![]() Between four or five nightly sets were organized by ILK Music, tending toward free improvisation or extreme compositional styles. Some of the better sets were to be found in the converted slaughterhouse of 5e, which is close to the city center although deeply alternative in nature. The next section took on a funereal, Albert Ayler-esque wail, but after around 40 minutes, Konge’s inspiration was starting to dry up, the energy having somehow escaped the room. Next, he remained the joker, standing on a front-row chair, soloing on what sounded like a blade of grass. Osgood came to the stage-front chanting, “It’s all political, you know it’s all political,” then jumped back to the drums to rekindle the blaze. They fired off as one, hardly letting up during this stormy blowout, but the second piece had saxophonist Signe Emmeluth as a formidable force on the other side of the stage to Gustafsson’s soprano. On July 11, in the same location, the new-ish combo Konge set up on a conventionally placed stage, their lineup featuring saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and drummer Kresten Osgood. One group member would establish a sound before releasing it to scoot off around the spherical space. In a positive, enthralling way, it was sometimes a challenge to discern exactly which player was responsible for which whirling sonic delicacy. Dörner’s horn had a steampunk plunger system attached, fed through a laptop processing hatch, while Solborg’s guitar was itself appealingly buried in effects. Zach’s massive bass drum was often used as a surface for cymbal or gong rubbing or scraping, while Skjødt took the group sounds and whirled them around the circular speaker system with a highly controlled flair for placement and timing. Their album was released by the ILK collective, which also operates as a record label. This surround-sound concept was conceived by guitarist Mark Solborg and sound-installation artist Christian Skjødt, inviting along Ingar Zach (percussion) and Axel Dörner (modified slide trumpet). On July 10, a performance called Omdrejninger took place in the round, which was appropriate, as the word is Danish for “revolutions,” pertaining to the r.p.m. concerts, presented in the foyer of the Skuespilhuset concert hall. It was wiser to group a few shows in a selected zone, to minimize the intense degree of flitting about that might be required.Ī prime place to start the day was at the free admission 3 p.m. Ultimately, it was best not to be too ambitious, and avoid selecting gigs that were overlapping or located in far-flung parts of the city. ![]() ![]() I attended the fest for three days July 10–12, and even though this was my second visit, there was still a bewildering schedule to absorb, a sprawling city to navigate and many difficult choices to be made. In this respect, it’s similar to the festivals of Montreal, Detroit and Rochester, although in the case of Copenhagen, gigs encompass the entire spread of the city and its suburbs, not just a downtown hub. Many of the shows are free, and the ticketed concerts have a broad price range, depending on the stature of the artist. The 10-day Copenhagen Jazz Festival has been happening every July since 1979, completely taking over this Danish capital city, inhabiting theaters, clubs, parks and streets. The band LoFi, featuring saxophonist Laura Toxvaerd (right), performs during the Copenhagen Jazz Fest.
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