Markku Ounaskari, Trygve Seim, Arve Henriksen und Anders Jormin mit ARCANUM
ARCANUM is a new Nordic super band that started to work together during Spring 2023 consisting of Arve Henriksen (trumpet), Trygve Seim (saxophone), Anders Jormin (bass) and Markku Ounaskari (drums). They actually all have played with each other for the last 20 years in different constellations but now for the first time we are able to experience those four exceptional artists together as a quartet. In March 2023 their first tour in Finland was already sold out and the audience was totally rapt and very enthusiastic.
The band explores orginial compositions from all the members with expanded amount of free and storytelling improvisations. With these amazing improvising musicians every evening is a free jump to explore the unknown as well as for the audience as for the musicians themselves. All the members are well known from countless recordings on ECM for the last 15-25 years. The day that ECM producer Manfred Eicher heard about this new band he wanted to take it to the studio. The recording took place in March 2023.
Markku Ounaskari
Markku Ounaskari (b. 1967) first studied drums at the Oulunkylä Pop and Jazz Conservatory and, beginning in 1987, at the Jazz Department of the Sibelius Academy. During this period, his professional career also began when he toured and recorded with two legendary Finnish groups, Piirpauke (Algazara in 1987 and Zerenade in 1989) and the Pekka Pohjola Group (Changing Waters in 1998). Ounaskari has played with all the major Finnish jazz figures (journalist Petri Silas once wrote that it would be easier to list the Finnish ensembles with which Ounaskari has not played). Beginning in 1999, Ounaskari has increasingly worked with international projects and bands becoming one of the internationally best known Finnish jazz musicians. During the last 20 years he has performed in more than 35 countries around the world. He has been a regular performing artist in most of the European Jazz Festivals for decades. In 2010 he has been awarded with the finnish Grammy with the ECM release “Psalms and Folk Songs”.
Trygve Seim
Trygve Seim is a Norwegian saxophonist and composer known for his contributions to contemporary jazz and improvised music. Born on April 25, 1971, in Oslo, Norway, Seim has established himself as a prominent figure in the Scandinavian jazz scene. His musical journey has been characterized by a unique and versatile approach to the saxophone, particularly the tenor and soprano saxophones. He is recognized for his ability to blend traditional jazz elements with influences from various world music traditions, creating a distinctive and evocative sound. Seim has collaborated with a diverse range of musicians and ensembles, both in Norway and internationally. His work often explores the intersections between jazz, folk, and classical music, reflecting a broad musical palette. He has released numerous albums as a leader and has been featured on various recordings with different artists.
Arve Henriksen
Arve Henriksen, born in 1968 and a graduate of the Trondheim Conservatory, began playing international stages in 1989. He made his debut on ECM in 1998 as part of Christian Wallumrød’s trio on the album No Birch and has continued to record frequently for the label ever since. Besides his contributions to Wallumrød’s shape-shifting ensembles, Henriksen has appeared on albums by Trygve Seim, Arild Andersen, Jon Balke, Sinikka Langeland and Frode Haltli. The Down Beat Magazine once described him as one of the “Few trumpeters over the last two decades [that] have developed such an instantly recognizable personality.”
Anders Jormin
Anders Jormin is a renowned Swedish bassist who has been praised by Down Beat as “everything a bassist should be”. He is influenced by classical and jazz training as well as Sweden’s folk tradition. Jormin was introduced to ECM by pianist Bobo Stenson and has released several albums for the label. He has also been a teacher of double bass and improvisation at Gothenburg’s Musikhögskolan for almost 30 years and has received several awards for his jazz recordings. In 2003 he was given an honorary doctorate at Finland’s Sibelius Academy. He is four-times winner of Sweden’s annual award for the best jazz recording and is the first contemporary improviser ever to become a member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Music.
