Oslo Jazzfestival is proud to announce the spring line-up of Jazz at MUNCH!

Jazz at MUNCH is a series with roots going back to the 1960s, when Karin Krog and Johs Bergh invited artists such as Jan Garbarek, Svein Finnerud, Bill Evans and Egil Kapstad to take part in now-legendary concerts in the museum’s exhibition halls at Tøyen. MUNCH is now carrying on this proud tradition at the new museum in Bjørkvika, with a series of concerts programmed in collaboration with Oslo Jazzfestival.

This spring, you will have the pleasure of experiencing Karin Krog with John Surman & The Valhalla Quartet, AKI: Lucia Cadotsch/Kit Downs/Phil Donkin/James Maddern and Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity in the Festsal at MUNCH.

• 22/3 20:00: Karin Krog w/ John Surman & The Valhalla Quartet

On the evening of 15 April 1966, jazz vocalist Karin Krog was having a cup of tea with the legendary Thelonious Monk at Oslo’s Continental Hotel. She listened in as he was being interviewed by NRK.

The interview followed a fantastic concert Monk had given at the University Aula. Krog vowed that she would one day try to sing some of his extraordinary compositions.

50 years later, that promise will finally be honoured at this concert. Karin Krog will perform a personal selection of tunes by the pianist, including ‘In Walked Bud’, ‘Pannonica’ and ‘Round Midnight’, as well as others rarely heard with lyrics, in new arrangements by saxophonist John Surman and the Valhalla Quartet.

Jazz at MUNCH has been a long running tradition since the mid-1960s, and Karin Krog herself was one of the driving forces behind it in the beginning.

Foto: Erik Paus

• 19/4 20:00: AKI: Lucia Cadotsch/Kit Downs/Phil Donkin/James Maddern

Lucia Cadotsch is a Swiss jazz vocalist who has made her home in Berlin. Her band Speak Low has been celebrated for its enchanting miniatures of great jazz classics. In her new band AKI, she has teamed up with a trio of English jazz musicians. Together they are exploring their mutual love of undiscovered songs in an intimate chamber-jazz style.

Pianist Kit Downes is already well known as an artist who frequently records on the ECM label. An old friend of Lucia, he has previously played as a guest with her in Speak Low.

The all-acoustic AKI create a relaxed and warm atmosphere around them. Their songbook covers the waterfront from Kurt Weill to Randy Newman, as well as their own original compositions. The members have all been friends for many years and in AKI they have finally managed to realise a long held dream of working together to make a very special musical experience.

Foto: Juliane Schütz

• 24/5 20:00: Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity

Spellemann prize-nominated trio Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity are one of the most dynamic small groups on the current Norwegian jazz scene. Groove, energy and tight interplay are the keywords, with Nilssen’s energetic freestyle drumming at the centre. The trio’s music recalls the classic free bop of the 1960s and 70s, but at the same time sounds fresh and newly invented.

The group’s latest LP, Elastic Wave, was released in 2022 on ECM Records. At tonight’s concert they promise a few surprise guests.

Petter Eldh – double bass
Gard Nilssen – drums
André Roligheten – saxophones, clarinet
Plus special guests

Foto: Cristoph Charpenel

More info and tickets can be found on the MUNCH website.