Tuesday 26 January 2027, 7.30pm
Very excited to welcome back the trio of Akira Sakata (alto saxophone, clarinet, voice), Johan Berthling (double bass) and Paal Nilssen-Love(drums & percussion) to OTO for the first time in four years! All incredible improvising musicians in their own right, the interplay between the three of them in this grouping is truly one of a kind. Don't miss!
“One of the most powerful, exciting working groups... Arashi storms - literally - with an uncompromising force and intensity, as if its own energy produces even more addictive kind of energy, leading to an ecstatic and thunderous tour-de-force.” – Free Jazz Blog
The trio of Scandinavian rhythm section Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) and Johan Berthling (double bass) hooking up with Japanese free jazz legend Akira Sakata (saxophone/clarinet) started in 2013 at the Molde Jazz Festival in Norway. The trio took their name from the legendary 1977 collaborative album by Yosuke Yamashita Trio and dance group Dairakudakan - an album that Sakata was a central part of, that even 40 years later stand solid as a radical and bold musical statement. And this piece of history gives us a clue to where the trio of Nilssen-Love, Berthling and Sakata is aiming for, not by looking back and rethreading what has been done before, but adopting its attitude of kicking the often stale sax/drums/bass-format forward with such force that it feels completely fresh.
"There are moments on this album when the energy is so furiously intense it feels like it's going to spin out of control and take someone's eye out. Sakata delivers wry alto phrases, as though from the corner of his mouth, before digressing into urgent flights of fancy, and finally launching into screaming, red-faced declamation - fueled by Nilsen-Love's boiling pulse-time drums and the low bounce of Berthling's double bass." – The WIRE on the trio's first release
Akira Sakata (Sax, Clarinet,vo,composer)
Visiting prof. of Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences.
Visiting prof. Graduate SchooL of Biosphere Science Hiroshima Univ.
Born in Kure-city, Hiroshima in 1945. Studied marine biology at Hiroshima university. Formed a group Saibo-bunretsu (Cell fission) in Tokyo in 1969, Sakata's long lasting music quest has begun.
1972, he has Joined Yamashita Yosuke Trio. The trio performed at many jazz festivals including Maers New Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival and Newport Jazz Festival.etc.
He made many sessions such as Jimmy Lions, Peter Brötzmann, Peter Kowald, Manfred Schoof. Han Bennik, Bill Laswell, Pete Cosy, Hamid Drake, John Zone, Ronald “Shanon”Jackson, Sonny Sharrock, Toshinori Kondo,DJ Krush,Jim O’Rourke, Chris Corsano, Darin Gray, Keiji Haino, Yoshihide Otomo ,Charles Hayward, Roger Turner, Andrea Centazzo, Matz Gustafsson, Joe McPhee, Ken Vandermark, Terry Ex, DJ Sniff ,Rie Nakajima, Kazuhisa Uchihashi and more....
Recent his band are “ARASHI” (w, Johan Berthling and Paal Nilsen-Love)
“Bonjintan” (w, Jim O’Rourke, Giovanni Di Domenico, Tatsuhisa Yamamoto), “Entasis” (w, Giotis Damianidis, Giovanni di Domenico, Aleksander Skoric) and “Akira Sakata SOS” (w, Nana Omori, Manabu Sakata).
He is going around many places in the world and doing many kind of work.
Till today he doesn’t stop moving and doing.
Johan was born in Botkyrka, Stockholm, Sweden in 1973. He started playing the double and electric bass and underwent musicial studies in Jönköping, Skurup and at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Stockholm. After ending studies in 1998 he’s been working as a freelance musician with jazz, rock, improvised music and music for theatre.
He has worked with many notable musicians, including: Mats Gustafsson, Sten Sandell, Raymond Strid, Paal Nilssen-Love, Akira Sakata, Fredrik Ljungkvist, El Perro del Mar, Jonas Kullhammar, Mette Rasmussen, Goran Kajfes, Oren Ambarchi, Martin Küchen, Steve Noble, Andreas Werliin, Tenniscoats, Bill Wells, Jim O’Rourke, Stina Nordenstam, Anna Ternheim and Titiyo and he has featured on more than 100 recordings.
He’s active in the groups Fire!, Fire! Orchestra, Tape, Angles 9, Nacka Forum, LSB, Arashi and Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra.
Berthling has also worked as a composer for film together with Andreas Söderström, working with swedish directors such as Anders Weidemann, Lisa Langseth, Amanda Adolfsson, Jonas Selberg Augustsén, Thomas Jackson and Axel Petersen and has been hired as a music producer by artists like Weeping Willows, Taxi Taxi, Idiot Kid, Little Children, Santa Maria, ASS, Tenniscoats and the Thing.
He has been running the Häpna record label (together with Klas Augustsson) since 1999.
Nilssen-Love has, during the last couple of years, established himself on the international scene as a powerful drummer with high energy and creativity. In 2002 he was "Artist in Residence" at Molde International Jazz Festival, a title Chick Corea and Pat Metheny held in previous years. After 7 days and 9 concerts at the festival, Down Beat stated, "His week at Molde proved a revelation: Nilssen-Love is one of the most innovative, dynamic and versatile drummers in jazz."
Signe Emmeluth is a Danish saxophone player, composer and improviser currently based in Oslo. She graduated from the NTNU Jazz Department, Trondheim in 2017.
In recent years, Signe has marked herself as a growing voice on the scene for improvised music and she has become an important part of the music environment in Scandinavia through her playing and composing for her own band Emmeluth’s Amoeba as well as when playing solo. She’s been collaborating with Mats Gustafsson, Kresten Osgood and Paal Nilssen-Love among others and is seen in different versions of Trondheim Jazz Orchestra.
With a sharp and unique tone her playing is easily recognized; melodies with rapidly changing octaves and a shift between the naive and playful to brutal primal screams are some of what makes up Signe Emmeluth’s vocabulary.
She received the prestigious JazZtipendiat 20/21 and premiered the work Physicality in/emotion for Trondheim Jazz Orchestra at Moldejazz 2021. in 2021 she was given the price “De Unges Lindeman” by Maja S.K. Ratkje. In 2022 she premiered her commission work Banshee at Vossa Jazz. In 2024 she will premiere her newest piece for larger ensemble ALT at Borealis - en festival for eksperimentell musikk.
“Emmeluth herself sound as a strong, opinionated improviser and bandleader who is well-versed in the legacy of Peter Brötzmann and Gustafsson.” Freejazzblog, Eyal Hareuveni
“This young Danish alto saxophonist (based in Oslo) is an exceptional discovery.” - Matthieu Joaun, Citizenjazz
