Magic Mirror becomes "Kikkans Hall"!

New rising jazz star at full speed head

She's truly convincing with her enormous voice, her swinging authority and incredible musicality. Horn is mainly focusing on the repertoire of jazz standards, but she is happy to do shameless detours to Steve Wonder, Eryka Badu and spiritual soul of the sixties. She is often compared to singers like Nancy Wilson and Betty Carter, and to her great source of inspiration – Sarah Vaughan.

Horn started her career in the choir in her parents' congregation in Dallas. However, it was discovering Sarah Vaughan that ignited a spark in her for real and her love for jazz music grew. She herself says, that at this moment gave her a clear goal in life – she wanted to be a jazz singer.

In 2013 she won a price at Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, only two years later, in 2015, she won Thelonius Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition. The rewards keep flowing in and her latest album A social call from 2018, was nominated for a Grammy. In other words, it's a must to hear Jazzmeia Horn in Kikkans Hall, 18 July.

Local Midsund-man, Steinar Raknes, is undoubtedly a world-class jazz bass-player and has toured the world with artists like Ola Kvernberg, The Core, Urban Connection and Chick Corea.

Last year, Steinar Raknes, released his third album, Chasing The Real Things, with the rock, blues and Americana-steaming project, Stillhouse. He both sing and play the double bass – and is also behind most of the repertoire. Raknes has a striking ability to write songs that immediately sticks and feels familiar and dear from the first listen-through. In addition to this, he also offers strong cover versions of songs by legends like Bob Dylan, Depeche Mode and Bruce Springsteen.

Stillhouse's usually a solo project, but Raknes comes to Molde with «The Stillhouse Band», including Unni Wilhelmsen on vocals and guitar, Even Helte Hermansen on guitar, Erlend Slettevoll on piano and Per Oddvar Johansen on drums.

We guarantee a great atmosphere in Kikkans Hall, Wednesday 17 July.

From the lyrical to the thrilling – don't miss the gipsy jazz with traditions in
Kikkans Hall, Friday night during this year's Moldejazz!

Summer of 1979, during Moldejazz, some unknown, young boys sat on the street playing string swing and rightfully caught the attention of the jazz-interested audience wandering the streets. This led to them being introduced to the seasoned violinist, Ivar Brodahl, and to the founding of the band, Hot Club de Norvège. The group marks their 40 year anniversary this year, and what could be more natural than having them back at Moldejazz to properly celebrate the occasion?

Two of the founders are still in the band – guitar-player Jon Larsen and bass-player Svein Aarbostad. Hot Club de Norvège is one of Norway's hottest live-bands, known for their contagious joy when playing, and the virtuoso string swing, starting from the music of Django Reinhardt. They have collaborated with as good as everyone in the genre and also profiled people from other genres, such as Nigel Kennedy and The Vertavoquartet, to name a few. As if this wasn’t enough, the band and their music are known to Norwegians across the country for contributing to Lillebjørn Nilsen's megahit, «Tanta til Beate».

The band get much of the credit for the renaissance of string swing-music in Norway from the 70s and up until today. It's a form of jazz, combining the refined and the popular for the new generations to keep discovering that this is music with many nuances. The span of generations is also illustrated by the new repertoire the band will present at their concert in Molde. It's been given the name «From Grieg to Zappa» and by this, they confirm that they're still on the lookout for new takes on the string swing-tradition.

Finn Hauge - violin and harmonica / Jon Larsen - guitar / Gildas Le Pape - guitar / Svein Aarbostad - double bass.

When Ytre Suløens Jass-Ensemble yet again returns to Moldejazz it is with a homage to Bessie Smith, also known as «the empress of the blues». In 1987 the band released the album A Stone for Bessie Smith and this record makes the starting point for the music you'll hear in Kikkans Hall, Monday and Tuesday during this year's festival week.

Bessie Smith lost her parents at a young age and quickly gained her living from music. She had a raw and intense style of singing and her blues repertoire was much about her tragic childhood. Bessie Smith has inspired artists such as Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday and Bob Dylan.

The later years Ytre Suløen has been working with much of Bessie Smiths music, a choice naturally fitting to the voice of the band's vocalist, Tricia Bouttè. It truly is an amazing program they've put together for this years festival, and there's good reason to remind you that Ytre Suløen is sold out every year – both nights.

Last years great success is back

Bech & Skeidsvoll New Orleans Band was founded in 2013 and has, as the name implies, its musical fundament in New Orleans music. The band has a combination of seasoned scholar musicians and young innovative forces – all on a high level. The music's mainly their own arrangements of traditional and more modern compositions in the classic musical tradition of New Orleans.

The band have a string of collaboration projects with other bands and soloists, where they've shown their capacity and musical competence. They've played smaller clubs, on the streets, in churches and bigger stages and are now ready to take Molde once again.

With four Skeidvolls on stage, this is quite a family-project – but for them, all to be in the same band is a rarity.

Gunnar Bech, vocal and trombone / Leiv Skeidsvoll, vocal and trumpet / Lauritz Skeidsvoll, saxophone / Torstein Fuglseth, banjo and guitar / Sindre Klykken, double bass / Hans Petter Gyldenskog, percussion / Peder Skeidsvoll, trumpet / Isach Skeidsvoll, piano.