Rock Sound Magazine – February 2021

With his distinctive, personal sound, Karl Ivar Refseth delights fans of jazz and Neo-Classical, minimal and groove music – whether as soloist, bandleader or sideman with The Notwist, Gisbert zu Knyphausen, and Tied & Tickled Trio. The albums his trio with Christian Weidner (alto saxophone) and Matthias Pichler (double bass) has released so far – most recently Devotion in February 2022 – have received highest acclaim from audiences and media. Jazz’n’More magazine stated, “Here music is whispered or danced on tiptoes and continuously evolves in new variations.” Jazzthetik praised, “Exquisit, compact, precise pieces, with plenty of space for the musicians.” Positive reviews also appeared internationally, like in Poland’s Stacja Islandia; and the Austrian Concerto asserted, “Sparsely arranged, yet not austere chamber jazz with many beautiful details.” And Jazz Thing wrote: “Refseth is a poet, not an orator, holding sounds together rather than firing bursts of notes.”