Norwegian Road Trip, Part 2: Kongsberg Jazz, July 9-10, 2010

John Kelman

Senior Editor since 2004

With the realization that there will always be more music coming at him than he can keep up with, John wonders why anyone would think that jazz is dead or dying.

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Published: July 12, 2010

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July 10: Kongsberg Ends

With a couple of late night concerts to round out the last day of the 2010 Kongsberg Jazz Festival, it was time to wrap things up and prepare for a week in Oslo. With all the hustle and bustle of the town during the festival's four days, it's hard to imagine that, by the following morning, almost everyone is gone and there are few signs that the festival had even taken place. With a successful program of music that encourages attendance from a broad demographic—and a youthful attendance that proves it is, indeed, possible to ensure that jazz doesn't fade away as aging baby boomers begin to hit their retirement years, festivals like Kongsberg provide a model from which North American jazz festivals—most facing the clear challenge of attracting people beyond the gray hairs and no hairs—could and should learn.

Visit Bill Frisell, Tortoise, Arild Andersen, Håkon Kornstad, John Hollenbeck, Jaga Jazzist and Kongsberg Jazz Festival on the web.

Coming Up: First Encounters in Oslo

Photo Credits
Page 1, Henie Onstad Arts Centre: Courtesy of Henie Onstad Arts Centre
All Other Photos: John Kelman