AAJ Review: Jaga Jazzist, Live with Britten Sinfonia

[jkelman]

My review of Jaga Jazzist, Live with Britten Sinfonia, today at All About Jazz.

One often wonders, when hearing a live album, what it must have been like to have been there, so when that opportunity actually arises, it already makes the recording somewhat special. When Norway's Jaga Jazzist teamed up with Britain's Britten Sinfonia to expand their nonet into a 35-piece juggernaut - albeit one as capable of delicacy as it was thundering, minimalism-driven pieces and rock-inflected, mixed meter episodic works of greater complexity - it was intended for two performances only, as part of the Conexions series, curated by BBC Radio 3 host of Late Junction, Fiona Talkington, that brings together British and Norwegian musicians (and is now in its second year).

Live with Britten Sinfonia was recorded at the Oslo show, at the Norwegian capital's Rockefeller club (standing room, about 1,000), and if anything, it's a better document than having been there. Sure, the energy of the event was incendiary, but because of the design of the room, certain parts of it suffered in terms of sound. On record, this combination of Jaga Jazzist's multi-instrumentalism - amongst the group, over 20 instruments played, often by more than one player - with Britten's chamber orchestra, covering material largely from Jaga's 2010 album One-Armed Bandit but also featuring material from What We Must and The Stix, as well as one new composition from primary composer (and one of three Jaga siblings) Lars Horntveth, possesses as close to the excitement of being there combined with greater clarity, all while retaining some of its raw edge.

Review here.

[polmico]

Cool. Bookmarked and will read later.

[rapidfirerob]

One of my favorite bands. Thanks!

[polmico]

Rad. I ordered this and Matthew Shipp's Equilibrium.

[Dok]

Too bad they couldn't include a DVD of all the action!

[Udi Koomran]

Ordered from Wayside

So is this video a part of this release ?

[polmico]

You know that scene in Saturday Night Fever when Travolta's character is strutting around thinking about how awesome he is? And the Bee Gees are playing? And he's, you know, totally fucking awesome because disco.

This is the music the universe hears in its head when it struts around and thinks how awesome it is.

[Dok]

Ordered from Wayside

So is this video a part of this release ?

Apparently not, just a cd, which is a shame as this seems like a pretty good pro shot affair.

[LongFrog]

Without precipitating another futile dispute about the progressive rock definition, may I inquire discreetly: is this record supposed to fit into the prog category? Because to me it sounds like a contemporary jazz-contemporary classical hybrid.

Otherwise,it is such a profusive musical fiesta .. head and shoulders above all the new stuff I have bought in 2012-2013.

[Baribrotzer]

Without precipitating another futile dispute about the progressive rock definition, may I inquire discreetly: is this record supposed to fit into the prog category?

I don't think so. Although, from what I recall, Lars Horntveth did once say he had been listening to a certain amount of prog in recent years, having been intrigued by some of the comparisons that critics made. Most of what I've heard from JJ seems pretty similar stylistically - like Tortoise, they seem to have sounded like themselves from the very beginning, and refined their music over the years more than broadening or changing it.