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Annual since 1962 Molde Jazz Festival on the west coast of Norway (Jul 14-19) has Ornette Coleman Quintet, Charles Lloyd Quartet w/Jason Moran, David Murray Black Saint Quartet, Brad Mehldau Trio, San Fransisco Jazz Collective (Lovano, Douglas, Zenon etc), Karin Krog/Steve Kuhn, Marilyn Mazur (Artist in Residence), Patti Smith, Open Loose, Zeena Parkins, Arild Andersen/Tommy Smith Manu Katche Playground Marcin Wasilewski trio etc etc, more info at http://www.moldejazz.no

I saw him too, a couple of times, first at Molde International Jazz Festival - Norway - in 1961, where Bailey's precence was the only reason for calling it international - Karin Krog was doing the first part of the concert and was ending her version of Moody's Mood for Love singing "Benny Bailey you can come in now and play", and then he entered from backstage, put the horn to his lips and out came this HUGE and BROAD trumpet sound and fascinating intervallic leaps. Later in the concert he played a great I can't get started that would have Bunny Berigan sit up - a trumpeter friend of mine taped it (from the radio transmission of the concert), and to this day it's one of his desert island picks. After the concert he was invited to dinner at the home of another friend of mine, and this friend's mother poured some wine she had made herself from plums. Bailey asked "What's this drink", and she answered "It's something I made myself". Bailey: "Ahh, I see - Hjemmebrent! (Moonshine)". Sorry to hear he ended his life apparently a lonesome and forgotten man. I believe he visited Norway a couple of times during the nineties, touring and recording with tenorist/flutist Harald Gundhus' band.

Not the quartet? I hear Motion won't go to Europe anymore - he's an old man feeling more comfortable staying at home, and he has plenty of work round NY.

The Danish jazz scene has changed quite a bit during the last 10 years, so I'm not sure Bob Rockwell find it's still provincial. You must remember that Denmark is a small country, and even if you add other Scandinavian countries like Norway and Sweden, they're only somewhere around 15 million people. But of course, life is slower than on Manhattan, and that's exactly what Dexter Gordon and Ben Webster said was the reason they liked living there. I guess some people might find that kind of living a little provincial - can't always have the best of all worlds.

Tonite I'm seeing Petter Wettre Quartet. They're playing JaLC next week (monday, I believe, at Dizzy's CCC). Tenorist Wettre has a kick ass group far from what people consider Nordic, or European, jazz - he's a hot Trane/Dex/Brecker-man with lots of guts, technique and invention - receiving Norwegian Grammy last week.

There are other trumpet/piano albums - Ruby Braff/Ellis Larkins comes to mind.

Yeah - "Forgive me Charlie Parker - wherever you might be"

MOLDEJAZZ (NORWAY) JULY 14-19 http://www.moldejazz.no

I got the Night in Tunisia last week, and it's great Dizzy. He partly used the big band as a frame for his fantastic soloing, and it's lots of that here - on Dizzy's Blues he goes on for several minutes and generally he takes the major part of the solos - but there are some nice tenor from Golson and Mitchell and some good alto (from Henry, I believe, who sounds more Phil Woods here than I've heard him elsewhere). I haven't heard the Chester, but from earlier posts in this thread I guess we can assume the Hindsights are from a different occasion that has'nt been released earlier?

Heard him last night - together with 200 others - for two great sets with his HCdN. When "old" music is played with such energy and love, it sounds very today.

Bassist Barre Phillips: "If you look at jazz as a tree, the trunk has stopped growing. There's no direct line now, as there was between Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie that was the jazz tradition. Now, it's just the branches of the tree that are growing and going off in all different directions." Does he have a point?

Those who attend will see (hear) And maybe I'll post this thread to AvS, urging him to include them if he has'nt already.

The small town of Molde (25 000 inh) on Norway's west coast has a jazz festival annually since 1961, and this year's (July 16 - 21) program include Wayne Shorter Quartet Dave Holland Quintet Chick Corea/Gary Burton Rashied Ali Quintet Steely Dan Elvis Costello/Allen Touissant Peter Brøtzmann Chicago Tentet Nils Petter Molvær/Bill Laswell Band Trygve Seim Orchestra Solveig Slettahjell Alexander von Schlippenbach Monk Casino (playing all Monk's tunes in one day) Terje Rypdal's "Bleak House" w/Trondheim Jazz Orch + Palle Mikkelborg, Knut Riisnæs Esperanza Spalding trio Supersilent/Rypdal Silje Nergaard and lots of more www.moldejazz.no

Heard them live last summer, and they were more outgoing than I expected from the couple of cuts I'd heard of their recording. Haarla did some wild piano soloes and clusters comping, while her harp was mostly exposed in ensembles and for coloring, but a couple of times she also used it for extended improvisation. Christensen was better than I've heard him in many years, and Seim was in a Garbarek out of Barbieri mood - fatsounding.

Iro Haarla from Finland has a new record out on ECM. She was married to drummer Edward Vesala, and plays harp and piano in her quintet with Mathias Eick, trp, Trygve Seim, saxes, Uffe Krokfors, bass and Jon Christensen, drums.