PORTLAND – On Friday, Feb. 6, Swedish bassist and jazz composer Bruno Råberg will bring his international quartet to Starbird Recital Hall to perform music from their critically acclaimed CD “Ascensio.”

Allabout jazz.com describes Råberg’s compositions as “shifting meters, unusual time signatures, a muscular rhythmic pulse behind the front line horns, combined with a drummer who divides the spaces with the snap and pop of emphatic punctuations. Add to this the ineffable ‘Scandinavian tinge,’ and Ascensio has a sound that seems familiar and foreign at the same time.”

Råberg came to the United States from Sweden in 1981. Currently, he’s an associate professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Råberg has had a varied musical career as a performer, composer and gifted teacher. He has taught clinics in Europe, Central America, Japan, South Africa and the United States, and was on the faculty of the Royal Conservatory in Stockholm, Sweden.

He has performed worldwide, at the major jazz festivals in Europe and at the Monterey Jazz Festival in the U.S.

Råberg has released four albums. The others are “Pentimento” in 1992, “Orbis” in 1998 and “Presence” in 2000.

Phil Grenadier, trumpet, is originally from San Francisco and now living in Boston. He has performed/recorded with Bob Belden, Kenny Barron, Chris Potter, Mulgrew Miller and Billy Hart. He has released two CDs.

Allan Chase, saxophone, chaired the Jazz Studies and Improvisation Department at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston from 1996 to 2001. He has appeared on many recordings and released two CDs as a leader, “Dark Clouds With Silver Linings” and “Phoenix.”

Ziv Ravitz, drums, was born in Beer-Sheva, Israel, to a family of musicians. Since moving to the United States in 2000, he has performed with some great jazz players and attended Berklee College of Music. He recently released a CD and completed a European tour as a member of the Minsarah Trio.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m. at Starbird Recital Hall, 525 Forest Ave. Tickets: $10, or $8 for Maine Jazz Alliance members.

They’re available in Portland at Starbird Music 772-2733, and Books Etc. 774-0626, or in Brunswick at Macbeans Music 729-6513.

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