KRISTOFFER VEJSLEV
GUITARIST & COMPOSER
Press:
“A Sonic Mix of Copenhagen and New York…” Read the full quote
- Jazz Guitar Today (US)
"…bringing together everything from bebop and hard bop to Scandinavian music, the musicians combine elegant restraint with flashes of playful energy and glee. Driven by melody and song, the music moves between the subdued and the impassioned, the past and the present…” Read the full quote (US)
- Jazzfuel.com (US)
“…touches my soul, the four musicians implement […] the compositions with great sensitivity, sometimes they almost dab the melodies onto an imaginary canvas…” Read the full quote (translated)
- Musikansich.de, Wolfgang Giese (GE)
“…With this complete parallel work, Kristoffer Vejslev […] decided in the most beautiful way possible to pay tribute to his father Jakob Vejslev, […] Parallels - definitely something worth your while” Read the full quote (translated),
- Jazzpress.pl, Marta Ratajczak (PL)
“…notes and tastes like Bill Frisell but with a bite. Slow Burner is one of the finest opening tracks I have had the luck to hear…” Read the full quote
- Jazzvalley.com, Andrew McEwan
“…I welcome with gratitude the slight eruption and tension […] these songs offer something more than just pleasant listening” Read the full quote (translated)
- Skjazz.sk, Ján Hocek (SK)
BIO
Mixing the tradition of straight ahead-jazz with the innovation of the contemporary scenes in Copenhagen and New York, Vejslev Exploration Band brings together a quartet of top-shelf Danish players in Andreas Toftemark (sax), Mathias Jensen (bass) and Andreas Fryland (drums).
In bringing together everything from bebop and hard bop to Scandinavian music, the musicians combine elegant restraint with flashes of playful energy and glee. Driven by melody and song, the music moves between the subdued and the impassioned, the past and the present.
Kristoffer Vejslev describes the idea behind the group as follows "With the Vejslev Exploration Band, I wanted to reinterpret several of my father - Jakob Vejslev's jazz compositions and combine them with my own to create a sound that mixes elements from bebop with modern Nordic jazz and at the same time pays tribute my father's influence on my musical journey both as a composer and guitarist.”
The sonic mix of Copenhagen and New York is perhaps unsurprising given Vejslev’s education under guitar greats such as Peter Bernstein (USA) and Jakob Bro (DK), as well as saxophonist Toftemark’s well-documented time on the NYC scene.
Together, the group has established a level of dexterity and familiarity that belies its youth and appeals to jazz traditionalists and fans of today's modern jazz scene alike.
The group's debut record Parallels was released on May 6 2022. It was announced on Jazz Guitar Today (US) and was part of the award-winning magazine JAZZIZ Editors' Choice (US) segment alongside world stars such as Jon Baptiste. The album was critically acclaimed at home and abroad and has been on rotation on P8 as well as several foreign radio channels.