Meet Kenneth
I am sure we all understand that being a musician on stage, a composer off stage, and a human being, possessing sanity and a social life in between, is no ordinary task. Also, it's not for everyone, but as we like to say in our community, “that's fine, that’s very very fine.” However, some throw away the notion of life and choose a path of creators and creation implementers.
Among JJAZZERS, we now know quite a few of them (woohoo), but we have met another jazz-lifer (not to be associated with no-lifer, even though some parts overlap) from Denmark, who has been in this game for quite a while and his impressive portfolio is a full chest of evidence (take a look here). For those who need to pursue their investigating skills further, you have all you need to deep dive into Kenneth’s music.
Yes, exactly, we say hello, Kenneth Dahl Knudsen, how’s it going?
Until we wait for him to answer, we take a leap and say it must be going pretty well, because, well, people (and I mean ukvibe) say that:
“Knudsen stands out as one of the most important artists working in Europe at the moment.”
Furthermore, his newest album “Gloomers” is out and about and doing well. And... Drumroll, tremolo pizzicato, or whatever you people say...
And Gloomers will be with us on the showcase night (more about showcase in Aarhus) and it’s something not to be missed since it’s not just the spectacular, unique, and very distinctive music of Kenneth’s but also a story. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a sucker for a good story and he knows how to tell one very well... So Gloomers, are you ready to read a bit about it? Go ahead, we urge you to get to know Gloomers, but if stories are not for you, or not for today, then... Well, just listen to it.
Like Kenneth says, “What if we can rediscover the passion for art?”
I’ve just noticed that this article is becoming a home of links, thus without further ado, here’s another one. It’s for the strange and beautiful backstory of how Kenneth, Jievaras, Lukas, and I became friends and how Kemaca and Vilnius JJAZZ Ensemble are taking center stage at the Aarhus Jazz Festival (I promise, the next story is about that).
Where were we? That’s right.
Alongside Kenneth and Matias Fischer, (I share an honest advise and urge you to get to know Matias) his trusty and super, inhumanly talented colleague on the best instrument on this planet (I mean drums, obviously)...
Another project by the name of Saxcess will take center stage as well. Whatever do I mean? I mean, Saxcess, baby, Saxcess is happening on the showcase night.
Since time is money, and I don’t know how much you’ve got, the full detailed story of Saxcess can be found, you guessed right, it’s another link here. But a shorter version is that… Once upon a time, a jazz musician was born. His favorite sound was the sound of saxophones and trombones making music together.
Jokes aside, Saxcess really is a friendship of six instruments and their masters: five saxophones and a trombone. This purely acoustic album by Vilnius JJAZZ Ensemble features six Lithuanian composers and weaves diverse tales of K. Šarkaus, L. Janušaitis, L. Pilkauskas, D. Petreikis, S. Šipavičius, and J. Jasinskis into a fabric that showcases the colorful spectrum and developmental trajectory of jazz music.
Such configuration—five saxophonists and one trombonist—has not been seen before in Lithuania and maybe anywhere else, because six saxophones might have made more sense, but...
why make sense when you can make music
Each artist on this album brings a unique creative flair, contributing one piece each, thereby allowing the audience to explore jazz from multiple perspectives. The album 'Saxcess' serves as a tribute to the city of Vilnius, with its first single "_ick" launched on January 25, marking Vilnius's 700th anniversary. It will now launch an epic friendship between Vilnius, Aarhus, and Aalborg, and you are cordially invited to join us.
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