Ab und Zu (established 1987) is a Norwegian jazz band, originally named "Anne Marie Giørtz Quintet" (1982–1987), and presenting music written by Ole Henrik Giørtz.

Biography

The quintet comprised the siblings

Anne-Marie Giørtz Anne-Marie Giørtz (born 19 March 1958) is a Norwegian vocalist, orchestra conductor, singing teacher in the genre jazz, and married to the Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset. She has performed and recorded with various bands. Career Giørtz s ...

(vocals) and Ole Henrik Giørtz (piano), together with Vidar Johansen (saxophone),

Audun Kleive Audun Kleive (born 20 October 1961) is a Norwegian jazz drummer.) He was raised in Skien and is the son of organist Kristoffer Kleive and brother of organist Iver Kleive. Career Kleive began to play drums in a rock and dance band, and then we ...

(drums) and Olaf Kamfjord (bass). The first record release was ''Breaking out'' (1983), followed by ''Tigers of pain'' (1985), where drummer

was substituted for

Finn Sletten Finn Sletten (born 11 August 1952) is a Norwegian jazz musician (drums and percussions). Career Sletten was born in Bodø. After a study tour to Arizona (1968–70), he played in his home town with such musicians as Paul Weeden, Paul Weeden B ...

. ''Tigers of pain'' was the first album where they present lyrics by

Fran Landesman Fran Landesman (October 21, 1927 – July 23, 2011) was an American lyricist and poet. She grew up in New York City and lived for years in St. Louis, Missouri, where her husband Jay Landesman operated the Crystal Palace nightclub. One of her be ...

. The band changed name in 1987, and released the album ''Ab und Zu'' (1989) with two substitutes in the band, drummer

Paolo Vinaccia Paolo Vinaccia (Camerino, 27 March 1954 – Oslo, 5 July 2019) was an Italian jazz drummer who lived in Norway. He died on July 5, 2019 after almost ten years of living with pancreatic cancer. Career Vinaccia worked with Terje Rypdal, Bendik ...

and guitarist

Eivind Aarset Eivind Aarset (born 23 March 1961) is a Norwegian guitarist who has worked with Ray Charles, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ute Lemper, Ketil Bjørnstad, Andy Sheppard, Mike Mainieri, Arild Andersen, Abraham Laboriel, Dhafer Youssef, Django Bates, and Nils ...

. At

Moldejazz Molde International Jazz Festival (MIJF) or Moldejazz (established 1961 in Molde) takes place annually in July, and is known as one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. It was initiated by the local Storyville Jazz Club. Since 1964 it has r ...

they performed the commissions ''Den akustiske skyggen'' (1993) and ''Skrapjern og silke'' (1999), both presenting lyrics by

Lars Saabye Christensen Lars Saabye Christensen (born 21 September 1953 in Oslo) is a Norwegian/Danish author. Saabye Christensen was raised in the Skillebekk neighbourhood of Oslo, but lived for many years in Sortland in northern Norway; both places play a major rol ...

. When they released the next album ''Totally'' (1996) the drummer Kim Ofstad was in the line-up. The last album release was ''Spark of life'' (2002). With the big band

Prime Time Orchestra A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

they performed the commissioned work ''Rhymes at midnight'' at «Sandvika Storbandfestival» (2004), this time also presenting lyrics by

. The lineup on this project is with

Kenneth Ekornes Kenneth Ekornes (born 7 July 1974 in Sykkylven, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (percussion) and member of the 'Brazz Brothers', known from a number of recordings, as well as for his multiethnic musical expression and his creative use of e ...

(drums) and

Tore Brunborg Tore Brunborg (born 20 May 1960) is a Norwegian jazz musician and composer who plays saxophone. He was born in Trondheim but grew up in Voss where a jazz environment was flowering. Known from numerous appearances with international greats inclu ...

(saxophone).

Band members

* Anne–Marie Giørtz – vocal * Ole Henrik Giørtz – piano * Vidar Johansen – saxophone *

– saxophone * Olaf Kamfjord – bass *

– drums

Former members

Anne Marie Giørtz Quintet *

– drums *

– drums

Former members

Ab und Zu *

– guitar *

– drums * Kim Ofstad – drums

Discography

As Anne Marie Giørtz Quintet *1983: ''Breaking out'' (

Hot Club Gypsy jazz (also known as gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a style of small-group jazz originating from the Romani guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–53), in conjunction with the French swing violinist Stéphane G ...

) *1985: ''Tigers of pain'' ( Odin) As Ab und Zu *1989: ''Ab und Zu'' (

Curling Legs __NOTOC__ Curling Legs Productions A/S (established 1992 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian record label with a catalogue encompassing all styles of jazz and improvised music. It was started by Knut Værnes and Morten Halle to release their own m ...

) *1996: ''Totally'' (Curling Legs) *1999: ''Skrapjern og silke'' (

Grappa Grappa is an alcoholic beverage: a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin that contains 35 to 60 percent alcohol by volume (70 to 120 US proof). Grappa is made by distilling the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems (i.e., the pom ...

) *2002: ''Spark of life'' (Curling Legs)

References

External links

Ab und Zu at Curling Legs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ab und Zu 1987 establishments in Norway Curling Legs artists Grappa Music artists Hot Club Records artists Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups from Oslo Norwegian jazz ensembles Odin Records artists