The Adventures of a Polar Expedition (CD)

The poles. Arctic seas as far as the eye can reach, polar bears, seals, and sled dogs. Humans and animals who live on the edge of existence and become one with the elements. The incredible variety of shades of white on the North Pole and in Greenland. The many expeditions that went out, and the many adventurers who never returned home again.

With the CD ”The Adventures of a Polar Expedition”, Benjamin Koppel follows in the footsteps of Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen, and Knud Rasmussens. The result is an immensely Nordic sounding music. The music of the wide open spaces, the music of silence, the music of light. He has teamed up with the saxophone colleague Hans Ulrik, who also plays soprano and barytone sax, and together they have created the album's 14 atmospherically saturated tracks. The rhythm group is the Nordic super trio consisting of Norwegian Jon Balke on piano, Swedish Palle Danielsson on double bass, and Danish Alex Riel on drums.
The Adventures of a Polar Expedition is a result of a collaboration between Cowbell Music ands former director of the Nanortalik Museum and specialist consultant for the Arctic Institute, Sörine Gejl. The Arctic Institute has been so kind as to put image material at our disposal for the booklet of historical polar photos included with the CD. The institute houses one of the world's biggest archives of historical photos from the Artic regions www.arktiskebilleder.dk. The cover image of the CD is supplied by Grenna Museum in the south of Sweden, where they have a polar center and an exhibition about the Andrée expedition.

Benjamin Koppel - soprano & baritone sax

Hans Ulrik -  soprano & baritone sax

Jon Balke - piano

Palle Danielsson - acustic bass

Alex Riel - drums