“(…) The plush arrangements highlight the lyric side of her writing, with trumpeter Oscar Andreas Haug and trombonist Jørgen Bjelkerud uncorking solos of impressive internal logic and swinging grace, and when Dahl settles into her ballad ‘Hjemve’, where the horns sculpt multi-linear beauty, there’s little doubt that she’s more interested in advancing tradition than she is in tearing it down. Intensity doesn’t need to come through volume or aggression, and here it surfaces through the chamber-like rapport the quintet—which also includes the increasingly ubiquitous drummer Veslemøy Narvesen—possesses.”

Peter Margasak, The Quietus, May 31th 2022

“Danish saxophonist/clarinettist Amalie Dahl is part of a new generation of Scandinavian jazz musicians who have passed through the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. In the US, jazz schooling can be a problem, but Dafnie is evidence that what they’re teaching the kids up north is all right. 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, such as Jørgen Bjekerud’s warm, expressive trombone and Vesleøy Narvesen’s non-ironically deployd musical saw.”

Bill Meyer, The Wire Magazine, July 6th 2022

“(…) 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

“Dahl is a musician that has a lot to say and knows how to say it, loud and clear and with infectious, playful energy. (…) And she is also a clever and imaginative composer.”

Eyal Hareuveni, Salt Peanuts, May 19th 2022

Interview in Sounddrive.pl: read it here

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