Inger Marie Five Minutes

Norwegian singer Inger Marie Gundersen (known throughout much of the world just as Inger Marie) presents Five Minutes - her first album in 5 years (and a pandemic). The new album was produced by Espen Lind, the Norwegian legend who, in addition to careers as a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and television personality in his native Norway, has worked with artists including Taylor Swift and Beyonce.

Her breathtaking voice is part of her appeal - Gundersen has her own distinct sound. It’s warm, dark, and sincere, and she can bring new meaning to even the most familiar songs and lyrics through her empathetic approach and imaginative arrangements.

Five Minutes is Inger Marie’s sixth recording in her own name, following her 2004 debut, Make This Moment; 200's By Myself; My Heart Would Have A Reason (2009), or You (2011); and Feels Like Home (2018). Despite making her recording debut relatively late in life, Inger Marie has rocketed up the jazz charts in Europe, North America, and Asia, where her albums sell by the thousands in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia. During the era of streaming and digital downloads, she has become a playlist darling and a household name in many parts of the world.

In addition to her dreamlike interpretation of Mark Knopfler's Why Worry, there are plenty of other magical treatments of familiar fare, including Sailing - the Sutherland Brothers song Rod Stewart had a hit with in 1975; We Kiss In A Shadow from Rogers and Hammerstein's The King And I; and Paul McCartney's My Valentine. More recent songs include Jon Brion's Little Person (from 2008's Synedoche, New York film sound track); a dark and folky, almost trip-hopped out version of Bill Fay's Thank You Lord; Diana Krall and Elvis Costello's Narrow Daylight and a stunning version of the Rolling Stone's timeless Wild Horses. The title track, Five Minutes, is from Gretchen Peters's 2012 release Hello Cruel World and might as well have been written for Inger Marie's deliciously dusty pipes.

On the album Inger Marie is joined by Espen Lind on guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals; Torjus Vierli on piano, organ, and keyboards; Tom Frode Tveita on bass; Martin Windstad on drums and percussion; Kristian Frostad on pedal steel, lap steel, and guitar; Erlend Viken on fiddle; and Tore Johansen on trumpet.