The spotlight at this year’s Bohemia Jazz Fest is on Norway, one of the great powerhouses of European jazz. Guitarist Terje Rypdal will take the stage on July 13 at 20:00 in Prague - Old Town Square accompanied by the seventeen piece Bergen Big Band. Singer Inger Marie Gundersens will give 4 concerts: in Prague, Domazlice, Plzen and Tabor.
“We’re excited to be featuring Norway, where they play some of the best jazz in Europe, as part of another great lineup this year,” says BFJ president and founder Rudy Linka. “The main goal of the festival is to offer quality music, and we’ve brought together some of the world’s finest jazz musicians to do that.”
Norwegian Ambassador Jens Eikaas will open the Norwegian Evening on June 13 to introduce two of Norway’s brightest musical stars: Jazz diva Inger Marie Gundersen, whose sensitive style invokes comparisons to Joni Mitchell, and guitarist Terje Rypdal, who blends jazz, rock and classical influences to create a uniquely European sound. Rypdal and trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg will be backed by the 17-piece Bergen Big Band.
Gundersen will continue with the tour for the next three nights, as BJF introduces an impressive lineup of fresh faces.
That wraps the Norwegian part of the festival, which Linka hopes will establish a precedent. “What I’d like is for a different country every year to say, ʻWe can get an entire evening on Old Town Square in Prague – let’s send the best we have.’”
Inger Marie Gundersen. Foto: ballade.no
In just six years, BJF has become one of the largest free jazz festivals in Europe. Playing on historic town squares throughout the Czech Republic, the festival’s winning combination of world-class music, spectacular settings and excellent beer drew more than 70,000 visitors last year. The key to its success has been Rudy Linka, a jazz star in his own right who has been able to call on friends and other contacts in the music business to put together lineups that would normally cost a small fortune to see.
“Anyone can buy an expensive ticket to see these performers,” Linka says. “What we’ve been able to do is offer very high quality music for free. We’re so glad that our sponsors share our vision of quality for everybody.”
And for the first time, jazz fans who can’t get to the concerts can sample them on television this year. Every day during the festival, Czech TV will be running 5-minute spots offering highlights of the previous evening’s performance.
About the Norwegian artists
Terje Rypdal is one of the most interesting electric guitarists of the last four decades blending jazz, rock and contemporary classical influences to forge a distinctively European approach to the instrument. Terje has been associated with the ECM label and has amassed a substantial discography as both leader and sideman including playing a key role in Jan Garbarek's early recordings.
Terje Rypdal will take the stage on July 13 at 20:00 in Prague - Old Town Square accompanied by the seventeen piece Bergen Big Band. Terje will also be joined by long-time collaborators Palle Mikkelborg (trumpet), Stale Storlokken (Hammond organ) and Paolo Vinaccia (drums).
“Norwegian jazz diva, Inger Marie Gundersen, spreads a contagious mood of unstressed wellbeing” said one of the reviewers for her latest CD: MY HEART WOULD HAVE A REASON.
Inger Marie will be accompanied by Oscar Jansen (piano/Rhodes), Ole Kristian Kvamme (bass), Tom Rudi Torjussen (drums/percussion) and Øivind G. Stømer (alto and soprano sax).
Inger Marie Gundersens full program:
13.7 17:00 Praha - Old Town Square
14.7 18:15 Domažlice - Náměstí míru
15.7 19:30 Plzeň - Náměstí republiky
16.7 18:15 Tábor - Žižkovo náměstí
http://www.ingermarie.com/
See the offical Bohemia Jazz Fest website for the full program and further info.