Jaga Jazzist

Formed by percussionist Martin Horntveth in 1994, the band really blossomed after Horntveth drafted in his brother Lars to be his songwriting partner and multi-instrumentalist. After the duo formed a full band around their first compositional efforts, they released their debut album “Jævla Jazzist Grete Stitz” in 1996 and made a huge stir in jazz circles all around the world with their playful, rap-infused take on post-jazz. It was soon after the release of their debut album that they began touring properly, and their energetic, rock infused live shows soon became a thing of legend. After their first E.P “Magazine” was released in 1998, they signed a world-wide record deal with Warner Music Norway in 2000, and released the album that would introduce them to the world at large, “A Livingroom Hush”, in 2001.

Ever since then, Jaga Jazzist have continued to impress as a band bridging the gap between the avant-garde and the accessible, remaining one of the very few acts in the world as influenced by Talk Talk as they are by John Coltrane. The band remain cult heroes all over the globe, but are quite possibly the most respected jazz act in Norway at this point, collaborating with the Britten Sinfonia for a concert in 2012 which was turned in to a celebrated live album the following year. For being one of the most fascinating cult acts in the world after over 20 years in the business, Jaga Jazzist come highly recommended.