Nordic Christmas has nothing whatsoever to do with pomp and kitsch, excess and grand gestures. It is familiar and traditional, drawing its strength from silence. Contemplation and concentration determine the most beautiful time of the year in the Scandinavian countries. And their music is a reflection of this quiet as well as intimate mood: Those who have fallen for the special musical charm of Scandinavian Christmas can now celebrate Nordic Christmas with Tore Brunborg and Kjetil Bjerkestrand. Not in a large ensemble, but in an unusual and intimate duo of saxophone and church organ. Tore Brunborg's unmistakably warm tone and Kjetil Bjerkestrand's equally idiosyncratic organ sounds, which use all the registers, merge almost magically Two masters, much too little appreciated in our country, provide touching Nordic Christmas music: 57-year-old Brunborg made a name for himself primarily as a formative sideman with the most important "typical" Norwegian jazz musicians such as Jon Christensen and Nils Petter Molvaer, but also with stars such as Manu Katché and Pat Metheny, until he finally stepped into the limelight himself in 2015 with his ACT debut Slow Snow. Kjetil Bjerkestrand worked as a church cantor for a long time until he discovered the organ as an improvisation instrument and also became active as a composer, arranger and producer. For several years he worked with Dee Dee Bridgewater, wrote arrangements for Ray Charles and then recorded several albums with the pop group a-ha. He also worked successfully as a film musician, and wrote the soundtrack for the film version of the classic Astrid Lindgren children's book Karlsson auf dem Dach These experiences are audibly incorporated when the two together bring Christmas to life in a typically Scandinavian atmosphere: With music that mediates peculiarly between tradition and modernity, between classical and jazz, and in which the harsh Norwegian winter landscape on the one hand and the family celebrations so uniquely drawn by Swedish artist Carl Larsson and bathed in warm light come to life before the mind's eye. Merry Nordic Christmas!