The Band

Cosimo Boni

Trumpet

Cosimo has studied and performed with a lot of different artists like Darren Barrett, Jason Palmer, Danilo Perez, Joe Lovano, John Patitucci, Terri Lyne Carrington, George Garzone amongst others. In 2023 he released his first album as a leader titled “May Be (unable to return)” published by the renowned label Fresh Sound New Talent.

Magnus Bakken

Saxophone

Norwegian saxophonist, composer, and jazz musician. Described by critics as our next big saxophone talent, and an outstanding saxophonist in the tradition of Michael Brecker. Well known from his work with A Tonic For The Troops and Jørn Øien’s Cosmopolitan, as well as his own acclaimed projects Slackline, Ninjabeat and Cycles.

Håkon Huldt-Nystrøm

Bass

Known from Phillip Granly Trio, Pesh, Det Nye NSB, and collaborations with Helge Sunde, Bohuslän Big Band and Felix Peikli. A virtuous and versatile upright bass player, both in pop, folk, classical and jazz

Amund Kleppan

Drums

Amund Kleppan released his debut album Venture in 2019 to international acclaim. He tours regularly across Europe with Amund Kleppan Quintet, Aloft Quartet and other ensembles. His passion for drumming led him to prestigious institutions: first, the Jazz Institute Berlin where he completed his Bachelor's degree, and then the Royal Academy of Music for his Master's. Studying under renowned musicians like Dave Holland, James Maddren, and Orlando Le Fleming, he developed a strong sound.

We Say

When Italian trumpeter Cosimo Boni came to Norway for a month on a grant from The Italian Institute, he reached out to saxophonist and former Berklee College of Music classmate Magnus Bakken. Together with bassist Håkon Huldt-Nystrøm and drummer Amund Kleppan, they met in the studio, and We Say came to life in a single day.

Featuring a mix of original compositions by Boni and Bakken, Nordic and Italian folk melodies, and fresh interpretations of tunes from The Great American Songbook, the quartet finds a playful and exploratory common ground. We Say was recorded live, almost entirely as first takes. The result is an album that moves seamlessly between the lyrical, the energetic, and the atonal, where magical moments follow one another in rapid succession.

We Say captures four strong individual voices meeting in deeply attentive and spontaneous interplay of the highest caliber.

Cosimo Boni – trumpet

Magnus Bakken – saxophone

Håkon Huldt-Nystrøm – bass

Amund Kleppan – drums

Download pictures and press release

Listen now

We Say

Da den Italienske trompetisten Cosimo Boni skulle tilbringe en måned i Norge på et stipend fra The Italian Institute, tok han kontakt med saksofonist og tidligere medstudent ved Berklee College of Music, Magnus Bakken. Sammen med bassist Håkon Huldt-Nystrøm og trommeslager Amund Kleppan møttes de i studio, og We Say ble til på en formiddag.

Med et knippe originale komposisjoner av Cosimo og Bakken, nordiske og italienske folketoner, og ny-tolkninger fra The Great American Songbook finner kvartetten sammen til et lekent og utforskende samspill. We Say er spilt inn live, nesten utelukkende som “first takes”. Resultatet er et album som beveger seg sømløst mellom det lyriske, det energiske og det atonale, der de magiske øyeblikkene avløser hverandre på rekke og rad.

We Say er fire sterke individuelle stemmer som møtes til lyttende og spontant samspill av ypperste klasse.

Cosimo Boni - trompet

Magnus Bakken - saksofon

Håkon Huldt-Nystrøm - bass

Amund Kleppan - trommer

Last ned bilder & presseskriv i PDF

Lytt nå

Magnus Bakken on We Say

This is everything I think jazz should be. Taking risk, trusting that your bandmates have got your back if you try to go somewhere. It's opening up your ears, listening more to what's going on around you than listening to yourself. Not trying to replicate what was happening on the gig yesterday, but being in the moment and trying to make this moment sound good.

Amund Kleppan on We Say

I thought we managed to get a very consistent sound immediately. Everyone in the band listens and plays amazing. We gathered some originals tunes, and some melodies both from Italy and Norway.