Press
release - RIVERTIME
(Swedish Grammy nominated Best Jazz Album 2008)
The Dynamic Duo is an epithet usually reserved for DC Comics superheroes Batman and Robin, but for those of us who’ve seen Steve Dobrogosz and Anna Christoffersson deliver before an audience recently the title now has new owners. With a repertoire that includes music from their debut success It’s Always You, songs from Anna’s solo album One, well-chosen covers and, not least, the high-octane material from their new CD Rivertime, the duo generates an energy on stage that can only be described as explosive. Few Swedish recordings, regardless of genre, have been praised so unanimously by the press in recent years as Dobrogosz and Christoffersson’s first collaboration It’s Always You. ”The duo lifts jazz to heavenly heights” wrote Svenska Dagbladet, and the Stockholm City paper declared ”A singing star is born – you can be sure of that.” The public also took the duo to heart, making It’s Always You one of the top-selling jazz albums in recent years. As an indication of things to come, their release concert at Fasching (Stockholm’s jazz club) was not only packed to standing room only, but a long line of people down the street outside had to be turned away – something very rare for Swedish artists. It was a new and big step for Anna, from being a student at the SMI singing pedagogy institute to suddenly figuring in literally every branch of Swedish media, including engaging appearances on popular TV shows like Så ska det låta and Doobidoo. For Steve it wasn’t as great an upheaval, as he’d already seen success with the classic Fairy Tales recording (from 1982, with Radka Toneff). But as with Fairy Tales, both critics and audience found it difficult to categorize It’s Always You. The answer to the question ”Is it jazz or pop?” lies somewhere between “neither nor and probably both”. Both albums are excellent examples of music that doesn’t limit itself with labels. Along with touring together in Sweden, Steve and Anna have been busy since their 2006 debut. Anna wrote and recorded her solo album One, comprised almost entirely of her original music and lyrics, and has toured the country with her band. Steve released a solo piano CD and has performed internationally with his choir music – in among other countries, Japan – in venues such as Westminster Abbey with the queen in attendance. In December 2007 the dynamic duo, with producer Göran Petersson, created the tracks that would become Rivertime, which like It’s Always You was recorded in Stockholm’s Atlantis studio and engineered by Janne Hansson. Rivertime contains solely original material by Dobrogosz. From the intense opening title track to the last instrumental reprise, these songs perhaps more than ever demonstrate his ability to write timeless material with solid content and core. Add to this that in the studio the duo succeeded in charging the songs with the same explosive energy they share on stage, and the result is an organic whole above and beyond.
REVIEWS
"Magical, phenomenal" - Kristianstadsbladet
"Sweden's hottest jazzduo" - Dagbladet, Sundsvall
"The duo success that has the critics on their knees" - Gefle Dagblad
“Incomparably beautiful and moving... a dynamic dreamteam... a sublime meteor shower of tones and words in complete symbiosis... the amazingly sensitive interaction between the two of them has deepened... perfectly realized songs that go straight to the heart. One of the best albums ever produced on Swedish soil" - Svenska Dagbladet
"I've seldom experienced such a devoted audience that listened so intensely - the contact was total. ..the piano and voice push each other to great things. It is impossible to describe the feeling these two musicians create together" - Folkbladet
"Every now and then one encounters a love song that makes one realize just how seldom songs actually express what love really is. On their second album, Rivertime, there are several such songs. Dobrogosz's piano is both trap door and guide rail in dialogue with Christoffersson's naked, flaming voice. Heartbreakingly romantic music… the best I've heard in a very, very long time" - Dagens Nyheter
"The combination is matchless and the collaboration seamless" - Dalarnas Tidningar
"Already after the first number it's clear that their dynamic communication is uniquely magical. The songs flow together in a mysterious, bottomless ocean, Anna's voice shifting from hot sensuality to powerful gospel crescendos, Steve's playing calling forth water drops and hurricanes" - Gefle Dagblad
"Musical magic. There were two encores, but after a concert like this there could have been many more" - Uppsala Nya Tidning
"I was prepared for the quality of his piano work but I wasn’t quite prepared for the voice of Anna. What an instrument. Smokey, earthy, rich and expressive and used with such intuitive ease that it makes listening a joy. The key quality of the album is how they combine and truly work as one voice. Without being soul music the album is very soulful, highlighted by the all too rare sense of oneness between piano and vocal" - Audioenz, New Zealand
"Songs for seventh heaven, but with a sensual energy only found on earth" - Bayerischer Rundfunk, Germany