Bugge Wesseltoft’s vibrant sonic celebration of Jazzland Records 20th Anniversary
Friday, March 18, 2016
Anniversaries abound tonight in Oslo with both the Rockefeller Music Hall celebrating its 30th year as a much cherished live venue in the heart of this most urbane of capital cities, and the native Jazzland Records marking its 20th birthday with a stellar line-up of emerging and established talents for a varicoloured showcase that played to a packed and typically diverse home crowd.
The label is of course the brainchild of pianist and ‘New Conception of Jazz’ electro-acoustic pioneer Bugge Wesseltoft and he played both host and sideman/leader to this evening's fast flowing series of duos, trios and quartets. If tonight was a mix of experience versus youthful enthusiasm then Jazzland veterans Beady Belle, with Wesseltoft on piano, opened with their new single ‘Incompatible’, a slow-burning groove which found Beate S. Lech (below) sounding as commanding and as poised as ever. Improvisation is perhaps the one constant that ran through each performance, even those on the edge of purist definitions of jazz, with stand out performances from violin/tabla duo Harpreet and Sanskriti, avant-country jazz from Come Shine and a playful acoustic bass battle by Ole Morten Vågen and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten.
Yet if this first half of the showcase featured plenty of those still trying to find their voice, Dhafer Youssef has long possessed one of the most haunting human cries – and coupled with Eivind Aarset's astonishingly organic brew of elongated guitar-scapes – provided a masterclass of mood and atmosphere, stunning the crowd into awed silence. Welcomed like the local heroine she is, Sidsel Endresen's extraordinarily elastic vocals drew shouts of approval as they were sampled and stretched into oblivion by electronics conjurer Jan Bang. Akin to the Heston Blumenthal of the sampler his super speed cut-ups, pitch-shifts and loops created a bubbling stew of sounds to both creative and comic effect.
It was apt that Wesseltoft (above) should close the show, first with his Trialogue band featuring former EST bassist Dan Berglund and laptopist Henrik Schwarz, who raised both the BPM and collective pulse via their gritty beat-fuelled take on the classic piano trio. After three songs the threesome were joined by early Jazzland signee and former Wibutee saxophonist, Håkon Kornstad, along with Aarset and Youssef (pictured top). The combined weight of this improvised grand finale didn't quite meet Jazzland's lofty standards, with Youssef’s natural charisma that fired up the best moments with flashing runs on his oud and more of his soul-piercing vocals. In spite of this, as with everything Wesseltoft does, it’s thanks to his do-or-die attitude that he and his label – even after 20 years – are still moving forward.
– Mike Flynn
– Photos by Anders Nilsen - www.adapterphoto.com / Instagramanders