Oui by Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & GURLS

The return of GURLS! Oui!

The trio GURLS has since the beginning in 2013, been saxophonist Hanna Paulsberg and Ellen Andrea Wang’s musical free space. With a base in jazz music, it turned into an unlikely commercial success. Paulsberg and Wang are among Norway’s most sought-after musicians, both with careers spanning wide in genre and influences. With the project “Oui”, they’ve invited the unique vocalist Marianna Sangita, known from Broen, and the receiver of Trondheim Jazzorchestra’s “Jazzstipendiat” at Moldejazz in 2021.

GURLS has turned into a flagship in Norwegian jazz. It’s an unusually joyful, unique and musically surprising project, which has been received by an enthusiastic Norwegian audience. The debut album “Run boy, run” won the Norwegian Grammy Award for best jazz album in 2018, and since then the trio has headlined Norwegian jazz festivals and played for sold out venues. In July 2018 they were invited to play at the recognized North Sea Jazz festival in Rotterdam.

When Hanna Paulsberg was asked to write for the renowned orchestra, she approached the task with the same mindset that made the trio such a success:

“I’ve always felt a bit of anxiety about writing for Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, so when I was asked to do it I wanted to approach it in a way that I knew would end up just being fun. GURLS has always been a channel for me where I can show both craziness and stupidity, in a format that I like very much, namely making songs. It’s also a project that suits being renewed from time to time, and to be able to wear the TJO hat on GURLS/put the GURLS hat on TJO, has been like a dream coming true”. – Hanna Paulsberg

Hanna Paulsberg’s commissioned work for Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & GURLS premiered spring 2021. The concerts at Jazzfest in Trondheim, Mandaljazz, Moldejazz and Sildajazz were met with great excitement, showing a series of new tunes, and some of GURLS earlier hit songs in a new package. Live recordings from these concerts has now resulted in a live album filled with joy.

Gurls has a clear base in the pop world and moves in a musical landscape that reminds us of Rihanna as well as Neneh Cherry. With banal, simple melodies and longer virtuoso tension they create new music that takes you into a lovely landscape you will never forget.