Strong spring program at Jazz Evidence

In the picture: Spellemann-nominated Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and Kristoffer Lo. Photo: André Løyning

Program for Jazz Evidence winter/spring 2016: 

• Wednesday 13 January: 'The sound of Prøysen' with Frida Ånnevik, Helge Lien, Sigurd Hole and others.
• Tuesday 2 February: Ungjam
• Saturday 6 February: Jazz Café: Gavin Baker & Stefan Höglin
• Wednesday 10 February: Olga Konkova Trio
• Wednesday 24 February: Trondheim Jazz Orchestra with Kristoffer Lo
• Wednesday March 9: The Thing
• Saturday 12 March: Jazz cafe: Tom Hasslan and others.
• Tuesday 15 March: Ungjam
• Wednesday 16 March: Helge Lien / Tommy Smith / Arild Andersen / Paolo Vinaccia
• Wednesday 6 April: Crocophant
• Saturday 16 April: Jazz cafe: Vebjørn Ruud with band
• Wednesday 20 April: Ole Morten Vågan: MORE&MORE&MORE & Instant Gratification
• Wednesday 27 April: Kongsberg night with Kongsberg Storband and Kjell Gunnar Hoff Band
• Tuesday 10 May: Ungjam

 All concerts take place at Musikkhuset Energimølla. 

Wednesday 13 January: 'The sound of Prøysen' with Frida Ånnevik, Helge Lien, Sigurd Hole and others.

Few Norwegian writers have such a position as Alf Prøysen. If anyone is part of our common cultural heritage, it is him. Like few others, he appeals to a large and diverse audience, both to children and adults, to academics and "the general public", and to an increasing number of performing artists. A new generation of musicians and vocalists has seen the greatness of Prøysen's work. They have seen that he is not as idyllic and "cosy" as many have perceived him to be. They have seen that beneath the apparently idyllic surface, there can be socially committed protests. The Prussians saw life through the eyes of the economic and social lower class. He can be crass in his display of arrogant wealth and narrow-minded prejudice. Among the artists who have contributed most to this newly interpreted Prøysen renaissance, we find Frida Ånnevik, Helge Lien and Sigurd Hole. They all have good prerequisites for interpreting Prøysen, and they did so with great success with the concert "The Sound of Prøysen", a commission from the Musikk i Hedmark foundation, in Hamar Kulturhus in August 2014. For the Kongsberg Jazz Festival in 2015, Helge Lien tailored a scaled-down and a somewhat reworked version for a concert at Energimølla. Together with the award-winning vocalist Frida Ånnevik and some of the country's finest jazz musicians, and with some new compositions and revealing interpretations of well-known texts, he showed that Prøysen's texts are still a particularly fresh phenomenon. The concert at the jazz festival was such a great success that it is only natural that these musicians return to Energimølla, so that even more people can experience this exquisite interplay between words and tones.

Frida Ånnevik (vocals), Helge Lien (piano), Sigurd Hole (bass), Håvard Lund (bass clarinet), Rolf-Erik Nystrøm (saxophone), Knut Aalefjær (drums), Asle Karstad (sound).

Tuesday 2 February: Ungjam

The collaboration between Jazz Evidence, Kongsberg high school and Kongsberg Cultural School continues. Young and eager musicians get an opportunity to develop themselves here.

Saturday 6 February: Jazz Café: Gavin Baker & Stefan Höglin

This will perhaps be a jazz cafe a little out of the ordinary. Here we meet two musicians who have a varied musical background, from rock to Euroboys (Stefan). Lately they have been listening to various small venues in Kongsberg, and now they are coming to the popular jazz cafe of Jazz Evidence. The audience will be presented with music based on bluegrass, traditional country and rock.

Gavin Baker (vocals and guitar) and Stefan Höglin (banjo).

Wednesday 10 February: Olga Konkova Trio

No one will deny that Olga Konkova is an absolutely outstanding pianist and belongs up there among the very best. Attending a concert with her is a journey through different moods and emotions. Her playing can be intensely hard-swinging and full of dynamics, but also intensely beautiful and pearly lyrical. Last spring, the album "The Goldilocks Zone" came out, and it was received with unison cheers, both from the audience and from the critics. On the website 'Jazzinorge', Terje Mosnes writes that she conveys her repertoire 'with an authority that at times assumes Jarrett's level', and he ends his review as follows: 'Talking about Spellemannspriser already in May is possibly an exaggeration, but you world what a formidable pianist Olga Konkova really is, and you even bigger world, what a crowning year 2015 must be for Norwegian jazz albums if "The Goldilocks Zone" is not to figure in the nomination list when it is announced at Christmas time". Olga Konkova often plays with her bass-playing husband, Per Mathisen, and he joins now too – not because he's a husband, but because he's such a good bass player. In the trio there have been slightly different drummers, and indeed we are lucky at Kongsberg! The drummer is the outstanding Audun Kleive!

Olga Konkova (piano), Per Mathisen (bass), Audun Kleive (drums).

Wednesday 24 February: Kristoffer Lo and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra

We have heard Kristoffer Lo here at Kongsberg both with Pelbo and Highasakite. Now he comes with his latest successful project, the work Savages with the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. In 2013, Kristoffer Lo was awarded the annual Jazz Scholarship from Midtnorsk Jazzsenter and Sparebank1 Midtnorge. That led to the commissioned work Savages which was premiered at Moldejazz in 2014. It was a formidable success. Since then, the piece has been played at Dokkhuset in Trondheim, at the National Jazz Stage Victoria and in the summer of 2015 at the Øya Festival. Many thought that it was the year's best concert on the Island. Now Lo and the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra are out on a short tour, and we have managed to get them to stop at Energimølla. This edition of the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra has been specially selected by Kristoffer Lo. Here we meet artists from Highasakite, The Fjords, Jaga Jazzist, we meet Ola Kvernberg as well as free jazz saxophonist Mette Rasmussen, drum ace Gard Nilssen, trumpeter Eivind Lønning and many more. The music is very varied. It can be both dramatic and muted, it can occasionally be characterized by extremely rhythmic riffs and powerful winds, beautiful vocal sequences and drone-like parts appear. But the music is always full of Energy! This is undoubtedly music that has great appeal to a varied and complex audience.

Kristoffer Lo (tuba, guitar, vocals, songs & lyrics), Ingrid Helene Håvik (vocals, harmonium), Kari Eskild Havenstrøm (vocals), Petter Vågan (guitar, lap steel, vocals), Ola Kvernberg (fiddle, viola, effects), Eirik Hegdal (saxophones, clarinets), André Roligheten (saxophones, clarinets), Mette Rasmussen (alto sax), Eivind Lønning (trumpet, mellophone), Erik Johannesen (trombone, vocals), Gard Nilssen (drums, effects), Pekka Stokke (visual effects), Tor Breivik (sound).

Wednesday March 9: The Thing.

There is hardly any band on this earth that grabs hold of the listeners to such an extent, keeps them in a firm grip and drags them away tired in the hook afterwards. This trio has established itself as the favorite band of many jazz people and rock people. Here we meet three musicians who are all at the very top of modern, international jazz. Although 'jazz' - this is a trio that draws impulses from several musical fields, not least from the slightly disheveled rock. We all remember the incredible collaboration with the garage rockers in the Cato Salsa Experience. That free jazz legend Joe McPhee was also involved in this project tells us even more about the band's musical geography.

There is hardly any other band that is so expressive and energetic and conveys a drive and an intensity from another world! Here you are in free jazz heaven, at the same time as the rock crowd without heaven. What's more, everyone else will undoubtedly be drawn into this extremely lively, enthralling music, which not only drives at full throttle, but also creates dynamics with more muted, yes, almost lyrical sequences.

The Thing recently released a new record, Shake, and the jazz writer Joacim Nyberg states in his review on the website soundofmusic.nu that "The Thing is once again one of the world's best bands". He further emphasizes that The Thing's music has become even more nuanced than before, that in addition to the "rough" parts, we get sequences full of "lightness, beauty and nakedness". And he ends his review like this: «Shake It's not just the best Thing album in ten years, it's also their deepest and most well-rounded album as well as one of 2015's absolute best.(…) Hats off."

Mats Gustafsson (saxophones), Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (bass), Paal Nilssen-Love (drums).

Saturday 12 March: Jazz cafe: Tom Hasslan and others.

Guitarist Tom Hasslan has had his national breakthrough with the two Krokofant records, but he still enjoys playing in jazz cafes. Then the audience gets the pleasure of hearing a guitarist who can play both swinging 'jazz guitar', more rock tones - and much more. It's always interesting to hear Tom Hasslan! Maybe he'll bring some of his musician friends with him.

Tuesday 15 March: Ungjam.

The collaboration between Jazz Evidence, Kongsberg Culture School and Kongsberg High School continues. Young and eager musicians get a great opportunity to develop themselves here.

Wednesday 16 March: Arild Andersen / Helge Lien / Paolo Vinaccia / Tommy Smith.

Arild Andersen's trio with the Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith and the drummer Paolo Vinaccia has long been one of the finest groups in Norwegian and European jazz. After one of the trio's record releases, the English jazz magazine wrote that it defined 'the art of the trio'. We have heard them at Kongsberg several times, and these three musicians have always impressed a satisfied audience with their expressive, rhythmic and particularly swinging music. In the winter of 2015, the trio took the pianist Helge Lien to a concert in Scotland. It was so successful that they held their second concert for a Norwegian audience during the Oslo Jazz Festival in August 2015. "In a terrific interplay, the band signed off with the best concert I heard at this festival", wrote the jazz writer Roald Helgheim about this concert. We know Helge Lien as a particularly skilled and versatile pianist, and it turned out that his temperamental and driving playing fit seamlessly into the trio's expression. It is of course an exquisite pleasure to present such an exciting constellation to the faithful and quality-conscious audience of Jazz Evidence.

Arild Andersen (bass), Helge Lien (piano), Tommy Smith (sax), Paolo Vinaccia (drums).

Wednesday 6 April: Crocophant.

The trio Krokofant, with two musicians from Kongsberg, has attracted considerable attention during its relatively short existence. They have played at important festivals, such as Kongsberg Jazzfestival (three times!), Oslo Jazzfestival, Moldejazz, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Øyafestivalen and several European festivals. They have received lots of good words for their two records. The last one came in the autumn of 2015. Krokofant has an expression that hits both the rock crowd and the free jazzers, and the jazz-rock nostalgics with their record shelves full of McLaughlin records also chuckle with satisfaction. Here there is a wealth of juicy Mahavishnu-like guitar riffs, lots of fierce and fat saxophone playing and a rumbling and rambling and resilient drumming. Tightly arranged parts delivered with unfailing precision and temperament are replaced by angry solos. The Danish critic Niels Overgaard wrote the following about the trio's first record: "With a raucous and disciplined expression, Krokofant sends a serious round of progressive rock à la King Crimson mixed with Peter Brötzmann's free wildness into our heads. It is extremely wild and wonderful." We can guarantee that Krokofant's music is still 'particularly wild and lovely'!

Saturday 16 April: Jazz cafe: Vebjørn Ruud with band.

Anyone who appreciates melodic, rhythmic and swinging music with clear roots in mainstream and bop-oriented jazz will definitely enjoy what these musicians will serve at this jazz cafe. This band is one of the bands that Jazz Evidence wants to have back at the Jazzkafé relatively often - simply because they are talented and because they have a large and loyal audience.

Vebjørn Ruud (trumpet), Finn Krogh (saxophone), Vidar Rogstad (guitar), Gunnar Nilsen (bass), Thomas Bjørndal (drums).

Wednesday 20 April: Ole Morten Vågan: MORE&MORE&MORE & The Instant Gratification.

When Ole Morten Vågan's new band premiered at Nasjonal Jazzscene in December, the band was presented as follows by the organizer: "In a specially imported SUV, dripping with crude oil and straight from a wolf hunt in Nordmarka comes M&M&M&The Instant Gratification. To remedy the Norwegian overconsumption, they cultivate a cross-pollination of acoustic and electronic species, where the hand-picked musicians build a new ecosystem. This national team of improvisational artists takes Vågan's compositions and pitch-black vision of human plundering of the planet and turns it into poignant and self-igniting jazz. It's no joke - and it makes great music!” The debut concert was a formidable success. Johan Hauknes on the website 'Salt Peanuts' really hits the big drum and compares the band with jazz milestones like Charles Mingus Jazz Workshop og Charlie Haden and Carla Bley's Liberation Music Orchestra. And he states that the band "hits knock out (...) on most of what is happening in European jazz and improv at the moment". We meet a bunch of musicians who have experience from some of the finest bands in Norway - and internationally! – the jazz scene, bands such as In The Country, Motif, Christian Wallumrød Ensemble, Cortex, Møster!, Fire! Orchestra - and more.

Ole Morten Vågan (bass, composition, arr.), Sofia Jernberg (vocals), Eivind Lønning (trumpet), Espen Reinertsen (sax, bass clarinet), Ketil Møster (sax, clarinet), Morten Qvenild (piano, keys, electronics), Gard Nilssen (drums).

 Wednesday 27 April: Kongsberg evening: Kongsberg Storband + Kjell Gunnar Hoff Sextet: Tribute to Hank Mobley.

It is a well-established tradition that the spring concert series ends with a Kongsbergkveld. It is also a tradition that Kongsberg Storband plays. Under the direction of Jon Gunnar Tovsrud, the band performs swinging and groovy tunes with great audience appeal. The audience turns up and is clearly satisfied with the band's performance. And they have every reason to! Kongsberg Storband maintains a high standard for being a band with amateur musicians. There are rumors that they have some surprises in store. Promising!

The Kongsberg evening is usually divided into two parts. After the big band, Kjell Gunnar Hoff enters the stage with his sextet. He has previously played with some of Latvia's finest jazz musicians, and these are also in the team now. The band mainly plays compositions by saxophonist Hank Mobley. Mobley, who is probably best known for his involvement with Miles Davis in 1960-61, was an excellent composer, and it is commendable that some of today's musicians want to present his music to their audiences. Kjell Gunnar Hoff and his musicians play a music that clearly has its roots in 1950s-60s jazz. In other words, the audience is served rhythmic, swinging and melodic jazz music.

Kongsberg Storband under the direction of Jon Gunnar Tovsrud.

KjellGunnar Hoff Sextet: Kjell Gunnar Hoff (tenor sax), Roy Nikolaisen (trumpet), Halvard Kausland (guitar), Madars Kalnins (piano), Andris Grunte (bass), Artis Orubs (drums).

Tuesday 3 May: Ungjam.

The collaboration between Jazz Evidence, Kongsberg upper secondary school and Kongsberg cultural school continues. Young and eager musicians get opportunities to develop themselves here.