To address the trouble of the world, or at least the nearest of our worries: Many Norwegian musicians has started a tradition of playing the Ukrainian national anthem either as the start or to close the show. This acknowledgement is in solidarity and support, condemning the war and wishing for peace for the Ukrainian people.
At the same time, we here at Nasjonal jazzscene are happy to welcome a returning audience, though they might be a little cautious, the vibe is fantastic and they really energize the shows. Musicians seem to have spent the time well; fabulous records are being released and celebrated with concerts, new, young and exciting acts are bubbling up and we are trying to keep up with them all!
We also have some classic acts raring to go at Victoria, this Spring we are to hear classic line-ups like Bobo Stensson Trio, Sheila Jordan & Cameron Brown, Espen Berg Trio, Tord Gustavsen Trio, Dave Weckl/Tom Kennedy Project, Bill Frisell Trio, John Scofield Trio, Arild Andersen Group, Brad Mehldau Trio and Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo, amongst others.
If we only could invite you to one show of great significance this Spring, it would be the celebration of Karin Krog. The soon-to-be 85 year young singer and and performer will herself be playing a concert with John Surman. Great singers like Solveig Slettahjell , Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen and Kirsti Huke will performed specially arranged songs from all of Krogs career, selected and curated by Ellen Andrea Wang and Sissel Vera Pettersen.
Karin Krog has been called "the national treasure of Norway" by legendary pianist Steve Kuhn, and has since her career took of in the late 50's been in the forefront of driving jazz forward, both with exciting takes on the standards and embracing new technologies with curiosity and cooperating with adventurous musicians. In the 60's Krog began using an analog delay processor to add reverb to her vocals and later, in the '70s, she bought an Oberheim modulator to further alter her sound. Still, Krog did not stray from her musical roots. "I was doing experimental things, but I always stayed with the song, she explains. For Krog, staying with the song means "a straight, simple line. The more I can strip off the better and just get to the message.”
This night there will also be the launch of a new book about Karin Krogs life in jazz, with a short interview from stage.
