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Oslo International Jazz Festival 2011
by John Kelman
Oslo International Jazz FestivalOslo, NorwayAugust 15-20, 2011 There's always an eager sense of anticipation when returning to Norway, whether it's the barren but beautiful north of Svalbard, the stunning, mountain-surrounded Molde, the picturesque Kongsberg, the fjord-gateway of Bergen or the rugged beauty surrounding Kristiansand. But going back to Norway for the ...
Amina Alaoui: Arco Iris
by John Kelman
Following her outstanding performance with the cross-cultural, century-spanning ensemble of Norwegian keyboardist/composer Jon Balke's Siwan (ECM, 2009), it's no surprise that the German label has tapped into the Moroccan singer for an album of her own. But as sprawling and ambitious as Siwan was, Arco Iris is, while being no less dramatic, on a much smaller ...
Jokleba: Jokleba! / nu jok?
by John Kelman
Jøkleba Jøkleba! / nu jøk? Universal Music AS, Norway 2011 (1992) It was the show of the year. When veteran bassist Dave Holland had to pull out of his performance at Norway's Vossa Jazz 2011 due to a serious family illness, the festival approached another veteran with a desperate plea ...
Norwegian Jazz 101c: JazzNorway In A Nutshell 2011
by John Kelman
2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 It may be true, at least most of the time, that familiarity breeds, if not exactly contempt, then certainly complacency; but that simply doesn't apply if subject is Norway--and, in particular, its disproportionately large and vibrant music scene. Suffering from an epidemic that most folks would ...
Craig Taborn: Avenging Angel
by John Kelman
He puts out albums under his own name so rarely, while amassing a discography as a sideman/co-leader that's almost unparalleled in its sheer size and stylistic breadthwith over 100 recordings to date, since he first showed up in saxophonist James Carter's groups of the mid-1990sthat it's cause for celebration any time pianist Craig Taborn gets around ...
Mathias Eick: Skala
by John Kelman
Those who've caught Mathias Eick live, since the release of The Door (ECM, 2008), know that, as strong a first salvo as that debut was, it was no preparation for the power of the Norwegian trumpeter in performance. When his quartet performed at Mai Jazz 2008, with pianist Andreas Ulvo replacing The Door's Jon Balke, it ...
Paolo Fresu / A Filetta Corsican Voices / Daniele di Bonaventura: Mistico Mediterraneo
by John Kelman
At a time when cross-pollination has become the new musical evolution, ECM Records remains at the vanguard. Whether blending music of Tunisian origins with European impressionistic concerns and hints of New World groove on oudist Anouar Brahem's The Astounding Eyes of Rita (2009), or marrying Persian percussion with Baroque instrumentation and Fourth World improvisation on keyboardist ...
BMX: Bergen Open
by John Kelman
Tradition, in a living, breathing art form, is something that is continually defined, refined and redefined. When drummer Paul Motian--first coming to fame in pianist Bill Evans' mid-1950s trio--trimmed his quintet of the early 1980s into a bass-less trio featuring then-emergent guitar whiz Bill Frisell and equally on-the-rise saxophonist Joe Lovano, its very first recording, It ...
Compendium Records - Norway's First Progressive Record Store And Label 1974-1977
By Jon Balke
Label: Plastic Strip
Released: 2010
Track listing: Steam; Street Talk; Seven Drones; Peace In The World; Come Down; Spanish Knee; Human Syndrome; Kings Head; Watching Everybody Else; Oslo;
Jakob Baekgaard's Best Danish Releases of 2010
by Jakob Baekgaard
The Danish jazz scene has evolved tremendously during recent years. The recurring Copenhagen Jazz Festival is a testament to the strength of the Danish jazz scene and its ability to soak up influences from outside. Openness towards musical influences is also reflected in this year's harvest of the best Danish records, which often bring in American ...


