My review of Scene Norway 2, from King's Place in London, today at All About Jazz.

Walking into King's Place, in London, England, is an experience in itself. A building opened in 2008 near King's Cross station in downtown London, it was built with the kind of foresight that is rare these days. Above ground is office space, largely occupied by The Guardian newspaper, along with two restaurants and a large, welcoming open space with plenty of comfortable seating for people to meet, work and socialize together.

But it's the below-ground space that has garnered the building its greater reputation. Home to an art gallery, a beautiful box-in-a-box theater that seats approximately 450 people, a second space that seats about 250 and other rooms usable as rehearsal spaces or for conferences, King's Place CEO Peter Millican—also the man responsible for its original concept and actual construction—has been responsible for placing the venue on the international map in the relatively short space of five years. Regular series are hosted, including Not So Silent Movies, where a group of musicians create in-the-moment soundtracks to films that they've not only not seen, but which they are unaware of until concert time, Folk Union, dedicated to folk and world music; and Out Hear, which provides a space for more left-of-center interests.

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