I noticed on AwesomeProg that the Norwegian band Soft Ffog were cleared by the JRFC team just under a month ago, and I would like to suggest another Norwegian band who play a brand of Jazz/Rock Fusion, and have links to Soft Ffog via a couple of shared band members - namely Wizrd.

WIZRD: Formed Trondheim, Norway, 2018. Since then based in Oslo.

The band was originally envisioned at the Jazz Conservatory in Trondheim by bassist and vocalist Hallvard GAARDLØS who enlisted the help of two of his fellow students at the Conservatory to form a band with a view to the trio performing at his graduating exam. The trio played several songs at the exam, including some which eventually ended up on the band's debut album.

Although formed as a guitar/bas/drums three-piece in early 2018, Vegard Lien BJERKAN joined on keys very soon after the band's initial formation, and the completed line-up consisted of four excellent musicians who were already members of other fine bands - such as Norwegian Jazz Fusionists SOFT FFOG,  Rock'n'Roll powerhouse SPIDERGAWD, Jazz/Progressive Trio KROKOFANT, Hard Rock and Metal band DRAKEN and the Free Jazz outfit MEGALODON COLLECTIVE.

WIZRD's completed line-up in early 2018 was: Hallvard GAARDLØS (SPIDERGAWD, DRAKEN and more) on bass and lead vocals, Karl BJORÅ (MEGALODON COLLECTIVE and more) on guitar and vocals, Vegard Lien BJERKAN (SOFT FFOG and more) on keyboards and vocals and Axel SKALSTAD (KROKOFANT, SOFT FFOG and more) on drums.

The band eventually began working on their debut album in 2020, and the finished album was produced by Norwegian film score composer and Norwegian Alt-Jazz legends JAGA JAZZIST drummer Martin HORNTVETH, whom the various members of WIZRD had known for many years. The album was recorded at Studio Paradiso in Oslo, with HORNTVETH being assisted by Marcus FORSGREN (BROR FORSGREN, JAGA JAZZIST), and the mixing was done by Bergen-based musician and producer Matias TELLEZ (YOUNG DREAMS, GIRL IN RED).

With a classic Rock line-up of guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and vocals the quartet stylistically follows the traditions of the likes of CREAM, MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, WEATHER REPORT etc. in generating a sense urgency and energy without sacrificing attention to melody and dynamics. The band's intention from the very outset was to mix progressive and improvisational elements with rock & pop sensibilities. 

The result was the groovy, catchy and progressive debut album 'Seasons', which was finally released on 21st October 2022 by Karisma Records - home to bands like WOBBLER and SEVEN IMPALE - and showcases how WIZRD are more than happy to test their limits with a sound that encompasses a variety of genres - ranging from Rock and Indie to Jazz and Prog. The album has been described as "an exciting mix of guitar driven progressive rock, frenzied organ-fueled Classic Rock, captivating vocal harmonies, and Jazz Fusion excursions - all supported by a superb rhythm section".

Prior to the album's release in October 2022, a single 'Fire & Water' was released by Karisma Records on 29th September, for which band were lucky enough to have James PETRALLI from the band WHITE DENIM guesting on lead vocals. The band's choice of this single is notable for the fact that it's a song which marks the very beginning  of WIZRD's existence, and provides an opportunity to trace the band's progression in terms of writing and concept from almost day one. Another single called 'Lessons' was released from the album a few weeks earlier by Karisma at the beginning of September 2022.

The band's line up has remained stable since its formation despite all the participants being involved in several other projects, and more recently in October 2023 - having already begun work on their next album - WIZRD and Karisma Records once again joined forces to release a cover of the seminal BLACK SABBATH track 'The Wizard'. This song was a part of WIZRD's setlist a few years back, when they played some shows where the audience could vote and choose in advance what kind of artists the band should cover.

'Seasons' (October 21st 2022):

1. Lessons (4:10) 

2. Free Will (4:43) 

3. Spitfire (4:59) 

4. All Is As It Should Be (8:09) 

5. Show Me What You Got (7:44) 

6. Fire & Water (3:40) 

7. Divine (6:03) 

8. When You Call (4:24) 

Total time 43:52

- Hallvard Gaardløs / bass, lead vocals

- Axel Skalstad / drums, percussion

- Karl Bjorå / guitar, vocals

- Vegard Lien Bjerkan / keyboards, vocals

With:

- James Petralli / lead vocals (6)

Vinyl LP  Karisma Records – KAR239LP (2022, Norway)

Limited Edition, Magenta Transparent Vinyl

https://wizrd.bandcamp.com/album/seasons" rel="nofollow - https://wizrd.bandcamp.com/album/seasons .

https://open.spotify.com/album/0dcCo7OLJB6ttVw397M8qI" rel="nofollow - https://open.spotify.com/album/0dcCo7OLJB6ttVw397M8qI .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m72EJT3kayQ" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m72EJT3kayQ .

Band photo:  https://www.karismarecords.no/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/WIZRD-3-2-2-1024x683-jpg.webp" rel="nofollow - https://www.karismarecords.no/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/WIZRD-3-2-2-1024x683-jpg.webp .

Note to JRFC team: The biography I have included above for Soft Ffog is not entirely 'my own words', but neither is it a pure 'copy/paste' job. It is complied from bits of text from various websites who have featured the band, and then edited to make the whole thing read properly. If you decide to use it as it is, there is no need to credit me for it.

^ sorry we missed this! The Jazz Fusion team has been in a state of disarray for quite some time now and running on slo-mo.

I'm taking a quick listen to this right now and it's sounding more like progressive indie rock than jazz-fusion to me.

It might be a better candidate for eclectic but i'll have a better idea after i listen to the entire album.

Thanks for the updated alert ;)

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If you feel that Eclectic would be a better fit than JR/F after you've heard the whole album, I'll edit the topic title to include both subs. 

^ they sound more like King GIzzard and the Wizzard Lizard to me.

They're really more like a modern heavy psych band with indie rock

I'm thinking PSIKE but let me ponder and see if anyone else can chime in

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^ that's where my biology classes come in handy :)

So they are most like fellow Norweigians Shaman Elephant which is basically a form of psychedelic heavy prog.

Here on PA they are listed as psychedelic rock so i'm thinking they will be going to PSIKE.

I'll finish the last three tracks on the albums later today.

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siLLy puPPy wrote: ^ that's where my biology classes come in handy :)

Lol! Been there and done that too. I wasn't much better at dissecting rats than I am at dissecting music!

Edit: The evaluation of Shaman Elephant in PSIKE back in 2017 was pretty straightforward by the looks of it, so that certainly seems the logical place to send Wizrd too: