Magic Pocket

Magic Pocket is a brass band in miniature that navigates the gray area between jazz, rock, world and contemporary music. The music is beautiful, intense, groovy, noisy and free! Magic Pocket was started in 2002 while it’s members were studying jazz at the conservatory in Trondheim, Norway. After a couple of very active years the musicians took a break to play in bands like Jaga Jazzist, Ola Kvernberg Trio, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Listen! and Kobert. They re-emerged in 2009 when they were given a scholarship to write the commissioned workKinetic Music for Trondheim Jazz Orchestra at the Molde Jazz Festival 2010.

Magic Pocket released it’s debut cd, The Katabatic Wind in January 2011. It features Keyboard Wizard Morten Qvenild (Susanna and The Magical Orchestra, In The Country) and received rave reviews from the Norwegian and international press, calling it an “outstanding debut album” (Terje Mosnes, Dagbladet), and “music you can not remain indifferent to” (Tor Hammerø, Nettavisen). Peter Margasak from DownBeat even called it “one of the years most stunning debuts”. Just 6 months later, in July 2011, Magic Pocket released it’s second album, this time in collaboration with Trondheim Jazz Orchestra who has previously recorded with Chick Corea and Joshua Redman. Kinetic Music is an expantion on the idea behind Magic Pocket itself. No chord instruments, just horns, drums (3 sets!), vocals, and the kinetic sculptures of Atle Selnes Nielsen. The music was written and arranged by the members of Magic Pocket, and recorded live at the debut concert at Molde Jazz Festival in 2010. Kinetic Music received a new round of ovations, and has been ranked highly on the Norwegian music streaming site Wimp.