Friday November 27th at 6 p.m., ASA Trio along with saxophonist Jóel Pálsson will perform a repertoire of brand new music that is written by the four of them. The music consists of a selection of pieces that have recently been recorded and will be released shortly. Due to the current restrictions on public gatherings, the concert will be streamed live on Facebook and the website of Hafnarborg. We would therefore like to encourage listeners to sit back and enjoy the relaxed set of music in the comfort of their own homes.
A direct link to the stream can be found here, but the concert can be viewed through the player below, where it will also be available for viewing once the stream has ended.
ASA Trio has been an active unit from the year 2005 and has released two CD‘s as well as a couple of concert releases that are available as digital downloads on their website. The trio members are Andrés Þór on guitar, Agnar Magnússon on Hammond organ and Scott McLemore on drums. Saxophonist extraordinaire Jóel Pálsson will be a special addition to the group this time around. Jóel has been active in the Icelandic music scene for many years and has released numerous recordings that have been awarded and acknowledged widely.
Andrés Þór graduated with a diploma from FIH music school in Reykjavík, a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in the Netherlands where he studied with Peter Niewerf, Wim Bronnenberg, Hein van der Geyn and John Ruocco, as well as attending masterclasses and workshops lead by musicians like Avishai Cohen, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Kenny wheeler and John Abercrombie. After moving back to his home-country of Iceland, Andrés has been active on the local scene and released numerous albums in his own name, as well as in collaborations that have been well received both in Iceland and abroad. Andrés also works as an educator at the Reykjavík Music Collage and in the music department of The Iceland University of the Arts. In 2014 Andres was awarded the title of town artist in his hometown of Hafnarfjörður and he has been nominated numerous times for The Icelandic Music Awards. In addition to having performed and worked with many of Iceland’s top artists, Andrés has performed with world renowned musicians like Michael Brecker, Ari Hoenig, Orlando le Fleming, Colin Stranahan and Perico Sambeat. Andres has performed in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Norway, Spain, The United States and Germany.
After studying music from a young age, both in Iceland and Holland, Agnar Már Magnússon moved to New York for private studies. There he got to know many musicians and that led to the recording of his first CD titled 01 with Bill Stewart on drums and Ben Street on bass. 01 was released in and distributed around the world by the Spanish record company Fresh Sound-New Talent. Since then, Agnar has released many albums, many of which have been nominated for The Icelandic Music Awards. He has over 20 nominations and 3 awards. Agnar has been a driving force in the Icelandic jazz scene. He has written for The Reykjavík Big Band and played both piano and organ with all the major jazz musicians in Iceland. Furthermore, Agnar has played and recorded with many renowned musicians, such as John Hollenbeck, Drew Gress, Frank Foster, Seamus Blake, Ingrid Jensen, Ben Street, Bill Stewart, Chris Cheek, Perico Sambeat, Ari Hoenig and many more. Agnar has been teaching jazz in Iceland since 2001 and is now teaching jazz piano and composition in the Reykjavík College of Music.
Scott McLemore is an American drummer who has been living in Iceland since 2005. Prior to his transatlantic relocation he was an active member of the jazz scene in New York City with his wife, pianist Sunna Gunnlaugs. The couple has toured internationally and released numerous recordings. In addition to being part of collaborations in Iceland and internationally, he has released three albums as a leader: Found Music, Remote Location and The Multiverse.
Jóel Pálsson studied clarinet from age 8, but turned to the tenor saxophone and jazz studies at 15. After finishing music school in Iceland he enrolled at Berklee College of Music in Boston from which he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1994. He has performed in concerts and festivals in Europe, The United States, Canada and China and appeared on over 150 albums with various artists and groups. Jóel has recorded six albums with original compositions. His music often mirrors his diversity as a performer, combining improvisation and written parts influenced by different musical styles such as church music, rock, free improvisation, funk and folk music. Jóel has been awarded six times at The Icelandic Music Awards for his albums, thereof five awards for Jazz Album of the Year. Joel was nominated for the Nordic Council Music prize in 2011 and 2016. Jóel is a regular member of The Reykjavik Big Band and jazz group Annes. Besides musical activities, Jóel is the founder and co-owner of Icelandic design label Farmers Market – Iceland, as well as running his own record label Flugur.