Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie

Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie is an energetic and expressive band from Norway, led by Oslo based saxophone player and composer Amalie Dahl. The quintet color her compositions with playfulness and great conviction. What we hear is harmonic yet avant-garde, with references to both old school, free jazz and modern contemporary reed-led bands. They consists of thoroughly composed cells and melodies, as well as structures and atmospheres, which the listening and interactive ensemble improvises around and uses as a focal point. The band has previously been associated with ensembles such as Fire! Orchestra and Christian Wallumrød Ensemble. In 2024 the band won a Danish Music Award Jazz, in the category “Single of the year” for their tune “We don’t want your stupid war”.

“Her quintet’s lively spirit and tuneful orientation falls in line with bands like Cortex and Friends & Neighbors. But this LP, her first as a bandleader, also displays Dahl’s strengths as an arranger and a composer. Each tune has a distinct character, drawing upon the ensemble’s strengths (…)”
Bill Meyer, The Wire Magazine, July 6th 2022

The band contains five well-known names from the Norwegian jazz scene, also known from other projects like Bliss Quintet, I like to sleep, Veslemøy Narvesen and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, among others.

The band has released two albums: the first, Dafnie, was released on Sonic Transmissions Records in May 2022, and the second, Står op med solen (Rises with the sun), was released in collaboration between Sonic Transmissions Records and Aguirre in April 2024. Both albums have received critical acclaim at home and abroad, with excellent reviews in magazines such as The Wire, We Jazz, The Quietus, Klassekampen, and Jazznytt. Additionally, the band has actively toured Europe since 2021, playing at venues and festivals such as Avant Art Festival (Wroclaw, Poland), Rataplan (Antwerp, Belgium), Sowieso (Berlin, Germany), Kulturforum Villach (Austria), OCCII (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Copenhagen Jazz Festival (Denmark), and more.

“(…) Dafnie play with free-spirited and open structures while maintaining a mutually supportive interplay. This is combined with a kind of narrative and, sometimes almost dramaturgical development, where both moods and melodies unfold.”
Chris Monsen, 5 out of 6 stars in Klassekampen May 16th 2022

Bandmembers:

Amalie Dahl (DEN/NO) – saxophones and compositions
Oscar Andreas Haug (NO) – trumpet
Jørgen Bjelkerud (NO) – trombone
Nicolas Leirtrø (NO) – double bass
Veslemøy Narvesen (NO) – drums

Check out the new album on Bandcamp!