Trumpeter Ari Bragi Kárason recently released an album called Signed Crossings. He has been living in Copenhagen for the past five years with his family and has been doing good things in the music world there.
Signed Crossings differs from Ari’s other albums in that most of the songs on the album are by Ara himself, with the exception of two, one of which is by Canadian singer Joni Mitchell and the other by saxophonist Karl-Martin Almqvist, who played in the studio with Ara.
Signed Crossings album cover by Einar Húnfjörð Kárason.
“I decided to go to the best studio here in Denmark and get the best instrumentalists I know in this area to play with me. We went up to the studio, did one rehearsal and then recorded 27 songs in two days,” says Ari.
“You can only do that with people who have adopted the style of standing and falling with their own excellence in each take. The goal was not to take 27 songs, but just as much as we could until we couldn’t take it anymore.”
Love many different styles
Ari has been writing music since he started playing the trumpet but didn’t take the time to focus on it until now.
When the family moved to Copenhagen, Ari decided that the time had come and began to think about releasing his own material.
He says he wears many different hats in terms of musical style and as a trumpet player in Iceland you have to love different types of music.
“It’s been a bit complicated for me to try to figure out what I love the most. That’s why the project has started now to try to release everything I love, all types of music and all styles. This album is part of that and just shows one side of me.”
Ari says Signed Crossings is a jazz album with various influences. “These are both perhaps such modern influences or the development of the jazz world, and then it also goes all the way back to the atmosphere of the 1960s and 1960s. In between, there is also music that some would call pop music.”
He thinks this is very descriptive for him, as his style is very diverse and not down-to-earth.
There is a detailed interview with Ara Braga in Morgunblaðin’s Sunndagsblaði this weekend.
