ECM writes: “Jon Christensen, one of the great drummers of modern jazz and improvisation beyond jazz, has died aged 76. As a young self-taught player, Jon honed his craft working at Oslo’s clubs with a long list of visiting American stars, beginning with Bud Powell and including Don Ellis, Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Kenny Dorham and Dexter Gordon. Dexter famously encouraged Jon to have faith in his own creativity: “You’re not from Harlem, and you’re 20 years old – play how you feel!” By the mid-1960s Jon was working regularly with George Russell and making important contributions to a burgeoning new jazz movement gathering momentum in Norway, alongside Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal and Arild Andersen. Afric Pepperbird announced their arrival at ECM in 1970. It was the first of around seventy albums with Christensen for the label. Jon’s creative, malleable style, with detailed cymbal-play and rolling, flowing drums – he spoke often about playing in waves, about colouration, about phrasing like a horn player – could adapt itself to the most diverse contexts.”
Photo by Roberto Masotti