Pixel blends elements of jazz, pop and rock into a unique sound with riffs, catchy melodies and improvisation. Bassist, vocalist and bandleader Ellen Andrea Wang won the talent award at Dølajazz 2011 and is known from bands like Dag Arnesen Trio and SynKoke. Together with Harald Lassen on saxophone, Jonas Vemøy on trumpet and Jon Audun Baar on drums Pixel is a band that surely will be noticed at Norwegian jazz venues in the years to come. They recently released their debut album "Reminder" to critical acclaim. They've even managed to get a record deal in the U.S.!

Ellen Andrea Wang (bass), Jonas Vemøy (trp), Harald Lassen (sax), Jon Audun Baar (dr)

WorldService Project (UK)

Award winning punk jazz innovators WorldService Project (WSP) have erupted across the UK and Europe promoting new material ahead of their second album in 2012. The London based unit are described by Time Out as “…dazzling…big things lie ahead for them” and were also dubbed as “brilliant post-prog funk” (Jazzwise) a “tour de force” (York Press) and “lively, imaginative and consistently absorbing” (London JazzBlog).

WSP’s intense live sound took 2011/12 by storm, with dates in Paris, London, Berlin, Oslo, Leeds, Newcastle, Birmingham, Lyon, Bergen and Trondheim, as well as major jazz festivals in Porto, Brecon, St Germain de Calberte (SE France), Swanage, Marsden and a date at The Barbican Centre for the London Jazz Festival 2011.

Led by pianist/composer Dave Morecroft, WSP’s music speaks through dark, intense building passages, winding through dissonance, complex rhythmic manipulation and extreme dynamics. Other times it draws on the language of 20th Century Classical composers layered over boisterous grooves more commonly found in albums by heavy rock artists.

In essence, imagine a four-way cage match between Frank Zappa, Weather Report, Stravinsky and Meshuggah. The result is high-octane experimental but accessible music with a smile on its face.

Dave Morecroft (keys), Tim Ower (sax), Raphael Clarkson (trb), Conor Chaplin (bass), Neil Blandford (dr).

The concert is a part of the concept Mach&Fuse,