Dingobats [1996-2005]
EIRIK HEGDAL - saxophone, composer
NJÅL ØLNES - saxophone
THOMAS T DAHL - guitar
MATS EILERTSEN - bass
SEVERE GØRVAD - drums
The name Dingobats has confused many a soul: it indicates a mixture of Australian wild dogs, bats, font type and the English jazz pianist Django Bates.
Now Dingobats has become a catchphrase one don't need to explain, at least to those who have followed Norwegian jazz music in recent years. Dingobats is the sound of a special band. It is a soundscape you'll recognise, like a color or like an old and good friend.
Dingobats had the chance to work together for 10 years. Very few bands have that. Through a meeting between 5 individual and partly different musicians, the expression was honed as the Norwegian bedrock.
Early Dingobats looked different than late Dingobats; a little wilder and more filled with contrasts in song selection and soloing. Late Dingobats are known for their orchestral sound surfaces, intertwined lines and solo parts that grow out of the collective and then are woven together again.
Throughout all 10 years, it was primarily the compositions of Eirik Hegdal that were the backbone of the band; intricate and funny, full of little hints to the whole history of jazz. A bit of cool jazz-lines, a bit of suggestive blues grunting, melancholic and "Norwegian" tones that "...reeked of folklore" (- B. Rabinovitch, Politiken).
And all the time clear, small allusions to Hegdal's musical guides; Wayne Shorter and Django Bates. Yes, because of course the band name is a tribute to the brilliant Englishman!!