Jaga Jazzist
Vancouver International Jazz Festival

Norway has been putting out some great electronic and jazz music recently (Röyksopp, Bugge Wesseltoft). Jaga Jazzist is not an exception to the rule. I didn’t know much about the 10 piece band except for that they were on Ninjatune (home of Coldcut and Kid Koala). I heard a few of their tracks on their website www.jagajazzist.com which reminded me of Tortoise crossed with Aphex Twin.

As soon as Jaga Jazzist started their set, my jaw hit the floor. It was like listening to free-form jazz combined with machine beats and rock riffs. But once you got past the layers of what sounded like chaos, the songs were made of carefully composed intricate arrangements. I found myself mesmerized by their vocal and instrumental harmonies which would transformed to solos within another set of melodies.

Despite the size of the group, they were amazingly tight. The average band member is 25 years old but they’ve been together since they were 14. Despite the stereotype of Scandinavians as being cold people, they looked like they were enjoying themselves and were at ease playing with each other. This is definitely one of the best live shows I’ve seen this year. With the current onslaught insipid pop idols, it’s great to hear musicians innovate and defy convention. Because of their size, I’m not sure if they will be able to afford to tour North America again. But if they ever come back, this is a must-see show!