Jazz merges with modern shades of salsa thanks to a collaborative arrangement between Sola Strand Hotel and Sola municipality during the weekend of 1st – 2nd October.
Saturday evening begins with Jazz Jukebox in the Ellens Utsikt room, followed by a concert with French outfit Paris Combo, before Efrain Toro and Bjergsted Jazz Ensemble are turned loose with their salsa project.
On Sunday we extend a warm welcome to a tempting jazz-brunch buffet, put together by Sola Strand Hotel’s head chef. And of course, jazz will also be on the menu. With our special festival package, concerts can be combined with a restaurant visit or a stopover and well-being session in the Nordsjøbadet Spa at Sola Strand Hotel.
Concerts
Saturday begins with the Aleksander Grønstad’s Jazz Jukebox Quintet and a chance to reacquaint yourself with modern jazz standards by Herbie Hancock, Cannonball Adderly and Jan Garbarek, among others. Grønstad and his team group serve up some of the most exciting delicacies from the modern jazz catalogue.
Line-up: Alexander Grønstad – guitar; Mathias Hagen – saxophone; Håvard Ersland – keyboards; Trond Martin Tanke – drums; Vidar Starheimsæter – bass.
As the name rightly implies, Paris Combo are a Paris-based French band with an exploratory approach to their material, blending elements from French chanson tradition, gypsy music, American jazz and swing, as well as North African music. By their own admission, they play world music, in the concept’s broadest sense. The band have performed live across the globe and were the big surprise at MaiJazz in 2015. Now they’re back – and we’re delighted to experience them once again at Sola Strand Hotel.
Line-up: Belle du Berry – vocals/accordion; David Lewis – trumpet/piano; Emmanuel Chabbey – bass; Francois Jeannin – drums; Potzi – guitar
When Puerto Rican percussionist Efrain Toro – one of the world’s greatest – teams up with Bjergsted Jazz Ensemble, things will certainly get hot. This will be a celebration of rhythm for all tastes – whether you like cutting-edge, high-quality music performed by the skilled and talented ensemble musicians, or enjoy swinging your hips to salsa. The ensemble will also be joined by Tor Yttredal on sax, Tore Johansen on trumpet, Stein Inge Brækhus on drums, Dominique Brackev on trombone and Espen Wensaas on guitar.