Jaga Jazzist

Križanke Open-air Theatre, July 2014

A similar diversity that nonetheless exhibited pronounced tendencies towards a series of non-jazz styles could be heard at the Križanke theatre during the stellar closing concert of the first festival evening featuring Jaga Jazzist, an eight-member Norwegian band.

The line-up, which has over the twenty years of its existence outlined an idiosyncratic approach and enjoys an all-but cult status, lived up to its reputation as one of the most prominent bands that experiment with various jazz fusions. Jaga Jazzist never employ eclecticism for its own sake, they consider it a vehicle of creating a collective sonic experience, one that the enraptured concert-goers were eager to “go through”. The band members composed the complex but catchy and likeable pieces elaborately, progressing from electronic grooves or rock structures to jazz, neoclassicism and mesmerising ambient music. As they skilfully navigated among genres, the playful and well-disposed collective shifted the focus among its members – from the vigorous and occasionally edgy “rock” rhythm section, and psychedelic electronic passages to rapturous and jazzy reed-blowing segments.

Although the fact that the line-up is composed of sterling musicians was crystal clear, the cohesive collective play, more than the solos, was accentuated throughout the firmly and enthusiastically performed concert. The passion and driving force of Jaga Jazzist intensified from one composition to the next, rising to a verifiable crescendo when the numerous genres and approaches culminated in kaleidoscopic fireworks of sound.

Mario Batelić



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Photo Nada Žgank