First release for Molde Jazz 2017!

Terje Rypdal - Photo: Arne Strømme

Terje Rypdal Conspiracy, Enrico Rava - Tomasz Stanko 5ET, Aurora, Monk's Casino, Moon Hooch, Harald Lassen New Quartet, Sondre Justad and Sigvart Dagsland and Tord Gustavsen are all confirmed for Moldejazz 2017. 


Terje Rypdal Conspiracy is one of several new projects going to be presented at Moldejazz 2017. The cooperation between two European trumpet legends Enrico Rava and Tomasz Stanko is also a new project, Harald Lassen comes with his new quartet and a new partnership sees the light when Sigvart Dagsland and Tord Gustavsen perform at the concert in Molde Cathedral. Audience will get to enjoy a totally new performance when funky Moon Hooch perform at Club night at Molde Plassen. Monk anniversary in 2017 is celebrated with Alexander Von Schlippenbachs Monk's Casino. Hugely popular Aurora and Sondre Justad will perform together at the  youth concert at Romsdalsmuseet on Wednesday 19 July.
 
Ten years after he was the Artist in Residence at MoldeJazz, Terje Rypdal returns with a festival concert, and a new band that runs a scheduled recording with ECM at the event. "It's the start of a new era for me," says Rypdal and elaborates: "Music is conspiracy. The secrets we exchange - it is at its best when there are no words." Rypdal is a legend, who, since the 60s has paved the way for a completely unique way of thinking guitar, music and composition turns 70 in 2017. Terje Rypdal Conspiracy is not something constructed and individual commemorative project. "In my mind I had started this band a long time ago," reveals Rypdal and says that his performance will be comprised of older material, mainly from Chasers- and Odyssey-period, as well as some new material. There are many songs that they have rarely played live, and new versions of the songs that have been played. "It's an incredibly tight band. It's like Chasers at its best," says Rypdal.
Terje Rypdal - guitar, Nikolai Eilertsen - bass, Ståle Storløkken - keyboards and Pål Thowsen - drums.
  Trumpeters Enrico Rava and Tomasz Stanko are two of the most important pioneers of European jazz. In 2017, they visit Molde with a band of star musicians from both Europe and America, and present compositions from both artists' rich catalog. Since the debut as jazz musicians in the 1960s, their music has been shaped in line with the social and political landscape of Europe; Stanko, during his first year as a jazz musician played behind the Iron Curtain in Krakow and Rava was one of the most promising young trumpet talents from Italy. Both artists' compositions have deep references in jazz tradition, but explore the interaction and material with an open and creative attitude. These musicians have previously visited Molde a several times, but this time they will be on the stage together.
Enrico Rava - trumpet, Tomasz Stanko - trumpet, Reuben Rogers - bass, Gerald Cleaver - drums and Giovanni Guidi -piano.
  The talented singer and songwriter Aurora Aksnes from Os creates magical music. She is heavily featured in festival posters and sells out concerts in record time. In just a few years, she has managed to become one of our biggest and most popular pop artists, with her career skyrocketing at an unparalleled pace in Norwegian pop history. Even before her debut album "All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend," was released in March 2016, she had managed to play at concerts on both sides of the Atlantic, and had reached a wide audience internationally with a series of popular singles. She won a Spellemannpris for best new artist in 2015, and Musikknyheter recently had the album on top of its charts. Her songs "Runaway," "Under the Stars", "Awakening" and "Running with the Wolves" have collected plenty of air time on the radio. Like Aurora's music, her concerts are epic, adventurous and steeped in the artist's intense presence. She spellbinds, fascinates and captivates - and it is impossible not to be touched and carried away.
  2017 is the 100 year anniversary of the composer and jazz pianist Thelonius Monk, who was as an integral part of bebop environment around Minton's Playhouse in New York in the 1940s. Monk had a unique way of playing the piano and during his lifetime contributed to the standard repertoire with a great number of jazz compositions. Many of these are performed and interpreted by numerous jazz musicians today. Thelonius Monk has definitely been one of the most influential jazz pianists and composers for future generations.

In 2007, German pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach performed his Monk-project at Moldejazz. In later years, both the band and the musicians from Monk's Casino visited Norway and Scandinavia occasionally and have created a following in this country on the basis of their distinctive and strong free jazz expression and solid playing skills. What band better suited to mark the anniversary?  When Monks compositions are filtered through Schlippenbachs arrangements, anything can happen! The band has an open attitude both musically and conceptually, as well as being musicians with a huge jazz craftsmanship. It is this that makes Monk's Casino so popular among jazz listeners. Schlippenbach is one of the European free jazz veterans - "Free Jazz keeps you young", he says. It does seem like he is right!
Alexander Von Schlippenbach - piano, Axel Dörner - trumpet , Rudi Mahall -Bass clarinet, Jan Roder - bass, and Oli Steidle - drums.

Moon Hooch
From Brooklyn comes this band with a fascinating history, as the band members began their musical journey playing in New York's subway stations. They were quickly picked up and are now touring extensively on big stages around the world. With an unusual crew composed of drums and two saxophones, they play an amazing combination of acoustic and electronic music. The music has "catchy melodic hooks, funky rhythms, but also plenty of room for jazzy improvisations", said the New York Post. They released their first album in 2013. Cave Music, their second album was released in 2014 and in October same year they released Red Sky to fantastic reviews. The drums have an intense drive with great variety and intense swing, and saxophones reminiscent of dubstep a la Skrillex, drum & bass and house music. John Flansburg of They Might Be Giants says: There isn't a band harder to describe or easier to enjoy than Moon Hooch!
James Muschler - drums, Mike Wilbur - saxophones, Wenzl McGowen - saxophones
 
Saxophonist Harald Lassen is known from bands like Pixel, Mopti and Duplex. Having  collaborated with musicians like Bugge Wesseltoft, Jon Christensen and Arild Andersen, he has immersed himself in their own music. In autumn 2016, Harald released his solo album Rainbow Session , a result of collaboration with Belgian LAB trio, a piano trio with Belgium's most prominent young musicians. To play material from Rainbow Session in Molde, he has put together a new band, with the talented pianist Bram Le Looze joining Lassen's new quartet, which also includes Tore Flatjord on drums and percussion and Stian Andersen on bass.
 
It is with great pleasure Moldejazz presents a new collaboration between the beloved singer-songwriter Sigvart Dagsland and the renowned jazz musician Tord Gustavsen. The new project is based on Sigvart Dagsland's rich musical catalog. Dagsland has allowed Gustavsen to choose freely among the songs and has given him the freedom to process the material. This, according to Dagsland, has been a very exciting process. "The songs get a new dimension with Tord's arrangement", he says. Tord has provided tunes both more temperamental and lyrical. Dagsland especially accentuate Gustavsen's work with the sakrale melodies, like "Då barnå forsvant" and "En stemme for de stemmeløse". The fact that the material has been given a more sacred character will fit perfectly with the concert as it is set up in Molde Cathedral. There is every reason to believe that this will be a special experience both for MoldeJazz-debutant Dagsland and the large audience that this concert will definitely pull.
Sigvart Dagsland - Vocals, Tord Gustavsen - tangents, Sigurd Hole - bass and Torstein Lofthus - Drums.

Sondre Justad
Some artists take the audience by storm from the first moment. Songwriter and artist Sondre Justad from Lofoten has rapidly become one of the most popular and sought after new artists. Dagbladet has described him as "Pop's new wonderboy '. In recent years, Justad has seemingly been everywhere, and his heartfelt lyrics and energetic presence in music has made him an artist who means a lot to many. Since its debut in the summer of 2014, his single "Nu har du mæ" has become a great hit and the debut album "Riv i Hjertet" was top of the charts for 13 weeks. Justad is considered as one who truly knows the art of putting an audience to the boil. The concert at Romsdal museum will be a highlight for many.

Daily and weekly passes are available for purchase.

And, starting this year we offer tickets with Culture Discount for youth (15-20 years) on single tickets to Wednesday concerts at Romsdalsmuseet!