Taking a break

Isa & Bella (by Siv)
Originally uploaded by svennevenn

Moldejazz is over. The last night I saw Crimetime Orchestra scare the audience with a brutal ending led by Stian Westerhus and Hild Sofie Tafjord.
Maja Ratkje and Joëlle Leandre did some fantastic improvising with voices, electronics and bass. A concert in France was recorded, and will end up as an album, soon I hope.
Arve Henriksen, Jan Bang, Ståle Storløkken and Trio Medieval played in the Molde church around midnight. All quiet until Ståle Storløkken really got going on the church organ!

Pictures from the last evening will probably be uploaded to Flickr (and the blog) in a week or so. I'm disconnecting now for 8 or 9 days. Please come back later. Bye!

Linkorama

I just had to clean up my inbox a bit:
-The Quietus on "On Some Faraway Beach: The Life and Times Of Brian Eno".
-A new book on Ivor Cutler is soon to be published.
- More on ONJ and Round About Wyatt (French).
- The Thing and Elephant9 at the Edinburgh festival.
- Check out AllABoutJazz's pieces from Moldejazz.
- AllAboutJazz on the best Meltdown festival ever.
- The Guardian on Crimetime Orchestra og Sonny Simmons: "Atomic Symphony".
And tonight I will hear Crimetime at Moldejazz!

Break of day in Molde 2009

At seven in the morning the park Reknesparken in Molde was packed with people, all out to hear Arve Henriksen, Terje Isungset, Jon Balke, Svante Henryson and Therese Skauge (dancer), and get some free sponsor coffee. Henriksen thanked the musicians, the audience, the soundman and the light man up in the sky.
Most of the audience also participated in the morning gymnastics led by Arve Henriksen! Break of day in Molde indeed! Beautiful.

Han Bennink

Today Han Bennink played a solo concert at Reknes in Molde. It was a 45 minute long drum show, but perhaps not as wild as yesterday's performance where Frode Gjerstad was hurt in a cymbal accident.
Bennink also lectured on jazz history, ornithology and improvisation. He claimed woodpeckers are the best drummers and said that to improvise is like throwing yourself into a swimming pool with a rucksack strapped to your back, and then work yourself out of the troubles you are in.
He stopped playing several times to ask if there were any questions. One guy wondered how Frode Gjerstad was doing and Bennik just hoped everything was fine, and stated that a viking from Stavanger should be able to shrug off a small accident like that.
The only accident today was a broken vase.

Thursday at Moldejazz

- Ingebrikt Håker Flaten was interviewed at the "Jazz Academy". Not too many people awake this early in the morning, but an interesting hour with Håker Flaten. I know him best from Scorch Trio, The Thing and Atomic, but I'll just have to check out his earlier stuff too.
- You think free jazz is boring? Not if you see Han Bennink and Frode Gjerstad. Bennink worked the room, and even moved out into the sunhine to drum and talk, while Gjerstad played saxophones and clarinettes inside. Bennink even managed to hurt Gjerstad by tearing down cymbals and hitting Gjerstad's foot (only sandals there)! Bennink seemed a bit shocked himself, but told jokes as Gjerstad had a rest. I was impressed by Gjerstad's playing too, and It's hard work to get people to see and hear you alongside a drummer like Bennink.
- Artist in residence Arve Henriksen was on stage with Ståle Storløkken and Helge "Deathprod" Steen in Supersilent this evening. Rythmic, noisy and perhaps a bit scary to those in the audience that knew Arve Henriksen only from his more friendly stuff.

Wednesday at Moldejazz

- The Thing played a hot concert as usual Wednesday, in the smallest venue at Moldejazz. Paal Nilssen-Love, Ingebrikt Håker Flaten and Mats Gustafsson had to play two extras to the audience, who almost sweated as much as the band in the hot weather.
- Christian Wallumrød Ensemble with "Artist in Residence" Arve Henriksen, Nils Økland and Per Oddvar Johansen played at the Forum, another intimate scene at the festival. A perfect concert for me after the energetic The Thing show one hour earlier. Wallumrød on toy piano and harmonium, Henriksen on trumpet and vocals, Økland's Hardanger fiddle and Johansen's drums and saw made magic!
- Midnight is bedtime for an old man like me, but I took a chance and mixed with young people to see Low Frequency In Stereo with Kjetil Møster. Møster plays on one track on the band's "Futuro" album, but here he was on stage almost all the time. The concert even started with a ten minute saxophone solo from Møster.
Great sound and lights, good tunes and some people even danced. Kids!

More from Moldejazz 2009

Just some glimpses from the second day at Molde International Jazz Festival (Norway).

- Arve Henriksen is "Artist in residence" in Molde this year. He plays lots of concerts and visited the Jazz Academy, where he was interviewed by Bjørn Stendahl. Arve is a great talker too!
- Ingebrikt Håker Flaten (bass) and Håkon Kornstad (saxofon) performed the music from the album "Elise" in a small chapel (80 seats) at the Molde Museum. Beautiful and very touching to hear religious folk tunes performed by great musicians in such a place.
- Otomo Yoshihide Sextet's concert was part contemorary, part noise and part relaxing jazz! Otomo brought along Mats Gustafsson, german Axel Dørner, Dutch Cor Fuhler and two Japanese guys (bass and drums) that I don't know he names of. Great concert, but unfortunately not sold out.
I may irritate some people by taking pictures from my seat, but the more or less professional photographers at this show were way out of line. Or rather way up on the stage! Please behave gentlemen!


Added after comment (thanks!):
Hiroaki Mizutani on bass
Yasuhiro Yoshigaki on drums