The Firebirds
Jazz, classical, impro
''In a very charmingly way, the three Pasborg-Firebirds have shed a new light on some of the strongest euro-classical music from the last century without losing the work's complexity''
- JazzNytt, Norway
''Armed with drums, saxophone and keyboards, Stefan Pasborg and his buddies zooms into the works of Stravinsky and Carl Nielsens and gives them a whole new sound and eligibility ... Can a jazz trio really play classical works? For the three gentlemen in The Firebirds seems no challenge too great...The Firebirds are captivating, fascinating, beautiful, aggressive music, drama.. stories with an almost cinematic character that would fit perfectly into a new epic movie by David Lynch''
- Gaffa Magazine, Denmark.
The FIREBIRDS is a trio named after Igor Stravinsky's 'Firebird', and consists of three extraordinary musicians: Stefan Pasborg, Anders Banke and Anders Filipsen. Together they interpret music by amongst others Stravinsky, Carl Nielsen, Tchaikovsky and Rimskij-Korsakov in their very own way, which draws on references from genres and styles as different as jazz, surf, free improvised music, blues and much more.
Drummer, composer and bandleader Stefan Pasborg put the trio together in 2011 in connection to his artist-in-residence at Jazzhouse in Copenhagen, Denmark. Throughout his life Stefan has had a close relationship to amongst others Stravinsky's music, as his mother was a former ballet dancer at the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, and some of his earliest musical impressions came from the 'classical' world. And it is the encounter between the jazz related and improvised music, and the fully notated music that Stefan wants to establish. The result is a completely distinctive sound.
The debut-album by The Firebirds was selected into the Top-5-list ''Best of 2015-Tribute-Releases'' by the american magazine 'New York City Jazz Record’, and the press praised the same album with words like: