Jaga Jazzist
Mono, Glasgow - 7th June 2005
We were lucky enough to get to Mono while Jaga were still setting up, and sat at the back of the venue near the band while they ate. Somehow they got all their gear onto that tiny stage. The soundcheck alone was superb and a hint at what was to come.
It took much longer than obviously planned to set up all the equipment, and by the time all the poor people who had queued up outside were let in (ha ha!), the support act The Fusion Experience were preparing to take the stage.
I failed to see where the fusion was with this band, a 6-piece made up of drums, bass, keyboard/vocals, and three backing singers. It was like listening to a rendition of the Get Carter soundtrack - not overtly offensive, musically, but ultimately just a bit too far in the direction of pointless, noodling lounge to really go anywhere.
The real fusion was when Jaga Jazzist took the stage.
I've been into this band since I heard their collaboration with fellow Norweigans Motorpsycho, and as brilliant as they are on disc, you can't grasp just how good they are until you witness it live.
Performing with all the energy of a punk band, and the musical command that only musicians this talented possess, they showcased the new material from What We Must, a rock-jazz mutation, as angular and skewed as art-rock, but in no way looking backward. With drums that beat your chest with every pound, instruments changing hands constantly as band leader Lars Horntveth switched from guitar to saxophone, to guitar again, to clarinet; the backline of brass laying their melody over the sound wave created by the front three guitars.
Things really kicked in when they let rip with tracks picked from their landmark crossover album, The Styxx, with its drum n bass like programmed sounds, drummer Martin Horntveth trying to win the prize for Best Jazz Drummer Gurn, as he threw every sinew, every part of his soul into the music.
And these guys love what they do. It shows on their faces, it comes across in how they play. The crowds, whether familiar with this music or not, got into it very quickly, giving Jaga more to work with, to feel and up the tempo.
They closed as the atmosphere was getting climactic. We had no idea how long they were on for. I checked my watch. It was midnight. According to the timestamp on the first photograph I had taken near the start of their set, they had been on for over 2 hours.
It felt like half that. And no where near long enough.
Review - Kenny Mooney
Jaga Jazzist website