
Sophie Agnel - piano
John Butcher - saxophones
Pascal Niggenkemper - bass
Ståle Liavik Solberg - drums
The quartet came together for some Norwegian concerts in early 2022 - extending the individual relationships already existing between the four musicians.

There is breath in what they do. The four can move forward like a tormented little animal that is able to control itself. The music rises and turns the spikes out. This is good entertainment. When it swings like free jazz we pinch each other's arms.
Butcher combines the tormented with the muscular, and Ståle drums dry and pointed. Agnel's piano poetry may be crooked, but it rhymes in its own way. There is a lot of experience behind what is to come, but the nerve is fresh and raw in this evening.
Jazz i Norge - Arild R. Anderson.
© 2026