Live Recordings and Other Projects from Moldejazz
Music journalist and Moldejazz veteran Petter Pettersson and two former Festival Directors, Jan Ole Otnæs and Hans-Olav Solli has compiled an impressive list of albums recorded at – or born out of – Moldejazz, stretching from 1973 to the present day. The selection highlights legendary concerts, world premieres, and unique collaborations that have helped shape the festival’s rich musical history. From Muddy Waters to Chick Corea, from Arild Andersen to Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, these releases capture the spirit of Moldejazz and its role as a creative meeting place for musicians across generations and genres.
Live Recordings
1973 Christian Reim Sextet: Mona Lisa – Jazzagression records
1976 Carl Magnus Neumann/Christian Reim Quartet: Live at Molde Jazz Festival - Jazzaggression Records
1977 Muddy Waters: The Classic Concerts – Universal Music (8 spor av flere)
1978 Sam Rivers Live Trio: Sessions, Suite for Molde – ABC Impuls
1981 Arild Andersen: A Molde Concert - ECM
1984 Tamma: With Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell – Odin
1986 Johnny Griffin: The great Danes – STUCD
1991 Magnolia jazzband med Lillian Boutte: New Orleans Gospel in Molde Kirke - Herman Records
1994 Farmers Market: Speed Balkan Boogie – Kirkelig kulturverksted
1997 Egil Kapstad: Live at Moldejazz – Ponca Jazz Records
1999 Diverse artister: Blå Molde – BP (Blå Productions)
2000 Terje Rypdal: Lux Aeterna – ECM
2001 Merzbow/Jazzkammer: Live at Molde – Smalltown Supersound
2002 Paal Nilssen-Love: Twentyseven years later – Utech Records
2004 Chick Corea og Trondheim Jazzorkester: Live in Molde - MNC Records
2004 Paal Nilssen-Love/Nils Henrik Asheim: Pipes and Bones Live at Molde Jazz Festival – Utech Records
2005 Matthew Bourne: The Molde Concert – Foghorn Records
2005 Anthony Braxton: Sextet Molde 2 – NBH
2006 Jazzmob: Flashback – Jazzaway
2007 Brøtzmann/Nilssen-Love/Gustafsson: The Fat Is Gone – Smalltown Super
2007 Peter Brøtzmann Chicago Tentet: Chicago Tentet at Molde 2007 – Okkadisc
2007 Joe McPhee/Paal Nilssen Love: Molde 2007 – PNL Records
2008 Chick Corea/Gary Burton: The New Crystal Silence – Concord
2008 Gjerstad/Bradford/Flaten/Nilssen-Love Reknes – Clean feed
2009 Circulasione Totale Orchestra: Bandwith – Rune Grammofon
2009 Trondheim Jazzorkester med Kim Myhr: Stems and Cages – MNJ Records
2009 Trinity: Breaking the Mold – Clean Feed
2010 Jarle Bernhoft: 1 Man 2 Band – Universal
2010 Ketil Bjørnstad: La Notte – ECM
2011 TJO & Magic Pocket - Kinetic Music – MNJ Records
2013 Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit: First Blow – PNL Records
2014 TJO & Albatrosh – Tree House – Propeller
2015 Food/Christian Fennesz: Quiet Inlet ECM – 2015 (?)
2016 Ola Kvernberg: Mechanical Fair - Grappa
2017 James Blood Ulmer with The Thing: Baby talk’ – Trost Records
2017 Trondheim Jazzorkester & Skrap: Antropocen – Forlaget Fanfare
2018 Trondheim Jazzorkester&The MaXx: MaXx Live – MNJ Records
2019 Gard Nilssen’s Supersonic Orchestra: If you listen carefully the music is yours – Odin
2020 Kongle trio: Live at Moldejazz – Øra fonogram
2022 Lauritz og Isach Skeidsvoll – Chanting Moon, Dancing Queen – Cleanfeed
Projects born out of Moldejazz
2002 Trondheim Jazz Orchestra with Eirik Hegdal - We are? – MNJ Records
2005 Nymark Collective with Kristin Asbjørnsen: Bessie Smith Revisited - NCR
2008 Trondheim Jazz Orchestra with Kobert: - TJO&Kobert – MNJ Records/MusikkLosen
2008 Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & Eirik Hegdal with special guest Joshua Redman: Triads and More – MNJ Records
2020 Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & Hedvig Mollestad – Maternity Beat - Rune Grammofon
Something special
1984 Karin Krog/Per Husby Dedication Orchestra – That’s the Way It Goes on the album On a Misty Night – Odin
Although it’s just one track, both the music and its somewhat unique story make it worth including in the overview. NRK had recorded a concert at Molde Kino earlier in the festival week in 1984. The final concert took place on Saturday night with the Per Husby Dedication Orchestra and Karin Krog. Possibly exhausted after extensive work and the commotion surrounding Miles Davis, NRK canceled coverage of the Husby/Krog concert. However, since the recording equipment was still set up, a couple of NRK’s alert jazz staff let the tape run during the concert. As a result, posterity can hear Karin Krog sing That’s the Way It Goes with Per Husby’s big band from Molde Kino on 28 July 1984, the first and only live documentation of this project.
Most of the music on this list is available both digitally and in physical formats. Just start exploring!
For those nerdy enough, the goal is to have the most complete Live at Moldejazz collection possible.
— Petter Pettersson, 2025
Festival veteran