00:00
Oh Purity in Watching Landscapes
This documentary shows a song cycle by the Danish singer-songwriter Trinelise Væring and pianist Jonas Berg, featuring the Scandinavian Barokksolistene ensemble headed by solo violinist and artistic director Bjarte Eike. Væring’s songs possess a timeless quality with their gracefully swung melodies, while they are truly modern at the same time with their ‘in your-face’ approach to catchy hook lines and the largely groove-based arrangements. The music balances intelligently between being clever and being emotional. It is executed brilliantly by some Europe’s finest baroque musicians of the Barokksolistene ensemble. Væring is a remarkable vocalist who masters both the intensely fragile and the more powerful nuances. She is complemented by a pianist whose exquisitely tasteful playing builds on the great Scandinavian piano tradition, adding a pinch of Swedish folklore, pop music and free jazz. In combination with Trinelises unvarnished voice, the unique timbre of the baroque instruments, the vibrato-less sounds, and the ‘on the beat’ approach to groove, the music is far removed from the usual romantic setting of sweet pop songs. This music has edge, and is performed with engrossing vitality.
00:55
jazzahead! 2023
Annual trade fair, exhibition, and festival jazzahead! is one of the international jazz community's most important events. Hosted in Bremen, Germany, jazzahead! brings together musicians, bookers, agents, organizers, jazz experts, and music enthusiasts at the world’s largest jazz event. In 2023, jazzahead! paid special attention to Germany’s jazz scene and invited thirty jazz acts from all over the world to perform over the course of three days. Among the artists presenting themselves at jazzahead! 2023 is French-Armenian pianist Yessaï Karapetian. His 2022 debut album “Yessaï” has been described as having “overwhelming energy, power, but also invention”. Or, in Karapetian’s own words: “jumping off a cliff without a parachute, to be able to fly and do the impossible in front of everyone, or only in front of God.” Dive headfirst into a world full of rich, piano-led jazz textures with progressive nuances and intricate interludes.
01:26
jazzahead! 2022 - Jo Beyer
Annual trade fair, exhibition, and festival jazzahead! is one of the international jazz community's most important events. Hosted in Bremen, Germany, jazzahead! brings together musicians, bookers, agents, organizers, jazz experts, and music enthusiasts at the world’s largest jazz event. In 2022, jazzahead! paid special attention to Canada’s jazz scene and invited forty jazz acts from all over the world to perform over the course of three days. One of the ensembles appearing at jazzahead! 2022 is Cologne-based drummer-composer Jo Beyer’s band ‘JO’. Award-winning drummer Beyer is accompanied by Felix Elsner (piano), Sven Decker (tenor saxophone), and Andreas Wahl (guitars and e-bow), playing his snappy compositions with undeniable improvisational flair. JO, which was founded in 2015, lives up to the band’s motto: “fun without compromise”!
01:55
MotorMusic Jazz Sessions: De Beren Gieren
The MotorMusic Studios in Mechelen, Belgium, attract many great musicians to the city. A wide variety of visiting international jazz musicians share their art of making jazz music with us in the DJAZZ series ‘Belgium Sessions’. In these sessions, some of Europe’s finest musicians perform their own, original music. The Dutch-Belgian acoustic-electronic piano threesome ‘De Beren Gieren’ (‘The Bears Shriek’, ‘Les Ours Vautours’) are known for their unique energetic sound, sparkling melodies, complex song structures and quirky song titles. ‘De Beren Gieren’ brings a fresh yet familiar blend of polyrhythmic soundscapes, sing-alongs, and elitist twists, building a sonorous bridge between early 20th century classical compositions and more contemporary escapades. ‘De Beren Gieren’ show an ability to change mood quite suddenly in a way that constantly holds the audience’s attention. A surprising live experience not to be missed!