Article in Sandefjords Blad, Saturday September 29. 2001
| Translation by Dag Sirnes: Silje Nergaard juggles jazz New record: Is it jazz? Is it pop? Silje Nergaard's record is popular jazz music. Frederic Moger Oslo. "At First Light" represents a new vision for popular jazz music, it says in the somewhat pompous press release from the record company of Silje Nergaard. ''Well, it is my vision we're talking about now. Jazz is an open landscape with few established rules'', says Silje. ''So, what kind of jazz are you making?'' ''I like melodies. So then you can probably call it melodic jazz.'' Last year's record - ''Port of Call'' - was both a critic success and a sales success. The album went straight into a seventh place on the Norwegian sales lists. It is not exactly an everyday event for Norwegian jazz releases. The album was a tribute to the standard songs in jazz, which has meant a lot to Silje's musical development. ''It was kind of like starting over again. And I got to challenge myself as a singer against these classic songs.'' Songs on the answering machine This time Silje Nergaard has composed herself. It starts with her sitting down at the piano. ''And then I record the melody on a mini disc. But I leave it until the next day before I listen to it. Then I find out if it is worth building on. I drive the songs in an intuitive way.'' ''But what if a stanza pops into your head when you're in a cafe, for example?'' ''Then I call the answering machine. I've done that many times.'' The singer has not completely given up on doing her versions of the standard songs this time either. ''Let There Be Love'' and ''Two Sleepy People'' are included. She also pays tribute to Stevie Wonder with the song "Blame It On The Sun". ''He's my ultimate hero. As soon as I talk about him or think of him, I almost start crying. He is one of the most ingenious artists of our time'', says Silje, who also has heroes in the jazz world, both dead and alive. But most of all, she wants to develop her own style. "I do not want to copy anyone." She notices that jazz has flourished in recent years. More and more young people have come to her concerts. ''Now you have acid jazz and trip hop and I do not know what. Many will also find out how more pure jazz is.'' Following the success of "Port of Call" both at home and abroad, Silje Nergaard traveled extensively around Europe and gave concerts. She experiences that the audience behaves very differently. ''For example, people in Southern Europe shout to the bassist: Hey, play a solo! The northerner in me likes this. You do not experience this here in Norway. We are more shy as the audience. And in Japan, I experienced that everyone did everything at the same time.'' Tour list 11. October: Rockefeller, Oslo 12. October: The Maihaug Hall, Lillehammer 15. October: Nøtterøy Kulturhus, Nøtterøy 17. October: Jazzklubben, Vadsø 18. October: Harstad Kulturhus, Harstad 19. October: Bodø Kulturhus, Bodø 26. October: Atlantic Hall, Stavanger 27. October: Sardinen, Bergen 28. October: Kulturhuset, Voss 3. November: Viktoria Hotel, Kragerø 10. November: Kongresshallen, Trondheim NTB Pluss Caption: Silje Nergaard juggles the music genres and calls the latest album melodic jazz. Photo: Heiko Junge, Scanpix |