The idea for Hammer Orchestra came about Christmas 2014.
Originally the plan was to get some talented musicians together to record some jazz standards with some basic recording equipment.
However as the identity of the musicians became clear it was obvious that “basic recording equipment” would not serve the purpose. We needed a recording studio for this.
To finance time in a recording studio I launched a kickstarter campaign Mars 13 2015.
This is the video accompanying the project:
As it became evident that the quality of the recording and performances would be high, I realized that I would not want to be able to distribute the content without having to worry about copyright, licenses, etc. so I started to write my own music for this project.
The musicians involved in the project are musicians that I have been fortunate to work with during my involvement with big band music and other jazz bands, and what a lineup it is!
Geir Hauger
Geir is a proven entity and massive force in Norwegian jazz. He has been a member of Egil Monn-Iversen’s theater ensemble, he has played in jazz orchestras like Oslo 13, and been part of numerous Norwegian jazz recordings.
Geir is a virtuoso with a mellow sound in his horn.
Take a look at his website for more info. We are very glad to have him on board 🙂
Rune Bryn
Rune is a seasoned live and session drummer, playing on numerous projects. He has a long record playing with various bigband’s like “Ski bigband”, “Bærum bigband”, “Ett fett storband”, and “The Norwegian Big Energy Ensemble”. He has also played as a session musician on lot’s of Pop, Rock and Indie recordings. Recently he has also been on tour with Elvis Prestley imitator “Ted Torres”. Rune is truly a jack of all trades with a wide range of experience. We’re very glad to have him onboard 🙂
Endre Engebretsen
Endre Engebretsen is an Oslo / Värmland based songwriter and guitarist, who has received good reviews in the Swedish jazz magazine “Orkester Journalen” among other publications.
Endre is a graduate of the Nordic Institute for Stage and Studio (NISS).
In recent years, Endre’s direction has leaned toward a jazz guitar tradition originating in Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel, and Grant Green, however, he still has strong musical roots in funk, blues, R & B and soul.
Endre can also be heard with: Engebretsen Quartet, Traces Gospel Choir, Ski Big Band (Ski Storband), Duo w Siv Iren Misund, and Et Fett Big Band (Ett Fet Storband), Endre’s other talents include being a bassist, songwriter and producer on various recordings.
Roger Williamsen
Roger is a very virtuoso bass player that tackles any challenge you throw at him.
Educated at the conservatoire of music in Kristiansand, Roger has been part of multiple productions, bands and albums.
Check out BWM Trio featuring Roger Williamsen
Roger has also been on tour with artists like Kåre Conradi and Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen.
Amongst the theater and musical productions he has been part of we can mention:
- Kvinner på randen.
- The last 5 years.
- Billy Elliot.
- De tre Musketerer
- Asbjørnsen og joh: I tykt og tynt, På nye eventyr.
Audun Os
Audun Os is a seasoned saxophonist playing in various big bands in the Oslo area (Romsås bigband, Sandvika Bigband and The Norwegian Big Energy Ensemble). He’s solos are legendary and his fans travel far to hear him play. We’re very happy to have Audun on the team 🙂
Christian Lund
Christian Lund is a drummer and our percussionist. Christian is a musician with a wide range of musical interest. He is involved in multiple jazz bands and is also involved in pop and rock bands. He is the drummer in Ski Rockteater.