Jazz Articles

Excess Luggage: Hand Luggage Only

by Dave Wayne
December 12, 2011

Given this Norwegian trio's two keyboards-plus-drums instrumentation, there may be the expectation of something avant-garde, or perhaps something reminiscent of '70s-era prog rock. However, on Hand Luggage Only, Excess Luggage's core values are firmly oriented towards aggressive, swinging modern jazz. This is clear from the CD's first track, the bobbing, weaving “Annoying You." The title may refer to the tune's mechanical-sounding, syncopated, repetitious melody--though nothing about it is truly annoying. Another thing that's immediately apparent is how well the instrumentation ...

Sidiki Camara Band: Tolerance

by Jakob Baekgaard
February 17, 2011

Sometimes music blossoms in the strangest places. For instance, who would have thought that a superior example of Malian funk could be created in Norway? Nevertheless, this is the case with Malian vocalist and master percussionist Sidiki Camara, whose band consists of some of the best jazz musicians on the Norwegian scene. Camara is known as a member of guitarist Bill Frisell's group The Intercontinentals, but he is also a well-established musician in his own right, having ...

Peloton: Selected Recordings

by Jakob Baekgaard
January 26, 2009

There's a common perception of Norwegian jazz that links it to the Nordic sound: a cool, melancholic aesthetic propagated by the likes of Jan Garbarek, Helge Lien and Tord Gustavsen. The Rune Grammofon label has, however, brought a new strain into Norwegian jazz that has made it possible to disturb the image of icy mountain music in favor of a more wildly eclectic, experimental music.

While it is true that Peloton's Selected Recordings isn't released on Rune Grammofon, the record ...