Биография

Originally from Narvik in northern Norway, Jørn Øien has been a leading light of the Norwegian jazz scene for the past 30 years, both with his own trio and as a sought-after sideman for a multitude of other projects (most recently including live shows with bands as diverse as the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Rebekka Bakken and electronica duo Röyksopp). 
 ‘Cosmopolitan’, his first recording under his own name, is a genre-busting album where jazz, world music and electronica unite in a potent brew of muscular grooves, swooning synth sounds, and irresistible melodies. A musical journey from the joik of the Sami people to the drums of West Africa, from Babylon to Brooklyn, it’s the result of Øien’s lifelong fascination with visionary keyboardist and composer Joe Zawinul. 
 ‘‘I was 16 when I heard Weather Report for the first time. The music took me to places I never knew existed. It was like some kind of unknown folk music, with instruments from countries far away, all mixed up with jazz and rock… I’d never heard anything like it. The tunes, the synths, the grooves, the structures… the sum of all these things together, their collective voice, had even more of an impact on me than the solos. And this music still sounds as powerful, modern and relevant to me today as when I first heard it. So this album is my celebration of Zawinul’s musical legacy. It’s a record of my own journey, using the map he left us - he is there in the sounds and in my compositional choices. Thanks, Joe.’’