It was 20 years ago, today, when my world was shattered by the quirky Norwegian electro-jazz act JAGA JAZZIST. Their 2003 album “The Stix” had already made quite an impact with its glitchy drum&bass flourishes and Aphex Twin-like IDM but it had not mentally prepared me for the wildness of their fourth album “What We Must,” released on April 25 th, 2005, via the prestigious British electronica label, Ninja Tune. I was no stranger to jazz fusion then, but this 7-track endeavor was something completely unheard of even for a seasoned jazz aficionado like me. Also, I had just recently found out about this brand new musical universe of post-rock, largely thanks to SIGUR RÓS and TORTOISE, so it was nothing short of revolutionary to hear someone blend electronic jazz with such haunting post-rock soundscapes. Then again, I guess it speaks volumes about JAGA JAZZIST‘s songcraft that “The Stix” had been kept from the pole position in the Norwegian album charts only by COLDPLAY and QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE. I cannot see anything like that happening in my home country, the land of 1,000 lakes and gazillion metal bands. Speaking of which, Tuonela Magazine is characteristically metal-oriented music media, so what the hell am I talking about here?! The band’s prog pageantry would probably go down rather well even for the metal connoisseur, at least the one with the acquired taste for the weird, but music-box jazz? C’mon! The thing is, the members of JAGA JAZZIST can be traced through a few high-profile Scandinavian bands, from MOTORPSYCHO to SUPERSILENT and SHINING. Now, that might pique the interest of a tad larger metal audience. Besides, genre labels are for the weak.
The album kicks off with the 8-minute epic, “All I Know Is Tonight,” and the song rolls out a poignant, flight-of-fancy guitar motif right off the bat. It soon becomes clear that this album marks a new direction for the band. The restless drum&bass and glitchy electronica that characterized the previous album have been replaced with a far more organic and plaintive approach, and this new multi-layered melancholy pierces through each song on the album. The opener is one of the pinnacle tracks, in this respect. There is something truly haunting in those poignantly sorrowful trombone legatos. In a way, the opener is a lengthy, brooding overture that resolves in the melancholy romanticism of the follow-up track, “Stardust Hotel.”
When it comes to the post-rock side of things, JAGA JAZZIST is more inclined toward the jazz-influenced, TORTOISE-like school of thought rather than the crescendo approach made famous by SIGUR RÓS and GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR. The best case in point is the third track, “For All You Happy People.” In terms of instrumentation and mood, the song could easily have fitted on the TORTOISE album classic, “TNT,” from 1998 – and it’s not even the only one in this selection that could.
While it’s not the easiest of tasks to single out the highlights because there is something rather appealing in each song, one song does pack such a punch that it towers over the rest. “Oslo Skyline” is a heart-wrenching exercise in instrumental melancholy, mixing that TORTOISE-like, ostinato-driven post-rock and the traditional crescendo approach in the same sonic bowl to nothing short of a resonant effect. This song will stick to your head for days! There used to be a music video for the song online, at the time of its release, but it seems to have vanished from the digital realm altogether over the years. Damn! It was pretty poignant, but perhaps it was something copyright-breaching, fan-made stuff. I want to single out this particular song, so you’ll have to do with this:
“Swedenborgske Rom” is another epic, clocking little short of 9 minutes. The song is remarkably ambient, comprised mostly of post-rockish guitar textures and haunting, reverb-drenched vocals. The song is an intriguing cross between Brian Eno and David Sylvian‘s ambient endeavors. Due to its epic nature, it should have been placed as the closer, perhaps, rather than “I Have A Ghost, Now What?” I mean, the upbeat, marimba-driven electro-jazz in the latter is no match to the emotional power of “Swedenborgske Rom.”
Then, the syncopated riffer, “Mikado,” is yet another banger. By turns, the riffs and legatos traverse utterly melancholic waters and uplifting heights. The song’s ambient coda is also nicely reminiscent of some of those recent excursions into electronic and ambient jazz by the Finnish jazz great, Verneri Pohjola. This could suggest that JAGA JAZZIST was way ahead of their time with this beast. It sure felt like a breath of fresh air when it came out. It still does.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- All I Know Is Tonight
- Stardust Hotel
- For All You Happy People
- Oslo Skyline
- Swedenborgske Rom
- Mikado
- I Have A Ghost, Now What?
Lineup
Mathias Eick – trumpet, upright bass, vibraphone, keyboards, Solina strings, vocals
Ketil Vestrum Einarsen – flute, alto flute, toy sax, wind controller
Harald Frøland – guitars and effects
Lars Horntveth – guitars, Bb clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano sax, Mellotron, keyboards, lap steel, glockenspiel, tamboura, vocals
Line Horntveth – tuba, percussion, vocals
Martin Horntveth – drums, percussion, gong, vocals
Andreas Mjøs – guitars, vibraphone, Omnichords, marimba, percussion, glockenspiel
Even Ormestad – bass, SH-101, baritone guitars, piano, marimba
Andreas Hessen Schei – synthesizers, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, piano, Mellotron, vocals
Lars Wabø – trombone, euphonium
Guest:
Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim – keyboards, Theremin, percussion
Label
Ninja Tune
