“DIDRIK INGVALDSEN [tpt], who I know of mainly through Frode Gjerstad’s Circulation Totale Orchestra from the ’90s, takes some of the Gjerstad irregular energy and places it in a mostly metered environment. Here he and his orchestra have produced THE EXPANDING CIRCLE [Hevhelia HV 0124-2-331]. Make no mistake this is post bop orchestration, some of which is exciting in of itself. But what really sells this music is the individual solos which cut across the orchestra’s originals, on this undated [2016?] CD. 11 originals [61:56] make up the music played by his Czech/Norwegian octet in which Marcel Bárta [ts/clt] is outstanding. Liner notes, dates and identified soloist would have been appreciated. Still, full dynamic listening.
Cadenze Magazine, April 2017
One gets to hear more of DIDRIK INGVALDSEN’s trumpet work on his quartet [Glenn Brun Henriksen-as, Aleksander Grønstad-gtr, Ståle Birkeland-drm] CD, ROCKET POCKET [Dada 10 cd]. The 11 originals [50:03] are sans liners or dates. Again as with his octet, Ingvaldsen solos in an insistent Freddie Hubbard like manner. Again the outline of the music is metered. On one track [Gliwice Railway Station] the drums and guitar are set against the horns affecting a “Big Noise From Winnetka” groove. The unfolding of composition and improvisation is similar to the Octet sound but thinner, the extra 4 musicians on the Circle date make a difference and the absence is heard here. A fun listen and solid improvs but missing the backbone of octet which made for a remarkable listen.” Cadenze Magazine, April 2017
