Opening concert: The Source: of Oslo
The Source pay tribute to Oslo | Oslojazz 2026
Oslo Jazz Festival is proud to present The Source: of Oslo as this year’s opening concert at The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet on Sunday, August 9! Tickets go on sale Friday March 20th at 11.00.
On the occasion of Oslo Jazz Festival’s 40th anniversary, we invite you all to a grand tribute to the city and the music metropolis of Oslo with The Source, who will showcase the capital’s diverse expressions at the Opera House this evening.
Oslo is a city that has inspired and produced enormous amounts of fantastic music portraying everyday life and celebration, the beautiful and the terrible—the big city of Oslo, for better and for worse. Oslo is also a city that musicians from all over the world now call home. The Source has delved deeply into the material and selected their Oslo favorites, arranging the songs in an unmistakable The Source style. As tradition dictates, the band has also invited a number of star guests to join them on stage.
The legendary The Source has over the past three decades become a jazz institution in Norway, with an irresistible mix of virtuosity and joie de vivre. The quartet — consisting of saxophonist Trygve Seim, trombonist Øyvind Brække, bassist Mats Eilertsen, and drummer Per Oddvar Johansen — celebrated in 2025 the 30th anniversary of the project The Source: of Christmas at Cosmopolite, where they performed a weekend of marathon concerts to standing ovations.
The Source: of Oslo was originally supposed to open Oslo Jazz Festival in 2020, but it was put on hold when the country shut down. With the festival’s 40th anniversary, the project has been revived, and we finally get the chance to experience this grand celebration on the main stage of the Opera House with The Source: of Oslo. Welcome to a truly unique opening concert!
Trygve Seim – saxophones, Øyvind Brække – trombone, Mats Eilertsen – bass, Per Oddvar Johansen – drums
Guest artists (will be announced continuously):
Tuva Syvertsen – vocals, Mathias Eick - trumpet, Tora Augestad – vocals, Raed AbdElghany – derwish-dance, Symre Taugbøl Bang – guitar, vocals, Frode Haltli - accordion
Sunanda Sharma – vocals and tanpura, Rohini Sahajpal – sitar, ShriLal Sahajpal – violin and harmonium, Jai Shankar Sahajpal – tablas
Batagraf:
Jon Balke – piano and percussion, Snorre Bjerck – percussion, Helge Andreas Nordbakken – percussion
Sharkiat Fathy Salama:
Fathy Salama – piano and keyboards, Fouda Mohammed – ney flute, Ramadan Mambo – percussion, Ayman Sedki – percussion
Concert start: 19:00
Doors open: 18:20