saxophones, the famous Norwegian rock-singer Øyvind "Elg" Elgenes (from the group Dance With a Stranger), and the stunt-poet Simen Hagerup.
Musical genre: The Source wont label their music, even though the individuall members all have a jazz-background. Beeing fully aware of both their own background, other musical directions, and the times in wich we all live, they wish to contribute to the quest of carrying the music further.Their most important tools in this quest, perhaps, is free improvisation combined with the will to experiment with the music. Therefore are no two concerts with The Source alike!
Forthcoming activities: The Source with the Cikada string Quartet has released the album The Source and different Cikadas, on ECM records. Examples on reviews this record has received: english norwegian