New artist release for this year's festival

Veteran and pioneer Nils Petter Molvær is ready for this year's festival with brand new commissioned work. The public can also look forward to a meeting with jazz Norway's new vocal favorite Siril Malmedal Hauge, a solo concert with Stian Carstensen and full blast in the backyard at Gamle Norge with the country's new guitar hero Tora Dahle Aagård in the band TORA.

From before are Susanna & the Brotherhood of Our Lady, Håkon Kornstad & Oslo jazz ensemble, Bjørn Eidsvåg, Marius Neset, Arild Andersen - anniversary concert, the commissioned work "Polaroid" by Martin Horntveth, Maria Kannegaard, CC Cowboys, Iver Kleive & Knut Reiersrud and more released for this year's festival. 

- Infection prevention is the focus and we aim to invite a limited number of audiences to good concert experiences in a safe setting, within the current restrictions, says festival director Ragnhild Menes. 

 

Nils Petter Molvær: Frameworks
Trumpeter, composer and producer Nils Petter Molvær is a pioneer in the new fusion music, where the programmed meets the improvised. Now he will break new ground in a commissioned piece for an extended cast, which will be performed for the first time at the Kongsberg Jazz Festival. Read more about the ordering work here.

Nils Petter Molvær – trumpet/electronics, Johan Lindstrøm – guitar/steel guitar, Jo Berger Myhre – bass, Erland Dahlen – drums, Vladislav Delay Electronics/sampling, Haarpreet Bansal – violin, Sven Persson – sound, Tord Knudsen – lighting design

TORA in Old Norway
TORA is a firework of a band fronted by Norway's new guitar hero Tora Dahle Aagård. She continues to make a name for herself with her unique talent, virtuosity, energy and playful musicianship, and the band garners rave reviews for their live shows. She has over 160.000 followers on Instagram. 

TORA plays blues-inspired pop-rock and in 2019 released its self-titled debut album to strong reception. The band's second album GIRLS from 2020 was nominated for Spellemann in the blues category. International names such as Aaron Sterling (John Mayer's drummer) and guitarist Joey Landreth appear on the album. On Friday afternoon during the festival, TORA will create a great atmosphere in the backyard at Gamle Norge! Read more about the concert here. 

Siril Malmedal Hauge at Energimølla
One of the country's fastest growing stars in the jazz sky can be heard at Energimølla on Thursday 7 July. 

Siril Malmedal Hauge is a vocalist, instrumentalist, composer and lyricist. She composes music that both moves and captivates. With roots in the jazz tradition and a strong phrasing, Siril is known for being a good storyteller who also adapts to the instrumental. She has already managed to become one of the country's most sought-after vocalists through several projects. In 2019, she received the "jazz talent of the year" award at Moldejazz, and the "silver award" from the Japanese Jazz Ciritique Magazine for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2018. Read more about Siril Malmedal Hauge's concert here. 

Siril Malmedal Hauge – vocals, mandolin, Martin Myhre Olsen – saxophones, Torgeir Hovden Standal – guitars, Kjetil André Mulelid – piano, organ, Martin Morland – bass

Stian Carstensen solo
Stian Carstensen is perhaps best known from the band Farmers Market, which has been going for 30 years, but he comes to Kongsberg Jazzfestival as a one-man enterprise. 

The repertoire ranges from baroque and Balkan to hillbilly and jazz, topped off with own shows in the revue tradition. All of this is approached with solid doses of improvised poetry in the tradition of Myllarguten, Bach and Charlie Parker. Stian is concerned with improvisation in the truest sense of the word, therefore suggestions from the audience within the limits of unreasonableness are gratefully received. Stian Carstensen will be heard in the backyard at Privat Bar during this year's festival. Read more about the concert here.