Today is the first day of the Reykjavík Jazz Festival. Because of rain, the jazz parade was moved to Harpa Concert Hall rather than beginning at Hlemmur. The official ceremony will begin in Harpa at 17:15 with the “parade” and will then continue as scheduled.
The program for Wednesday to Sunday can be found here. You can purchase tickets here. Today’s program:
Day 1 – Wednesday August 12 2015
17:15 Lucky Records Jazz parade in Harpa Concert Hall
17:45 Budvar stage Opening ceremony for Reykjavik Jazz festival
19:00 Silfurberg The House sleeps – New release
Leifur Gunarsson belongs to the upcoming generation of Icelandic jazz musicians. He is releasing his first album as a leader on this occasion, called Húsið sefur (“The House Sleeps”). The music for the album is all written to and inspired by Icelandic poetry and is based on his Copenhagen years. The music is best described as lyric and melancholic jazz with folk influences.
Leifur Gunnarsson (double bass)
Agnar Már Magnússon (piano)
Matthías Hemstock (drums)
Ingrid Örk Kjartansdóttir (voice)
Haukur Gröndal (saxophone, clarinet)
Snorri Sigurðsson (trumpet)
20:00 Norðurljós Monica Zetterlund – A tribute concert
The jazz group called “23/8” consists of singer Stina Agustsdottir, pianist Anna Greta Sigurdardottir and Leo Lindberg on bass. Their earlier performance honouring Monica Zetterlund, at the Nordic House this January, was a hit and completely sold out! Here’s the chance for those who missed out.
Monica Zetterlund was a jazz singer who became popular during the late 1950’s in Sweden. She performed with the likes of Thad jones, Bill Evans and Louis Armstrong, but also made a name for herself as an actress in her home country Sweden.
The group will perform songs made popular by Monica Zetterlund during her career, songs that were written for her as well as other known jazz standards performed in English, Swedish and Icelandic.
Stína Ágústsdóttir (voice)
Anna Gréta Sigurðardóttir (piano)
Leo Lindberg (double bass)
Erik Qvick (drums)
20:00 Silfurberg Nordic Dialogues
Nordic Dialogues is a Pan-Scandinavian collaboration between Finnish saxophonist Joakim Berghäll and pianists Árni Karlsson and Joona Toivanen, based on Berghäll’s widely praised debut album “Dialogues I” (2013).
Joakim Berghäll, one of Finland’s most talented and internationally recognised improvisers, is a Helsinki-based saxophone player and composer born in 1980. “He is a master of all the reeds.” (Jazz Weekly). As a composer he creates music that is strongly influenced by Finnish folk tradition and at the same time harmonically rich, melodically diverse and emotionally compelling.
Árni Karlsson has been an active member of the Icelandic jazz scene for two decades as a pianist and composer in various musical styles, from jazz and classical to pop, rock and house. His last album, Hold, was selected Album of the Year 2014 by New York jazzsite The Jazz Wrap.
“Beautiful music, full of emotion, expressive depth, colourful harmonies and beautiful Nordic melodies.” SKJazz
Joona Toivanen is a talented Finnish pianist based in Gothenburg, Sweden. His current musical projects include solo work, and the Nordic quartet Jazz & Fly Fishing.
Joakim Berghall (Saxophones)
Árni Heiðar Karlsson (piano)
Joona Toivanen (piano)
21:00 Norðurljós Kekko Fornarelli Trio
A true Italian masterpiece! Kekko Fornarelli leads his trio trough his original music and follows up on the release of his latest album “Outrush” (2014). The music of Outrush has been described as an escape inside his own world. A complexity able to hit the audience straight in the heart and the stomach, before touching the mind. An alchemy between the musicians that carries jazz out of its borders.
Kekko has in the last years earned reputation on the international stage, and is referred to as the rising star of Italian jazz. He tours extensively and is a frequent guest at Europe’s leading jazz festivals.
This concert is made possible by generous support from Puglia Sounds
Kekko Fornarelli (piano and keyboard)
Giorgio Vendola (double bass)
Dario Congedo (drums and percussion)
http://www.kekkofornarelli.com/
22:00 Silfurberg Mógil
Mógil is an Iceland-based band whose music blends folk, classical, minimal and post-rock into a universe that is completely their own. The lyrics are inspired by Icelandic folklore and current events and tell the emotional stories of humans and mermen alike.
The world of Mógil is atmospheric, intimate and mysterious. It is always warm, be it from the midnight sun in summertime or the blaze of a fireplace in wintertime. The tension between the crystal-clear soprano and the very contemporary accompaniment together make for a timeless sound that knows no borders.
Mógil has performed at Iceland Airwaves, Reykjavík Jazz Festival and WOMEX World Festival and done several tours of Northern Europe. They released the album “Ró” in 2008, followed by “Í stillunni hljómar” in 2011, with a new album upcoming in 2016. Their music has been called “exquisite from beginning to end” (Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery, NYC) and proclaimed as “music that touches the soul” (The Silent Ballet, NYC).
Heiða Árnadóttir (voice)
Joachim Badenhorst (clarinet)
Hilmar Jensson (guitar)
Kristín Þóra Haraldsdóttir (viola)
Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson (trumpet)
23:00 Budvar stage Jazz jam session
