Is It Jazz? Records

Is It Jazz? Records Is It Jazz? Records is a sub-label of Karisma & Dark Essence Records, specializing on the Jazz genre. We are based in Bergen, Norway. Is it Jazz? Records.

Records

The people behind Karisma & Dark Essence Records AS have always been interested in a lot of different musical styles and genres, which is quite evident when you look at the catalogue of releases from both labels. And, when one do dabble with more progressive and experimental music some times, it should be no surprise that we also enjoy a lot of jazz music as well. That’s why we now launch

a new sub-label, simply called Is it Jazz? Why the name Is it Jazz? Records do you ask? Well, what’s labeled jazz is so much these days, that it even within the jazz scene there’s discussions on what is jazz and what is not. Here, we will release bands and artists that we feel represents jazz for us, be it the classic sounding jazz sounding ones, the really experimental ones, the soft singer/songwriters or the hard rocking proggers. We hope you’ll enjoy our jazz discoveries, and let's see if you think it’s jazz or not!

We are happy to announce the signing of the Bergen-based 9-piece jazz band Whatever Happens Don't Be Yourself! Their 5th...
23/09/2025

We are happy to announce the signing of the Bergen-based 9-piece jazz band Whatever Happens Don't Be Yourself! Their 5th album will be released this winter. Read all about it (link in comments).

Today marks two months since Soft Ffog's "Focus" dropped.Have you checked out the album? Taken it for a spin?Got a favou...
02/07/2025

Today marks two months since Soft Ffog's "Focus" dropped.
Have you checked out the album? Taken it for a spin?
Got a favourite track?
It's been is said, that on this album, The Soft is Ffoggier and the Ffog is softer.

This really hurts! We've had the honour and privilege to work with Axel Skalstad on albums with the bands Krokofant, Sof...
12/06/2025

This really hurts! We've had the honour and privilege to work with Axel Skalstad on albums with the bands Krokofant, Soft Ffog and , and we are so proud of those albums. What a musician, drummer and human he was. Our hearts go out to his family and all the musicians he played with. He'll be much missed!

https://jazzinorge.no/2025/06/11/om-virvelvind-axel-skalstad-1992-2025/

Fine ord fra Tor Hammerø om nye Soft Ffog.
09/05/2025

Fine ord fra Tor Hammerø om nye Soft Ffog.

Jeg vil ha mer konkluderte jeg med for tre år siden da Soft Ffog debuterte med sitt sjøltitulerte visittkort. Nå har jeg fått mine innerste (?) drømmer oppfylt. Etter tre år med mye jobbing og videre utforsking av progrock/jazzrockuniverset, der de blant annet ikke legger skjul på sin fascina

Soft ffog - Focus, OUT TODAY! Soft Ffog is a Norwegian progressive jazz-rock band celebrated for its exceptional virtuos...
02/05/2025

Soft ffog - Focus, OUT TODAY!

Soft Ffog is a Norwegian progressive jazz-rock band celebrated for its exceptional virtuosity and high musicianship levels. The band combines intricate jazz improvisation with rock elements, creating a dynamic and engaging listening experience that showcases precision and creativity.

On their second album Focus, the band is more progrock than ever. The Soft is Ffoggier and the Ffog is softer. Highly influenced by 70s underground heroes like Camel and Focus, sprinkled with that old jazz dust, this new record should satisfy all you 70s nostalgics with a jazz tickle out there!

The combined members of Soft Ffog have probably played with everyone in the Norwegian jazz scene, but here they do their own thing. All songs are composed by Tom Hasslan, and the band is playing his compositions like there’s no tomorrow. But then again, there will probably be a tomorrow, and then you buy the record, and «YoU Will Be happy» !!

Line-up:
- Tom “Zappa-finger” Hasslan on the guitars
- Axel “Pheel the Collin’s” Skalstad on the buckets
- Trond “Geezer Jeezuz” Frønes on the bass
- Vegard “Wake(up the)man” Lien Bjerkan on all the keyboards in the world

Check it out here: https://orcd.co/soft-focus

Finfin omtale fra Tor Hammerø om den nye Datadyr platen.
29/04/2025

Finfin omtale fra Tor Hammerø om den nye Datadyr platen.

Det er snart tre år siden jeg møtte Bergens-trioen Datadyr for første gang. Nå har de tatt flotte nye steg. Da debutalbumet "Woolgathering" ankom heimen var det med tre unge herrer fra Sortland, Odda og Trondheim som hadde funnet sammen på jazzlinja på Grieg-akademiet i Bergen og som var helt

Datadyr’s second album “This We Know” is out today! It reflects an outsider’s view on current events in the states, poli...
25/04/2025

Datadyr’s second album “This We Know” is out today! It reflects an outsider’s view on current events in the states, political and otherwise. It’s easy to get caught up in the old romantic image of America, especially growing up in Norway surrounded by and idolising American art and media. The current state of the nation is one far removed from that idealist view the band grew up with, and this album is about the process of realization and eventually accepting that a place that produced so much of what you love is now responsible for so much of what you hate.

To make things even more interesting, we pressed the album on completely random colour combinations, so no copy looks the same.

New single out today from Datadyr titled "Dallas Alice".As the band explained:"The second single “Dallas Alice” is Datad...
02/04/2025

New single out today from Datadyr titled "Dallas Alice".

As the band explained:
"The second single “Dallas Alice” is Datadyr’s attempt at a country rock ballad, inspired by artists like Little Feat and Jackson Browne with a mid-section that takes it in a jazzier direction before returning to the calm and reassuring main theme of the song."

Datadyr’s new album “This We Know”, which will be released on April 25th, is a more mature and confident outing than the debut “Woolgathering”. The band is still inspired by traditional American music like jazz, blues, bluegrass and folk but with a greater focus on songwriting and structure than their debut.

Links in comments.

Adresse

Nygårdsgaten 2
Bergen
5015

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