* En anglais uniquement
Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, and based in Oslo, Norway,
Olga Konkova is an acoustic post-bop pianist/composer whose influences range from
Herbie Hancock and
John Lewis to
Bill Evans,
Chick Corea, and
Keith Jarrett.
Konkova, who favors a very clean and crystalline style of pianism, is also comparable to
Ahmad Jamal and the underrated
Walter Norris. Like
Norris,
Konkova is known for taking major liberties with familiar melodies -- while other jazz musicians don't really start to improvise until after they play the melody/theme (or "head," in jazz terminology),
Konkova starts to seriously improvise the minute her fingers touch the keyboard. Consequently, she can make even the most familiar standards sound fresh.
Konkova, who started piano lessons at the age of seven, wasn't always a full-time jazz musician; growing up in Moscow, she played mostly classical piano after studying at the Russian Academy of Music, graduating in 1993. But not long afterward, she moved to Boston to study jazz for two semesters at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. Then, in the mid-'90s,
Konkova left the U.S. and moved to Oslo (where she married Norwegian bassist
Per Mathisen, brother of saxophonist
Ole Mathisen). In 1996,
Konkova made her recorded debut as leader with the trio effort
Going with the Flow, featuring bassist
Carl Morten Iversen and drummer
Audun Kleive. She then delivered a handful of well-regarded releases for the British Candid label, including 1997's
Her Point of View and 2001's Some Things from Home.
Unbound, a duet album with husband
Mathisen, followed in 2006. Three years later, she released
Improvisational: Four, which featured solo piano performances inspired by the work of
Joni Mitchell. The pianist next signed with Norway's Losen Records, issuing the expansive solo session
Return Journey in 2011. She then paired with vocalist Wenche Losnegård for the lyrical
My Voice: Music for Piano, Vocal & Percussion, followed by the 2015 trio date
The Goldilocks Zone with
Mathisen and drummer
Gary Husband. In 2017,
Konkova collaborated with guitarist
Jens Thoresen on the atmospheric, holiday-themed
December Songs. A year later, she reunited with
Thoresen for the similarly inventive standards album
Old Songs. ~ Alex Henderson