what's Norwegian for Niiiiice?
was down the local jazz club the other night - they seem to have got themselves affiliated with the Edinburgh Jazzfest despite being many miles from that city. Which meant that they had some touring Norwegians in - the Jazzin Babies, they were called. Playing pretty much standard New Orleans-style jazz, but made much more interesting by the fact that they were all very young. Ok, 45 is young in jazz terms, but none of this lot were over the age of 25 and a couple were still in their teens. Which meant that they played very fast, the solos were more powerful and longer, and they had the kind of energy which is usually absent in most forms of jazz (and especially trad). Also very skilled musicians - I was told by several people that they'd basically learned note-for-note the Louis Armstrong originals, but still impressive that they have the skill to do this.
My only concern is: what are kids this age doing, listening to jazz when they should bebe out playing football, or glued to tellies and Playstations, or even listening to death metal and eating each other's brains (well, they are Norwegians).
Regular readers, should they exist, won't be that interested in the goings-on of the jazz scene either here or in Oslo, so here's the indie content: When we got in, no sooner had I got back from the bar than the missus had already made frinends with an older chap, who turned out to be Bill Wells' dad! Small world. I quizzed the father of the purveyor of 'outsider jazz', whose middle name seems to be 'maverick'. Didn't really get a feeling for why the jazz people don't like the music he makes, but Mr Wells Snr, although not coming out and saying he hated this son's work (that'd be a story) is certainly much more into more traditional music. Which would have been why he was there, I suppose. Bill is currently in Japan, armed only with a sampler, and, it seems, picking up local like-minded musicians to act as his backing on a series of gigs over there.
My only concern is: what are kids this age doing, listening to jazz when they should bebe out playing football, or glued to tellies and Playstations, or even listening to death metal and eating each other's brains (well, they are Norwegians).
Regular readers, should they exist, won't be that interested in the goings-on of the jazz scene either here or in Oslo, so here's the indie content: When we got in, no sooner had I got back from the bar than the missus had already made frinends with an older chap, who turned out to be Bill Wells' dad! Small world. I quizzed the father of the purveyor of 'outsider jazz', whose middle name seems to be 'maverick'. Didn't really get a feeling for why the jazz people don't like the music he makes, but Mr Wells Snr, although not coming out and saying he hated this son's work (that'd be a story) is certainly much more into more traditional music. Which would have been why he was there, I suppose. Bill is currently in Japan, armed only with a sampler, and, it seems, picking up local like-minded musicians to act as his backing on a series of gigs over there.
