July 11, 2005
Jazz Festival 2005 : Final Day : partial redemption
Long John's was the venue, starting at 10:00pm - lots of trad jazz, which can get a bit trying after a while. That finished at midnight, so we moved on to La Fontaine with, it must be said, some reluctance after the recent unpleasantness there. Surprisingly, the doorman seemed happy to see us, as did the barman. Of Søren, no sign (thank God). It was pretty busy inside, although there was no queue like last year's final night, and the temperature and humidity were, fittingly, akin to New Orleans midsummer. The music was excellent, with many familiar faces and sounds, and apart from the smokey atmosphere and heat/humidity (why weren't the ceiling fans on???) we had a great time, finally rolling out around 4:30am - with the music still playing. See you next year.
Posted by daen at 05:34 AM
July 04, 2005
Jazz festival 2005 : Day 2
The second day of the 2005 Copenhagen jazz festival was much better than the first. To be honest, the walk home after the dreadful debacle last night was pleasant enough. The sun was already high and warm on our faces as we crossed Langebro at 6am. At home, we slept until midday. Then, feeling a little better, we showered and cycled to Aage Jensen's on Aabenrå where we checked out some synths until they closed at 2pm. And so to the Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen memorial concert in Kongens Have for 3pm where we met Nicky and Adrian. It was packed, and the sun beat down on us all. The start was delayed "due to technical problems". Trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg and harpist Helen Davies (Mikkelborg's Welsh wife) started with a piece often played by NHØP and Palle Mikkelborg. Except that the bass part was empty, the trumpet instead in a duet with that most intangible and poignant of musical instruments, absence. The trumpet echoed eerily, and NHØP's spirit could be felt walking through the sunny Royal Gardens making hairs on arms stand on end. Other pieces had Mikkelborg and Henrik Bolberg alternating on trumpet, Mads Winding and Jesper Lundgaard on bass, Alex Riel on drums, and Carsten Dahl and Ole Koch Hansen on piano. I don't know much of NHØP's music, but I certainly got a feeling for the kind of Danish musicians he worked with and the music he played. The clouds moved in around 4pm, but aside from literally a few dozen drops of rain, the weather held, albeit somewhat chillier than earlier. The concert finished at 6pm, when we went back to Nicky and Adrian's for vegan pasta and tofu vanilla icecream, yum yum. Phrase of the evening : "an underwater lake" from Adrian, when he actually meant "an underground lake". We said goodnight to our hosts and rounded off the evening at Charlies with a pint of Thisteds Humle (hoppy and light - good with lemon!) and Crouch Vale Oregon Best (very hoppy, strong elderflower aroma and taste). End of day 2.
Posted by daen at 12:13 AM