Review in Østlands-Posten, Monday February 4. 2002
| Translation by Dag Sirnes: Jazz show with Silje With humor, a twinkle in the eye and strong musical qualities, Silje Nergaard and her two fellow musicians took a packed Café Kurth by storm this weekend. It was an unpretentious and playful Silje Nergaard who visited Larvik on Friday night. Or Silje Nergaard Band is perhaps more correct to say. Her two fellow musicians, Jarle Vespestad on drums and Stian Carstensen on accordion, a somewhat unusual instrument combination, did not appear to be anonymous in Nergaard's company. Which requires a lot. For Silje Nergaard is a jazz singer with a strong stage appearance and exceptional vocal splendor. In Kafé Kurth, the three musicians complemented each other in such a way that it was a joy to be present. The concert began in a low voice, but already in the middle of the first song the applause broke out, and the intensity built up. From there and out, Nergaard and band had the audience in their hollow hand. That the artists enjoyed themselves on stage was not difficult to see. The tone of the artists in between and the communication with the audience was characterized by liberated cheerfulness. Something that was expressed in a very varied musical repertoire. Solid musical performances combined with large doses of humor characterized the concert. In short, real music, or "reality music" as the band jokingly called it. Occasionally a freshly married Carstensen got so much solo performance that Nergaard had plenty of time to rest her voice. Carstensen showed, among other things, how to get away with unimaginably many strange whims and indescribable gibberish by a jumble of grunts, whinnying, sniffing, incoherent stanzas in Intrøndelag dialect and something that sounded like an Islamic prayer caller who has gone crazy. This accompanied by Balkan music actually sounded good and catchy, believe it or not. The term happy jazz got a new meaning on Friday. In less than two hours, including two extra numbers, Silje Nergaard and her band enchanted the audience, before leaving the stage to standing ovations from 150 spectators. We look forward to the next time Silje Nergaard visits the town. Vespestad and Carstensen you can get a new dose of already on Friday 22 February when their own band, Farmers Marked, plays at Kafé Kurth. Something they did not fail to advertise. Helge Steinsvik Foto Joyful jazz evening: Silje Nergaard and her band delivered a concert with a lot of humor and good music at Kafé Kurth on Friday. Silje Nergaard and accordion virtuoso Stian Carstensen played well together. Photo: Bjørn Jakobsen |