Light by Palle Mikkelborg

Loveland Music proudly presents Palle Mikkelborg "Light"
Release date: January 30, 2026 on LP/CD/digital.

“Maybe this is his last album. If that’s the case, the end couldn’t be more beautiful." (Politiken ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️)

"Light is, all in all, the perfect distillation of Mikkelborg’s musical work — an array of qualities that have always defined him as a musician: the light, the colors, the life, the mysticism, the love. Seldom has a swan song sounded so beautiful.” (Seismograf)

Palle Mikkelborg (b. 1941) - a spiritual jazz legend, acclaimed composer, trumpet player and electronic music pioneer - is back in the studio recording his first solo album in more than 25 years. Working with him as a producer is Jakob Bro, with whom he has recorded the great ECM albums "Returnings" with Jon Christensen and Thomas Morgan, and "Strands" with Marilyn Mazur.

"When Palle decided to stop touring and performing live, I suggested that we sit down together and listen through the many MiniDiscs and DAT tapes he had tucked away, hoping we might find a new direction for making music together. We went through everything — recordings of orchestras and choirs, soundscapes, and so on — material he had worked on throughout his career,” says Jakob Bro.

“I can still remember the first time we said it out loud. Suddenly, it made perfect sense in my mind: a solo album. An album devoted entirely to Palle — his sound, his vision, his voice. It felt like something the world truly needed.”

This final opus sees Palle Mikkelborg re-interpret and record his own orchestral works and two pieces by Per Nørgaard and Thomas Laub as 'meditations' on solo piano, trumpet and flugelhorn mixed with soundscapes and guest performances by longtime collaborators Helen Davis, Jakob Bro and Thomas Li.

As a soloist his sound on trumpet and flugelhorn is both much loved and familiar after decades at the forefront of Nordic Music, but on “Light” one is struck by the weight Palle Mikkelborg has given his soundscapes and the grand piano. Forever curious on what's ahead, the album underlines his spiritual and ever-seeking approach to free improvisation, classical composition, choral works and experimental sound landcapes.

Film by Andreas Koefoed
Cinematography: Adam Jandrup & Andreas Koefoed
Music: "Wind" composed and performed by Palle Mikkelborg.

Tracklist

1.	At Tænde Lys (Per Nørgaard)	2:59

2.	Ambient	3:51

3.	Birds	7:09

4.	Spring	5:01

5.	Wind	2:50

6.	Port	3:06

7.	Capricorn	3:59

8.	Drifting	7:02

9.	Stille, Hjerte, Sol Går Ned	5:38

Videos

Credits

released January 30, 2026

Palle Mikkelborg: Light
Loveland Music (LLM030)
Release date: Jan. 30, 2026 on LP/CD/digital

Limited edition LP comes with nine prints by Tal R

1. At Tænde Lys
2. Ambient
3. Birds
4. Spring
5. Wind
6. Port
7. Capricorn
8. Drifting
9. Stille, Hjerte, Sol Går Ned

All music by Palle Mikkelborg except At Tænde Lys (written for Palle Mikkelborg in 2006 by Per Nørgård) and Stille, Hjerte, Sol Går Ned (Thomas Laub, 1915).

All soundscapes designed by Palle Mikkelborg.

Trumpet, Flugelhorn and Piano recorded by Palle Mikkelborg at The Village Recording, Copenhagen in August–December 2024 (except At Tænde Lys).

Stille, Hjerte, Sol Går Ned
Palle Mikkelborg: Flugelhorn, Piano
Jakob Bro: Guitar, effects
Helen Davies: Harp
Vokal Nord soundscape produced by Thomas Li

Wind
Palle Mikkelborg: Trumpet
Jakob Bro: Wind Chimes

Mixed and recorded by Thomas Vang at The Village Recording
Mastered by David Elberling at The Village Studio B

Artwork: Tal R
Cover Design: Claus Due Studio
Produced by Jakob Bro

Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation, Dansk Artist Forbund & KODA

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