EIVIND AARSET GROUP, (Norway)
What do legendary singer Ray Charles, pop icon Cher and Morten Harket, lead singer of the band a-ha have in common? A question worth many points in the "battle of the minds" of music lovers. The answer is that all of them have the guitar of this Vilnius Mama Jazz guest on their albums.
It would be an insult to describe Eivind Aarseth only as a companion of the world's celebrities.The 63-year-old Norwegian is one of the most important guitarists of our time, with a vision of his work that goes far beyond jazz, rock and pop music. Aarseth is technical enough to produce spectacular guitar "pyrotechnic effects", trying to fit as many notes as possible into a few seconds. And clever enough not to flaunt it. His weapon is unconventional creativity, attention to melody, rhythm and improvisation. "I love him. He's a genius," Mike Mainieri, the renowned US vibraphonist who met Aarseth, once said.
Eivind first picked up a guitar at the age of 12, when he heard a Jimi Hendrix record.
The teenager dove headfirst into rock, with neighbours freaking out at the loud releases of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath records. But his brother stepped in and, with his encouragement, Eivind discovered the music of Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Return To Forever.
Less than half a century ago, Aarseth was already one of Norway's most talented guitarists for hire, backing up stars of all styles.
"I played in a metal band, and I liked it at first, but I got tired of looking angry on stage every night," Eivind laughingly recalls the start of his career.
Musicians welcomed him with open arms. If you wanted to buy all the albums Aarseth helped record, you'd have to shake your wallet.
Eivind's collaborators include Django Bates, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Bill Laswell, Jan Garbarek, Lars Danielsson, Mari Boine, Marilyn Mazur, Sidsel Endresen, and a host of other jazz celebrities. There is also some anecdotal evidence that Aarseth has never been a musical racist, and has not been proud to help out British pop stars S Club 7
A collaboration with Norwegian trumpeter and composer Nils Petter Molvaer, who is deservedly known as one of the pioneers of the "new jazz", was another important boost to his career. Aarseth's guitar is featured on almost every album by this stereotype-breaking musician. It is also the case with Molvaer's world-famous 1997 album Khmer - critics unanimously agree that Aarset's experiments were a key element of this otherworldly record.
Earlier than ever before, Aarset has a wide range of associates in the Norwegian jazz community. Among them is Bugge Wesseltoft, a well-known Oslo pianist and promoter of a "new jazz concept", who played at the Vilnius Mama Jazz festival in 2022.
It was his founding of the Jazzland label in 1998 that introduced Eivind's abilities as a bandleader. Aarseth's first album, Electronique Noire, blew the minds of the critics at the solid jazz labels who had heard it all.
"His guitar goes from a soft whisper to a roar in seconds. A unique musical vision, a changing atmosphere, a strong influence of electronic music. Eivind covers the full range of musical moods, from intensity to intimacy," the reviewers gushed.
The New York Times went further, calling Electronic Noire one of the finest "electric" jazz recordings since the trumpeter Miles Davis.
Each of Aarseth's solo albums has been a source of increasing admiration and surprise. Not surprisingly, the guitarist has been happy to navigate ever wider waters, from drum'n'bass to ambient.
"When you hear that he's from Norway, you imagine that his music paints a picture of fjords. But Eivind's melodies could also be inspired by the jungle or the desert", critics describe the musician's versatility.
With no idea what style of drawer to put Eivind's music in, jazz experts agree on one thing: his work is like a wide open field, where the musician walks wherever he wants to go, often without guessing where the journey will take him.
Phantasmagoria, or A Different Kind of Journey is the latest album by Eivind Aarseth's 4tet, released in 2021, and will be heard at this year's Vilnius Mama Jazz. They are manipulated by pushing the boundaries of the instrument, and the tracks on the album oscillate between rhythmic groove compositions, subtle improvisations and atmospheric episodes.
The music on this album by Aarseth, Audun Erlien, Wetle Holte and Erland Dahlen is an experience that takes you through memories and imagination, bridging different styles, sounds and eras.
Vilnius Mama Jazz, where Aarseth will share his vision and, as you can already predict, deliver one of the most memorable evenings of the year. A deceptively calm guitarist, whose touch on the strings makes the audience feel as if they are in a hypnosis session - this kind of musical journey does not happen every day.
