Espen Berg Quartet - Aileron Espen Berg Quartet

Aileron is a new all-star jazz quartet, featuring some of the most prolific and vibrant artists from the Berlin and Trondheim scenes. Their debut album will be released on Svale Records in November 2026, and Aileron is all set for a flying start of 2027 with concerts at clubs and festivals around Norway. In May 2025, Aileron played their premiering concert at Jazzfest in Trondheim. Within three days the quartet — who met for the very first time — had recorded a full album and given a world premiere of Espen’s newly written music. For Aileron, he has composed seven pieces drawing on influences from Brad Mehldau, Gerald Clayton, Keith Jarrett, and Jan Garbarek—energetic and lyrical jazz firmly rooted in the Afro-American jazz tradition, while gazing toward the contemporary European jazz scene. His music leaves ample space for attentive and playful interaction, and for individual performances at the very highest level. Aileron—featuring four outstanding soloists —nonetheless sounds like a seasoned and rock-solid band. This is a group that truly brings out the best in one another. Emma Rawicz (24) is a British saxophonist based in Berlin and one of the rising stars on the German label ACT. She has released three critically acclaimed albums, received the Parliament Jazz Award twice, was awarded the Silver Medal of Excellence from the Royal Academy of Music—the only jazz student ever to do so—been featured in DownBeat, performed as a soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra and the SWR Big Band, and leads her own 20-piece jazz orchestra. Pianist and composer Espen Berg (43), based in Trondheim, has released 16 albums as a leader and toured internationally since 2003. With Espen Berg Trio, he has sold out concert halls in Tokyo, Kyoto, Guangzhou, Athens, and the legendary Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London. The trio’s music was included in DownBeat’s list of the best releases of 2019, and their fifth album is forthcoming. Espen has written commissioned works for Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and all the major jazz festivals in Norway. He was appointed to official Steinway Artist in 2023 and has gained international recognition for his solo performances. Kertu Aer (29) is a bassist from Estonia, based in Trondheim and active in a wide range of bands. In recent years, she has toured extensively in Scandinavia, Estonia, and Germany, performing at festivals such as jazzahead! in Germany and Inntöne in Austria. Kertu received the Young Jazz Talent award at the Estonian Jazz Awards in 2024 and was named Young Jazz Musician of the Year the same year as the winner of Jazzintro with the band Lightning Trio. Håkon Mjåset Johansen (51), based in Trondheim, has been a central drummer on the Norwegian jazz scene since 1998. He has won five Spellemann Awards, performed at the Kongsberg Jazz Festival with his own quartet featuring, among others, Chick Corea, toured internationally with Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & Chick Corea, and is known from bands such as Urban Connection, Come Shine, Motif, Oslo Jazz Ensemble, Arild Andersen Group, Håvard Wiik Trio, and John Pål Inderberg Trio. Håkon has also performed with Michael Brecker, Jan Garbarek, Mark Turner, and Bobby McFerrin, and has contributed to more than 150 album releases