Frøy Aagre is one of very few female saxophonists and composers in Norway. Despite her young age she has developed a highly individual expression and her compositions are both imaginative and original. Frøy Aagre and her band Offbeat received excellent reviews for the debutalbum “Katalyze” (2004). Reviewers compared Aagre with saxophone legends such as Jan Garbarek, David Liebman and Wayne Shorter. January 22´th Frøy Aagre & Offbeat release their second album “Countryside.” The band plays contemporary melodic jazz, composed by Frøy Aagre. The music is characterized by intriguing melodies and melodic interplay, unexpected rhythmic ideas and rich harmonic textures. The element of surprise is always there in Aagres´ music and Offbeat´s unique musical interaction. Offbeat consists of very talented musicians on the Norwegian jazz scene: Andreas Ulvo (piano), Audun Ellingsen (bass) and Freddy Wike (drums).

-I sat completely still for several minutes after having listened to this album, completely captivated by an entirely other musical universe. Easy to enter, I thought, yet so hard to leave. I knew I had experience something quite unique…
- Bjørn Kruses. (From Countryside linear notes)

Frøy Aagre has studied music in Oslo, Birmingham,
London, New York and Buenos Aires. In New York she studied with the
world famous saxophonist David Liebman. Frøy Aagre has toured
Scandianvia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, England, Africa and New York with different bands. She has received numerous prizes and scholarships. In 2005 she received the prestigous 1-year Composition Scholarship from the Norwegian Government.

Pianist Andreas Ulvo is currently a Master student at The Norwegian State Academy of Music in Oslo. He plays with bands like Shining, Ulvo Trio and Eple Trio. He has also composed music for various ensembles and short films.

The bass player Audun Ellingsen studied at Leeds College of Music in England. He played with Tomasz Stanko/ Bobo Stenson in the European Jazz Odyssey Orchestra in 2004. He has toured Belgium, France, England and Scandinavia with the jazz band Sphinxs, which represented Norway at the prestigious Jazz festival Tremplin Jazz d’Avignon in 2003.

The drummer Freddy Wike has worked as a freelance musician in Oslo for many years, and he has done projects and recording sessions musicians like Helge Lien, Arve Henriksen, Trygve Seim, Ove Støylen and Jan Magne Førde.