Prayers & Observations

Editor's Info::
"Prayers & Observations" (Jazzland 2006) is the second album by jazz composer and vocalist Torun Eriksen. In ten new songs written by Eriksen, she is once again joined by Kjetil Dalland (bass), Torstein Lofthus (drums), David Wallumrod (keyboards) and Froydis Grorud (saxophone and flute), with the addition of Ole Jorn Myklebust (trumpet, Flugel horn) and André Berg (guitar), as well as strings. As her first release "Glittercard" (Jazzland 2003) was produced by Bugge Wesseltoft, he again applies his trademark production to this album.

The album has a sense of experimentation yet is presented in a clearly focused direction. "Prayers & Observations" is a search for Eriksen's own personalized expression. She states: "Each song is (about) a story. My musical goal is to be a strong songwriter and an interpreter of interest. This album is about creating great songs that are good to have around." Clearly we can hear the focus on songwriting in this new album, together with a sense of variation, which combines into something quite special, citing one reviewer to write, "The voice of the year in jazz." (Dagsavisen).