Yesterday (June 16) during the 6th day of the Jazz Fest I made it to the Lutheran Church Of Reformation for the ‘Nordic Jazz Now’ series. Playing was Eivind Opsvik and his band ‘Overseas’.

The band was made of Opsvik (bass), Kenny Wollesen (drums), Brandon Seabrook (guitar), and Jacob Sacks (piano, organ and rhodes). The band performed what I think were some new pieces along with songs from the three ‘Overseas’ albums. The church served as a great background for the often eerie and mysterious music. Together the band played a lot of seemingly free music that would often find it’s way into more clear tempos and slow grooves. A few of the songs reminded me of Miles Davis’s ‘Bitches Brew’, but most compositions were very original sounding.

Individually, the band’s members all had very unique styles. Eivind Opsvik (bass) showed great skill and accuracy. When using his bow, he often moved it up and down, not just side to side, in order to get different tones. On a technical level, his solos were very impressive while still having clear and memorable melodies. Jacob Sacks (piano, organ and rhodes) created spacious landscapes in his accompaniment. His virtuosic technique was shown in his solos; his improvising sometimes had a classical-esque sound. Kenny Wollesen (drums) played at moderate levels with the occasional loud hit of a snare drum or high hat keeping you on your feet. And Brandon Seabrook (guitar) had an extremely unique sound. He played very moody and loud phrases and left a lot of space before the next line; it really kept you on the edge of your seat. His sound made me think of an abstract combination of Bill Frisell, Hendrix and something completely unique to himself.

It seems many of the artists coming out of Europe, in this case Norway, have a very original sound that often rivals the creativity of well-known American artists. It’s the same feeling I had at last year’s festival after seeing Nils Petter Molvaer play (also from Norway). I hope the festival keeps bringing in the Norwegian acts because in my opinion they have some of the freshest ideas out there.

Find Eivind Opsvik's music at http://www.eivindopsvik.com

by Colin Cannon (ColinCannonMusic.com)