Norway is in focus as Jazzahead! 2019 kicks off today. The festival and fair is considered one of the most important jazz arenas in the world, and this year well over 100 musicians from almost 30 Norwegian jazz groups are playing.
/ 25/04/2019 / Kristian DugstadNorway is in focus when the starting signal for Jazzahead! 2019 is over today. The festival and fair is considered one of the most important jazz arenas in the world, and this year well over 100 musicians from almost 30 Norwegian jazz groups are playing.
Text: Kristian Dugstad / TONO
Photo above: Oddleiv Apneseth
Jazzahead! is an annual festival, meeting place and marketplace for jazz music from all over the world. It is held annually in Bremen, Germany, and was founded in 2006. Since 2011, they have had a partner country each year, whose jazz and culture are specially highlighted and marketed. In 2019, Norway is in focus.
– Now we are making a real footprint in Germany. The Norwegian delegation this year is the largest from any country in Jazzahead!s history, says Kathrine Synnes Finnskog, director of Music Norway.
Music Norway works to develop and strengthen the international export of Norwegian music, and is a foundation run by the Ministry of Culture. They have worked actively towards Jazzahead! for a number of years.
Jazz musician Karl Seglem is known for his unique musical expression, with inspiration from Norwegian folk music, among other things. He is one of about 30 Norwegian artists who will perform at this 14th edition of Jazzahead!
– I have played one solo concert at Jazzahead! previously, but have been here nine or ten times before. It is a very nice meeting place for the jazz industry. It is actually also a good place to meet the Norwegian jazz community. At home we sit on our own turf for a bit, while here everyone is together, he says.
Jazzahead! has taken on a distinct festival feel in recent years, but for Seglem and the industry at large, the buying and selling aspect of the fair is still the most important. At 20:10 PM tonight he will be on stage during Norwegian NightTogether with his band of six, he will play a 30-minute concert, and he hopes that the jazz industry's powerhouses will be in the audience.
– The artists here maintain an incredibly high level, and there are many more who sell their music than buy it. Therefore, it also requires a lot of time and work to achieve results and make contacts. But if the right people show up when you play, such a concert can be a door opener. I am very happy that I was chosen to play tonight.
Karl Seglem has put in a lot of hard work over the years to build an audience in Germany, and he is not alone. Norwegian jazz music is internationally recognized, and there is great interest in Germany.
– Norwegian jazz has a high status internationally, especially in Germany. Much of this is due to Manfred Eicher's record label ECM, says Seglem.
ECM was founded in 1969, and is 50 years old this year. The record company quickly signed a number of Norwegian performers, and Eicher himself is said to have had a love for Norwegian jazz music. Many of ECM's records were recorded by producer Jan Erik Kongshaug at Rainbow Studio. Kongshaug received TONO's Media Prize in March 2019 for his work for Norwegian music..
Kathrine Synnes Finnskog at Music Norway believes that ECM has contributed to the progressiveness of Norwegian jazz musicians by signing a lot of Norwegian contemporary jazz early on.
– Norwegian jazz has found good fertile ground. Today we have a very strong jazz community, good jazz education with internationally recognized lines and a number of big profiles. All of these factors have given us an important position, she believes.
Norway is making a strong presence in German cultural life in 2019. Not only during Jazzahead!Both the International Book Fair in Frankfurt and the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) have a focus on Norway this year.
– There is a Norwegian cultural train in Germany this year, and Jazzahead! is the crowning glory. The Jazz Fair and Showcase Festival begins today, but Jazzahead!s "The cultural festival has been promoting Norwegian culture for two weeks already. As a partner country, Norway has been able to showcase itself with art exhibitions, book readings and concerts," says Finnskog at Music Norway.
She says that Jazzahead! has wanted Norway as a partner country in the past, but that it has been important and right to wait for this coordinated effort across cultural life.
– The German market has not come about by itself. Norway has primarily looked towards the USA and England, but now we hope that more people will look towards Germany. There is a market and an interest in our culture and music.