The Real Thing

Following saxophonist Sigurd Køhn’s tragic death in the tsunami catastophe in Thailand in 2004, The Real Thing decided to call it a day and take a hiatus. Formed in 1992, the band quickly rose to dominate Scandinavian jazz with their hard-swinging organ-based soul sound. Inspired by eminent American artists such as Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, George Benson and Wes Montgomery, their music was an extrovert cocktail of swing, blues, soul, latin and funk. Reputed to “never leave the stage in a dry tuxedo”, the band has built a robust fanbase in and out of jazz circles. Now, 12 years on, thousands of concerts and some 50,000 CD sales later, they’re back, with three familiar and one new member. And all four are raring to crank up that tour bus, shunt 200 kilos of Hammond organ, straighten their ties and get down to some serious business with material old and new!
 
Line-up: Palle Wagnberg - organ, Staffan William-Olsson - guitar, Torstein Ellingsen - drums, Dave Edge -  saxophone

Translation by Erik Forster