Mezzoforte (band)
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Mezzoforte is an instrumental jazz-funk fusion band from Iceland, formed in 1977.<ref name="Larkin">Larkin, Colin (1997) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music, Virgin Books, Template:ISBN, p. 321</ref>
They signed a record deal with Icelandic label Steinar.<ref name="Larkin" /> Their biggest hit single was "Garden Party" (1983), taken from their fourth album (second international release) Surprise Surprise.<ref name="Larkin" /> It peaked at number 17 in the UK Singles Chart. The solo that takes place two minutes into "Garden Party", was created and played on the flugelhorn by English trumpeter, Stephen Dawson.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">Template:Cite book</ref> "Garden Party" was later covered by Herb Alpert, at a slower speed than the original, apparently as he had learned the track from the single played at the wrong speed.<ref name="Larkin" /> Another single, "Rockall" spent one week at number 75 in the same listing in June that year, and was used as a signature tune by several European radio chart shows.<ref name="Larkin" /><ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/>
The band was named after the traditional musical term mezzo forte, an instruction to play literally "moderately loud".
Band members
Original line-up from 1977:
- Eyþór Gunnarsson – keyboards
- Jóhann Ásmundsson – bass
- Gunnlaugur Briem-Gulli Briem (Gulli) – drums
- Friðrik Karlsson (Frissi) – guitars
Other members, present and past:
- Bruno Müller – guitars (2005–2014)
- Sebastian Studnitzky – trumpet & keyboards (2005–present)
- Thomas Dyani – percussion (2004–present)
- Jonas Wall – saxophones (2013–present)
- Ari Bragi Karason – trumpet
- Staffan William-Olsson – guitars (2003–2004)
- Joel Palsson – saxophones (2003)
- Guðmundur Pétursson – guitars (2003)
- Óskar Guðjónsson – saxophones (1996–2003, 2005–2013)
- Kåre Kolve – saxophones (1991–1994)
- Björn Thorarensen – synthesizers (1980–1982)
- Kristinn Svavarsson – saxophones (1982–1985)
- David O'Higgins – saxophones (1985–1989, 2002–2004)
- Jeroen De Rijk – percussion (1984–1986)
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICE <ref name=":3">Peak positions for Mezzoforte's albums in Iceland:
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| Mezzoforte | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Í Hakanum |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Þvílíkt Og Annað Eins |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| 4 |
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1 | 46 | 33 | 10 | — | — | — | 28 | ||||||||||||||
| Yfirsýn |
|
7 | — | 39 | — | 6 | 46 | 23 | — | ||||||||||||||
| Rising |
|
10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| No Limits |
|
9 | — | — | — | 12 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Playing for Time |
|
8 | — | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Daybreak |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Monkey Fields |
|
7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Forward Motion |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Volcanic |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Islands |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Live albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| ICE <ref name=":3" /> | ||
| Sprellifandi |
|
1 |
| Live in Reykjavik |
|
— |
| Live from London |
|
— |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICE <ref name=":3" /> |
UK <ref name=":2" /> | |||
| Catching up with Mezzoforte – Early Recordings |
|
— | 95 | |
| The Saga So Far |
|
4 | — | |
| Best Collection |
|
— | — | |
| Fortissimos | 7 | — | ||
| Garden Party Time – The Best of Mezzoforte |
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— | — |
| The Very Best of Mezzoforte |
|
— | — | |
| Anniversary Edition |
|
— | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||
Video albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| High Voltage |
|
| Live in Reykjavik |
|
| Live from London – Live from the Marquee Club |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| "Dreamland"/"Shooting Star" | 1982 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Garden Party" | 1983 | 8 | 32 | 10 | 36 | 23 | 5 | 17 | |||
| "Rockall" | — | — | 31 | — | — | 43 | 75 | ||||
| "Midnight Express" (live) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Midnight Sun" | 1984 | — | — | — | — | — | — | citation | CitationClass=web
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| "Spring Fever" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 100 | ||||
| "Take Off | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Taking Off" (vocal mix) | 1985 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Garden Party" (sunshine mix) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "This Is the Night" (featuring Noel McCalla) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Nothing Lasts Forever" (featuring Noel McCalla) | 1986 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "No Limit" | 1987 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Expressway" | 1989 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "High Season" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Better Love" | 1991 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "After Hours" | 1994 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Step Right Back" | 1996 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Monkey Fields" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Garden Party" (2002 remix) | 2002 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Hún veit hvað ég vil" (with Auður) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Broke n Hip" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
References
External links
- mezzoforte.com (official site)
- Template:Allmusic
- Template:Discogs artist
- gullibriem.com (Gulli Briem's site)
- thefeelgoodcollection.com Template:Webarchive (Fridrik Karlsson's site)
- bruno-mueller-music.de (Bruno Müller's site)
- studnitzky.de (Sebastian Studnitzky's site)
- jookraus.de (Joo Kraus' site)