DESCRIPTION:
Farmers Market is a Norwegian band founded in 1991. They started out as a free jazz quintet sprung out from the conservatory in Trondheim, but now incorporates a wide variety of genres, such as jazz, rock, pop music, bluegrass, classical and —most significantly — Bulgarian folk music. Humorous arrangements, virtuosity and odd time signatures are characteristic to their style. Multi-instrumentalist Stian Carstensen is a sort of front figure, though guitarist Nils-Olav Johansen performs most of the lead vocals.
The band's original saxophonist Håvard Lund left the group in 1995, and they looked to Bulgaria for a replacement. Trifon Trifonov joined the band after auditioning by telephone.
Farmers Market has performed at several international jazz festivals, such as Kongsberg Jazzfestival (1993, 1995, and 2009), Moldejazz (1994, 2003, 2004, and 2010), North Sea Jazz Festival (Amsterdam, 2004), and Berliner Festspiele (2005). They have released four studio albums. Their debut album, "Speed/Balkan/Boogie" from 1995, is a live recording from two concerts held at Moldejazz 1994 with members from Grammy winning Bulgarian female vocal group Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares and two Bulgarian folk musicians.
Their fourth studio album, "Surfin' USSR", was awarded an open class Spellemannspris (Norwegian Grammy equivalent) in 2008. It was released on Mike Patton's Ipecac label.
The band has collaborated with several Norwegian orchestras, such as the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK), Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, and Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. Farmers Market have also collaborated with Michael Brecker