Aina Fridén - Up High (2017)

After many years of fans asking for a CD, the moment has finally arrived: Aina Fridén´s debut CD release - as a leader! I have been playing with Aina for about 20 years now and we have played countless gigs together, from duo to big band. I have been lucky enough to follow her development through the years, into what she is today: a true jazz artist. This recording came about as a result of a collaboration with the Swedish jazz pianist and jazz personality Ulf Johansson Werre. When I introduced my longtime friend Uffe (Ulf) to Aina for a Quintet project, there was a musical explosion, right from the first bars of the rehersal! So we booked a studio in connection with a small tour, went into the studio, and did it! The project turned out to be a smash hit, both in concert and on CD, showing great interplay, blistering scats, and some serious jazz singing! Aina Fridén grew up in a family of musicians; with all the great American singers on the record player every day; Sinatra, Ella, Anita, Bing, and Connie Francis, as well as all kinds of jazz, and classical composers. The American songbook came to be second nature to her. After some years as a freelance singer, she studied jazz at the University in Oslo, impressing everybody by singing difficult parts of horn arrangements, and other instrumental parts, with great accuracy and detail. Since then, she has developed her own style as a jazz singer, reflecting her background in American jazz, with artistic dives into the lyrical elements of European music. Her impressive musical ear is a keystone in the variations and scats you hear on this hard swinging recording. With a natural feeling for the rhythm, groove, melody and swing of jazz, she stands out as a true individual, contemporary jazz artist. Frode Kjekstad

Tracklist:
01. Aina Fridén - High Wire (6:06)
02. Aina Fridén - Whisper Not (5:45)
03. Aina Fridén - Autumn in Rome (5:55)
04. Aina Fridén - That´s All (5:07)
05. Aina Fridén - Autumn Serenade (4:17)
06. Aina Fridén - Moody´s Mood (4:15)
07. Aina Fridén - Pennies from Heaven (4:29)
08. Aina Fridén - Moon S (4:54)
09. Aina Fridén - Too Romantic (3:35)