Day 7 & Day 8

Day 7 - Students

Ask anyone what makes Trondheim Jazz Festival so special and they all say it’s the students. There’s a good reason for this. Trondheim has a first class conservatory and the festival is built around the world renowned jazz course at NTNU Department for Music. The city has a population of 200,000 of which 40,000 are students. It’s impressive to see the number of students engaging with the festival and attending the gigs (not just the free ones).

Further to this, there’s a special concert this afternoon – a collaboration between the Birmingham and Trondheim Conservatoires – 12 students in total and they form 3 bands. Each playing a half an hour set and performing at both Trondheim Jazz Festival and Cheltenham Jazz Festival. This is the next generation of jazz talent!

As well as being a top class training ground for jazz musicians, Trondheim has a rich history of jazz and today the international guests joined a special walking tour of the city. The tour was led by Jan Ditlev Hansen - the author of "Jazz Ved Nidelven, En Musikkhistorisk Byvandring" – A Music History City Walk.
 

Tonight I’m at the Scandic hotel to see Lill Lindfors, a Swedish singer known for mixing music and a comedy. She has also taken part in and presented the Eurovision Song Contest – which coincidently is taking place tonight.
 
Credit: Malinche Photography
 
Headlining the festival tonight is Squarepusher’s live band project Shobaleader One with their trademark black cloaks and flashing masks. The band headlined Gateshead International Jazz Festival last month and I was so pleased to be able to see the full set tonight. The Trondheim crowd loved them, with some even saying that it was the best gig in the city this year. A great win for the festival.


Photography: Arne Hague 2017
Day 8 – Last day of the festival
This afternoon listeners were treated to a special performance by Norwegian jazz singer Karin Krog –special because she is also celebrating her 80th birthday. The concert took place at the Rockheim, Norway’s national museum for pop music.  

After a short break it’s back to the Dokkhuset to meet the international guests to compare notes on our festival experience and enjoy one last farewell drink, then onto the concert by Norwegian singer/composer Kirsti Huke.


Photography: Arne Hague 2017
It’s always sad when a festival comes to an end but with the Trondheim Jazzorkester & Skrap on hand to close this year’s festival it was guaranteed to end on a high. The Trondheim Jazz Orchestra is one of the most important and creative jazz ensembles in Norway and some of Norway’s most famous musicians have been part of the group over the years. Tonight they play their album 'Antropocen' in its entirety. It was comissioned by the Molde Jazz Festival in 2015 and premiered in July 2016, and has received widespread acclaim. It wasn’t what I was expecting but I absolutely loved it – record purchased and another new music discovery this week.
 
 

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