This year we will be hosting six concerts at Blå throughout the entire festival week.

STICKY FINGERS IN ANY MUSICAL COOKIE JAR

For a long time, the danish trio Ibrahim Electric has been a very popular group on the European jazz scene. Their eccentric, provocative, and extroverted original music places a hand in just about any musical cookie jar, sending cascades of pearls through the speakers.

DREAMY IMAGES OF RUTHLESS RAMPAGES

Based in Oslo, Christian Winther is a driving force in the alternative, experimental and improvised music scenes with his personal and intuitive attitude towards the guitar and creative songwriting. Urfuglen is his second album as a solo artist. Originally a commissioned work for the Motvind Festival’s 5 year anniversary it also received Norwegian Album Of The Year 2022 in Klassekampen (Chris Monsen).

A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN

Colin Stetson’s recorded output has proven as prolific as it’s praiseworthy. Since the early 2000s, he’s gained a well-deserved reputation as an exceptional musician, known for assertive, powerhouse performances on the saxophone – chiefly bass and alto, but also soprano, tenor and baritone. However, he is similarly at home whatever the musical context, on clarinet, flute, French Horn and cornet. One might even say he operates in a field all of his own.

NORWEGIAN COMETS

In addition to their notable recordings, Pom Poko has made a name for themselves as one of Norway’s most unique live bands. One would have to admit their career has been nothing short of a comet since the release of It’s A Trap in 2017. The following years, the quartet has been nominated for multiple Norwegian Grammys, made “the album of the year” according to Aftenposten, been nominated for Nordic Music Prize, The Bendik Award, and of course toured all of Europe for sold out venues.

MAGICAL, LYRICAL FREE JAZZ

Named after the wise tortoise in Kung Fu Panda movies, Master Oogway was invited to play five monthly concerts at Kafé Hærverk throughout the fall of 2020. A new guest was invited to play alongside the band for each concert. All five concerts were recorded and planned to be released in a “best of” compilation from each night. However, the concert with Henriette Eilertsen proved so magical that it was released entirely on its own in 2022.

EXPLOSIVE ENERGY AND TELEPATHIC INTERPLAY

Bushman’s Revenge have been exploring different paths and sounds in their own unique musical universe since 2003. They have released 10 critically acclaimed albums on Norwegian cutting edge labels like Rune Grammofon and Hubro, and will release their 11th album All the better for seeing you on the great Norwegian label Is It Jazz? Records in August 2023.

Discover more concerts and read all about the artist HERE