Articles by Angela Shawn-Chi Lu

Jaga Jazzist: Maximalistic

by Angela Shawn-Chi Lu
June 24, 2011

A Norwegian nonet that rocks 35 instruments onstage and smashes Afrobeat, prog, film music, cheesy fanfares and Steve Reich arpeggios together against a backdrop of gigantic slot machine fruit? The odds of that happening are “No friggin way!" But as it turns out, one such nonet does exist. What's even more shocking is that Jaga Jazzist (pronounced “yaga yazzist") has made this demented formula supremely successful. Over its 17-year career, Jaga Jazzist has garnered international and critical ...