Norwegian Landscape at «deciBels»
Two drum sets, vibraphone, strings, big band, and metric modulations: how our students coped with the Trondheim Matrix
From March 18 to 22, the «deciBels» festival took place for the 10th time at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. Specifically, the festival featured contemporary music in various forms, from choral music to contemporary classical music, where even hay and light bulbs made music. As usual, a whole concert was also dedicated to jazz musicians — the united JVLMA, Riga Dome Choir School, and Jāzeps Mediņš Riga Music Secondary School big band performed with special guest Espen Berg, a pianist and composer from Trondheim University (Norway). The unified big band has performed at the festival for the third year in a row; previously, jazz at the festival was presented in an exciting collaboration with students from the ethnomusicology department. Personally, I am very sad that we no longer hear ethno-jazz within and outside the academy walls because it was the most brilliant joint project for the jazz department, where Latvian traditions met American classics to create something magical that could only happen here and now. However, changes are also a good thing that can teach us a lot, and this concert, which was called «MAETRIX,» definitely gave students new skills and inspiration, which pleasantly surprised me.
So, who is Espen Berg, and why is the participation of the united big band from JVLMA, RDKS, and JMRMV a unique event?
I would like to borrow the description from the festival program. So, Espen Berg is an internationally acclaimed Norwegian jazz pianist who has been repeatedly selected as the jazz ambassador of Norway. In 2023, he was included in the «Steinway Artist» list, becoming the youngest in his country, as well as one of six «Steinway» artists in Norway. His piano playing and composition style are firmly rooted in the traditions of classical jazz music, complemented by the Scandinavian expansiveness, maturity, and rhythmic diversity. Folk intonations are heard in his music, transforming the soloist’s play and giving it a more diatonic sound. Espen’s composed music, including «Maetrix,» which was commissioned and written for the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, and other works, features non-traditional instrumentation, with two drum sets, vibraphone, string instruments, and vocals, making it not a typical jazz big band.
I would like to stop for a moment and dedicate a bit of my time to the instrument list — yes, the first thing I noticed when entering the hall was the instruments on the stage: two drum sets, a vibraphone, strings, and the rest, typically found in a big band, but in smaller quantities (only seven wind instruments). I must admit, before the concert, I deliberately chose not to investigate what exactly would be offered musically to avoid creating unnecessary expectations and to have a pleasant surprise myself. Yes, I was familiar with the name Espen Berg beforehand (and the united big band, of course, has also been heard and even played with), but I had never heard the concert program, which was specially written for the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. Berg’s music was familiar to me from his trio recordings and seemed beautiful and interesting, so there were no doubts that I would hear something exciting in the big band’s performance. And I did. I will say even more. I was pleasantly surprised because saying this music is challenging would be an understatement. Honestly, my brain was constantly struggling with itself throughout the entire concert, as I wanted to listen carefully and try to figure out what was happening, but another part of me was urging the first part just to enjoy. Because there was something to enjoy both intellectually and purely emotionally. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the student’s performance in a good way because usually, preparation for a festival happens in a fairly short time, but the musicians excelled in handling such a complex program, although occasionally a certain tension could be seen on their faces. The artistic leader and conductor of the big band, Dāvis Jurka, who was also the initiator of the collaboration, described this concert program as follows: «Although the material is complex on paper, it is listenable to the audience. It is organic; it is not like a mathematical formula that doesn’t work, but there is a hook where it works. There are many influences of folk music, Scandinavian, where mixed time signatures are also found.» Regarding the preparation for the concert, he commented: «The rehearsal process was sometimes painful, sometimes exciting. The material is slightly above what is usually played, so there were moments when the players wanted to give up, but careful work and a motivating environment paid off. It was an experiment beyond the usual.’»
One thing I noticed at the concert was the presence of two drum sets. Whether it was a coincidence or a trend, I don’t know, but it just so happened that in March, I was fortunate to attend concerts twice where two drummers were performing simultaneously (the second concert was in Vilnius, at the jazz club «Jazz Cellar,» during the local university’s international week, where one of the drummers from that concert, Andris Žabris, also participated). Therefore, I wanted to ask the musicians directly what it was like to play with two instruments that don’t usually play together. Jurģis Lipskis mentioned that having two drum sets in this project was very helpful because «there are constant modulations, constant changes in tempo, complex patterns, continuously four pairs of elevens. I would even say that one drummer could not play such a program alone. Even if we wanted to. We were very lucky to be together.» Andris Žabris noted that «there weren’t moments just to have two drum sets because it would be cool, but the music was specifically written for two sets, and there were moments when one group’s section played one meter, the other group’s section played another meter; then one drummer would join one section, the other the other, which created that interesting dynamic because you always have this huge flow.» The musicians also mentioned that Espen was happy that his music was performed again in this setup because it was originally written on commission for a specific orchestra. The foreign artist was also pleased that someone else was willing to take on and perform this music.
This concert was fortunate to be enjoyed in the company of a good music journalist — Kaspars Zaviļeiskis. He described the concert as follows: «Freshness, expansiveness, Norwegian landscapes, American groove, quite Norwegian avant-garde. My favorite was ‘Cadae,’ an avant-garde piece, and also ‘Zipline,’ where there was a groove along with that scenic jazz. Of course, the title track ‘Maetrix’ was probably meant to be liked the most; that’s exactly how it turned out.» Personally, I couldn’t single out any one of the eight compositions, as they all left a similar impression on me — emotionally profound and technically challenging. In my opinion, to paraphrase what Jurka said, this program was slightly more complicated than what musicians in an orchestra usually play, especially for students, but when you manage the task and do it well, it provides even greater satisfaction because you realize that you are capable of doing it. Drummer Jurģis Lipskis called the concert «a great challenge for all musicians who participated,» that challenge was passed with flying colors!
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the Music Academy on successfully organizing the tenth festival and the jazz students on an extremely beautiful experience. I also agree with Zaviļeiskis, who said: «It’s wonderful that there is a festival like ‘deciBels’ and it’s wonderful that there are projects like this where three school youngsters come together in one big band and, together with a wonderful master, present such a concert. At no moment did it seem like something was not right. Joy for the youngsters. We are growing a new, powerful jazz generation ready to play in large and small ensembles, a joy to watch.»