Shabaka is coming to Moldejazz! Three unmissable concerts announced for Teatret Vårt and Storyville

One of the most distinctive and boundary-pushing voices in modern jazz

Through bands such as Sons of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming and Shabaka and the Ancestors, the London-based multi-instrumentalist and composer Shabaka Hutchings has helped redefine the sound of contemporary jazz, drawing on influences ranging from Afro-Caribbean traditions and spiritual jazz to electronica, ambient music and experimental club culture.

The Quietus has described him as a “genre-obliterating, generational talent”, while MOJO has called his music “a holistic, electro-acoustic world music that defies categorisation”. It is precisely this restless spirit of exploration that makes Shabaka such a singular artistic force.

At the beginning of 2024, Shabaka announced that he would step away from the saxophone to focus on composition and a range of flute instruments. The result was the critically acclaimed solo album Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace. In 2026, he returned to the saxophone with Of the Earth – an album entirely written, performed, produced and mixed by himself.

The record has received widespread international acclaim. The Times called it “spiritual jazz of the highest order”, while Rolling Stone described it as “a bringing together of everything that has got him here”. Pitchfork highlighted how Shabaka “brings his expansive jazz to life with colourful percussion and electronic production”, and The New York Times wrote that the music “blends creamy saxophone and twinkling chimes into a spiritual salve”.

Shabaka’s performances are living organisms in constant evolution – driven by collaboration, improvisation and a deep desire to reflect a creative mind in motion. At Storyville this afternoon, audiences can expect a concert experience that is at once meditative, explosive and profoundly human.

Shabaka Hutchings – flute and saxophone

Standing audience.

Concerts in our main program last between aprx. 60 to 90 minutes.
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Fluctuations

Inspired by waves — from the deep movements of the ocean to the endlessly repeating cycles that govern all living things, and the constant oscillations that define both nature and human life. The work draws inspiration from repetitive minimalism, animal sounds, mechanical noise, liturgical chorales, ritual drum circles, and music as a timeless force connecting people.

Vocal ensemble Trondheim Voices is renowned for pushing the boundaries of what the human voice can express. In this new commissioned work, composer Sissel Vera Pettersen takes the concept of waves as her starting point — not only as physical movements, but as a metaphor for human experience and the invisible connections between nature’s cycles and our inner lives.

A Mosaic of Personal Expression

Trondheim Voices consists of some of Norway’s leading improvising vocalists, and in this project each singer plays a crucial role. The music is conceived as a framework in which every ensemble member colours the sonic landscape with their own unique artistic voice. Through a seamless fusion of acoustic sound and electronic manipulation, the voices are transformed into everything from fragile melodic lines to vast walls of sound.

Performers – vocals, live electronics, percussion:
Sissel Vera Pettersen, Thea Ellingsen Grant, Jakob Nordli Leirvik, Tone Åse, Natali Abrahamsen Garner, Anita Kaasbøll, Harald Relling Nilsen, Heidi Skjerve.
Composer: Sissel Vera Pettersen
Sound Design: Tor Breivik
Lighting Design: Sindre Hansen

Concerts in our main program last between aprx. 60 to 90 minutes.
Read more about Accessibility | Venues | Concert ABC / General ticket information | Transport/travel

Their music moves effortlessly between explosive ensemble passages, danceable grooves, and open-ended improvisations, drawing on a wide range of influences from jazz, pop, electronica, and free improvisation.

Founded by Petter Dalane in 2018, the ensemble brings together an all-star line-up of young musicians from Norway’s jazz and pop scenes. Together, they have created a sound that is playful, energetic, and uncompromising, always leaving room for the unexpected.

Over the past year, Cosmic Swing Orchestra has made a strong impression with sold-out performances of The Jazz Togetherness Show at both Oslo Jazz Festival and Jazzfest. The band has quickly earned a reputation as one of the most exciting new live acts on the Norwegian jazz scene.
Their concert at Moldejazz will offer a unique preview of the ensemble’s forthcoming studio album, produced by Lars Horntveth and scheduled for release in 2027.

When Cosmic Swing Orchestra takes the stage at Teatret Vårt on Saturday evening, everything is in place for a concert brimming with joy, surprises, and musical exuberance.

Petter Dalane - Keys, guitar, Sanyu Nsubuaga- vocal, perc, Øyvind Mathisen - trumpet, Ola Lømo Ellingsen - trumpet, Even Brodwall - french horn, Jørgen Bjelkerud - trombone, Aksel Rønning - altsax, flute, Erlend Kongtorp - tenorsax, flute, Jenny Frøysa - barytonsax, bass clarinett, Andreas Svabø - bass, Bjørn André Syverinsen - drums.

Concerts in our main program last between aprx. 60 to 90 minutes.
Read more about Accessibility | Venues | Concert ABC / General ticket information | Transport/travel