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Molde International Jazz Festival 2018
Molde, Norway
July 16-21, 2018
The Moldejazz festival is the second oldest in Europe—it was started in 1961, just one year behind Ljubljana, in 1960—and is still the most important one in Norway. It was here that
Keith Jarrett
pianob.1945
Jan Garbarek
saxophoneb.1947
George Russell
composer / conductor1923 - 2009
This was the fourth season of the festival directed by Hans-Olav Solli and on Sunday morning, just after it ended, the editor of the festival magazine FireFlate headlined with: "The best festival ever?!" It was July 22, a day that weighs heavily because it carries the memory of the 2011 massacre at Ut?ya. The atmosphere was particular and certainly not euphoric, so there is every reason to believe him: it was definitely a great year for the festival!
As always, in addition to the traditional roster of acts, the festival hosts an "Artist in Residence" who serves as a fulcrum for much of the program. This year it was the composer and arranger
Maria Schneider
composer / conductorLet's start with the acts from this year's 58th edition: 28,000 tickets sold, 18 concerts were sold out. Ticket sales in terms of money were the best since 2009. 550 volunteers participated in the festival.
The line-up for the first week (which I missed) had some "big-time" artists. There were many Americans: the group "Hudson" (
John Scofield
guitarb.1951
Jack DeJohnette
drumsb.1942
John Medeski
organ, Hammond B3b.1965
Scott Colley
bassb.1963
David Sanborn
saxophone1945 - 2024
Donny McCaslin
saxophone, tenorb.1966
Robert Glasper
pianob.1978
Terrace Martin
saxophone
Stanley Clarke
bassb.1951
Tord Gustavsen
pianob.1970
Joe McPhee
woodwindsb.1939
Allison Miller
drums
Van Morrison
vocalsb.1945
Artist in Residence
The opinion was unanimous: Maria Schneider did an excellent job and left an indelible mark on Molde. I was sorry to have missed the opening concert with Ensemble Denada, with guest Donny McCaslin and music arranged for David Bowie, which many journalists and critics viewed as one of the high points of the festival. I was able to attend the sublime closing concert in the cathedral, though, with the classical Trondheimsolistene ensemble and soprano Eir Inderhaug—which we'll talk about later. It was a successful collaboration, sealed by Maria's thanks to everybody who was involved in the project during its six-month gestation.
Arild Andersen
bass, acoustic
b.1945"
data-original-title="" title="">Arild Andersen
A giant of Norwegian jazz and a great musician who is respected and appreciated all around the world, Andersen is also an inspiration and mentor for a scene that is constantly growing and evolving. He was presented with the annual Molderosen award for helping to increase the festival's visibility. There's no question that he has brought something unique and particularly moving to life in his duo with the poet "
data-original-title="" title="">Jan Erik Vold. Finally, along with Arild Andersen
bass, acousticb.1945
Dave Holland
bassb.1946
Young Talents
An important time for the Norwegian incubator: the jury (composed of double-bassist " data-original-title="" title="">Ellen Andrea Wang, saxophonists
Mette Rasmussen
saxophone, alto
Kjetil Møster
saxophone, tenor
Jan Gunnar Hoff
pianob.1958
Ståle Storløkken
multi-instrumentalistA million kroner went instead to the young pianist Alf Hulb?kmo (the twenty-six year-old brother of a young star, drummer Hans Hulbækmo) for "JazZstipendiat," a scholarship that will allow him to collaborate for a year with members of his choice from the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. The work he composes with them will premier at next year's festival.
Let's move on, though, to the music of the second weekend:
Paal Nilssen's Love XL Unit, Ethiobraz Edition
Thigs started with a bang with the seismic
Paal Nilssen-Love
drumsb.1974
The voice of Nardos Tesfaye got the ball rolling and gradually other members made their entry into a performance that was a mix of traditional, free and Ethiojazz dance and song. Quite unusual for Large Unit, I would venture to say: since I'm not familiar with the human and geographical background of the new members, it's difficult to give it a clear and understandable interpretation, but it was certainly a very striking and moving performance, and the different cultural layers were well integrated. Then, all of a sudden, a Brazilian musician appeared in the stands and launched into a berimbau solo as he made his way to the stage, accompanied by a few other Brazilian musicians. The ethnic register thus expanded and shifted to South America. And so it was that we were treated to a sort of ethnic/free jazz counterpoint in which the Ethiopian dance star Melaku Belay (Fendika band) took center stage for a long time, performing along with Large Unit or taking turns with it and the Brazilian trio, until the final guest of the evening arrived: the disrupter Terrie "Ex," whose forays served to mix things up even more.
Maria Schneider -Trondheimsolistene with Eir Inderhaug
Maria Schneider concluded her residency with one of the best concerts at the festival, aided in part by the location at the Molde Cathedral. It included two long suites of songs, both of which appear on the 2013 album Winter Morning Walks , composed for the soprano Dawn Upshaw and straddling the genres of jazz, contemporary classical music and Broadway musicals. The Carlos Drummond de Andrade Stories, based on English translations of the Brazilian poet's texts, started things off with a melodramatically flavored series. The Trondheimsolistene string ensemble is one of the most prestigious and accomplished in Norway, and the voice of soprano Eir Inderhaug also enjoys an excellent reputation: everything was indeed incredibly powerful and vivid; there were no hiccups and the overall impression was one of naturalness. It's no wonder that they decided to skip the last round of rehearsals. For this first suite, the only jazz musician was the pianist
Olga Konkova
pianob.1969
Per Mathisen
bassAtle Nymo
saxophone, tenorMotorpsycho
This 58th Festival could not have ended better!
"
data-original-title="" title="">Motorpsycho is a cult (rock) band in Norway that has always occupied a special place on the national jazz scene. They have also ensured the success of the historic club Bl? in Oslo, thanks to collaborations with 
Jaga Jazzist
band / ensemble / orchestra
Supersilent
band / ensemble / orchestra
Ola Kvernberg
violinb.1981
The concert kicked off with a version of the hit "Un Chien," a mix between ambient and industrial music, eventually leading into a veritable anthem to rock that lasted (the first piece alone) almost forty-five minutes. The repertoire was 100% Motorpsycho, with mixes of timbres intersecting richly with mellotron, violin, voices, and tuba from the two guests. The room was overflowing, and the doors were open: the public came and went freely; it felt like the festival's wrap-up party.
Jan Erik Vold & Arild Andersen
A collaboration between two greats from Norway's first golden age of jazz (early 1970s) that still maintains its freshness today. As a vocal reciter Vold is particularly gifted in musical phrasing, while Andersen, tweaking the sampling techniques he used in the album Electra, reinterprets
Duke Ellington
piano1899 - 1974
The big Yes!
A completely new band put together by one of Norway's most interesting young musicians: " data-original-title="" title="">Christian Meaas Svendsen (double bass). He was accompanied by the Swedish saxophonist Anna H?gberg, the Danish trombonist " data-original-title="" title="">Maria Bertel and the Norwegian noise drummer Ole Mofjell. They performed a long suite inspired by the sonorities of the marine world: free-style forays projected us into the midst of a storm on the open sea, between whale songs and the calls of sea elephants and other marine animals. Svendsen, as always, displayed great technique and experimentation in exploring his instrument, at times accompanying his playing with a guttural voice. But the most striking performer was Maria Bertel, who between pedals and trombone plunged into the depths with unusual and moving low registers: hers was definitely the voice of the whale. Mofjell was a tireless hammer while H?gberg was the only one to soar on the upper registers: the whistling of the wind perhaps or a flock of frightened birds. Here and there, a few classic, codified elements of radical improvisation came through. On the whole, a beautiful, intense performance sparked with interest and freshness. There were a lot of young people in the Storyville audience.Trondheim Voices: Folklore
Nine highly talented vocalists (
Sissel Vera Pettersen
vocalsStåle Storløkken
multi-instrumentalistHelge Sten
guitar, electricCross Currents Trio. Dave Holland, 
Zakir Hussain
tablas
1951 - 2024"
data-original-title="" title="">Zakir Hussain, 
Chris Potter
saxophone, tenor
b.1971"
data-original-title="" title="">Chris Potter
A performance by three great professionals planned down to the finest details. These are three virtuosos on their respective instruments and the trio would seem to be a "total novelty." In actuality, it is the fruit of the previous project called Crosscurrents, expanded by the voice of Shankar Mahadevan and other Indian musicians. Hussain is undoubtedly a talent: he has been on the international jazz scene for many years and knows how to fill the stage with fireworks. In the second part of the concert, he took the mike in homage first to India and to his teachers, with "Suvarna," and then to the guitarist Zakir Hussain
tablas1951 - 2024
Chris Potter
saxophone, tenorb.1971
John McLaughlin
guitarb.1942
Mathias Eick Quintet
Mathias Eick
trumpetb.1979
Artist in Residence 2019
On Saturday morning, the artist in residence for next year was announced: the hyperactive norwegian drummer
Gard Nilssen
drumsb.1983
This year, Molde lost none of its charm and thanks to a program that went beyond expectations, thanks to the high quality of the musical line-up, and thanks to exceptionally sunny weather (a rare commodity in this part of the world), it was, quite rightly, a huge success with the public.
Tags
Live Reviews
Luca Vitali
Norway
Moldejazz
Keith Jarrett
Jan Garbarek
George Russell
Maria Schneider
John Scofield
Jack DeJohnette
John Medeski
Scott Colley
David Sanborn
Donny McCaslin
Robert Glasper
Terrace Martin
Comments
About Maria Schneider
Instrument: Composer / conductor
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