Mezzoforte

Prior to the emergence of the Sugarcubes, the jazz fusion ensemble Mezzoforte ranked as Iceland’s foremost musical export. Formed in 1977 inside a Reykjavik high school, the core membership consisted of Fridrik Karlsson (b. 24 April 1960; guitar), Eythór Gunnarsson (b. 9 September 1961; keyboards), Jóhann Ásmundsson (b. 30 March 1961; bass), and Gunnlaugur Briem (b. 8 September 1962; drums). After inking a deal with the domestic imprint Steinar, the quartet enlisted saxophonist Stefán S. Stefánsson to help capture its first album. Keyboardist Bjorn Thorarensen came aboard ahead of the second long-player. Saxophonist Kristinn Svavarsson appeared on the buoyant “Garden Party,” a Top 20 UK success in 1983. American trumpeter Herb Alpert later rendered the piece at half-speed in the USA, having reportedly studied it from a 45 rpm single that had inadvertently spun at 33. The ensuing single “Rockall” achieved only modest chart traction yet served as an identifying theme for radio countdown programs across the Netherlands and UK. For a short stretch the band operated out of London, and by the mid-80s Mezzoforte was traversing the European jazz festival route alongside vocalists Chris Cameron and Noel McCalla, the latter formerly associated with Moon and Mike Rutherford’s ensemble. Karlsson issued a solo album in 1990 that featured vocalist Ellen Kristjánsdóttir together with several Mezzoforte colleagues. Subsequent band recordings receded behind individual outside endeavors, although the group remained officially intact at the dawn of the new millennium.