HEDVIG MOLLESTAD TRIO (NOR) // support: THALIA ZEDEK (US)

Hedvig Mollestad Trio ist eine norwegische Fusion Band. Hedvig Mollestad Trio ist: Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen - guitar Ellen Brekken - bass Ivar Loe Bjørnstad - drums Jazz oder Rock? Stonerswing? Oder vielleicht Doomjazz? Für jede neue Platte des Hedvig Mollestad Trios versuchen die Kritiker, einen passenden Genre-Namen für ihre bezaubernde, kompromisslose und einfühlsame Musik zu finden. Am ehesten kam das Musikmagazin Classic Rock dem entgegen: Jazz Sabbath. Die vielseitige Mischung der Einflüsse der Band reicht von Black Sabbath und Jimi Hendrix bis John Coltrane und zeitgenössischer Jazz- und Metal-Musik. Dies hat sich als Erfolgsrezept erwiesen: Das Hedvig Mollestad Trio hat eine stetig wachsende internationale Fangemeinde. Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen gründete 2009 das Hedvig Mollestad Trio, und die noch bestehenden Mitglieder sind Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen - guitar, Ellen Brekken - bass, Ivar Loe Bjørnstad - drums. Die Gruppe wurde von Thomassen gegründet, nachdem sie bei Molde Int. mit dem Preis "the young jazz talent of the year" ausgezeichnet wurde. Im folgenden Jahr tourten sie durch Norwegen, nahmen ihr Material auf und erhielten einen Plattenvertrag auf dem hochgelobten Plattenlabel Rune Grammofon. Ob Ihr Herz im Jazz steckt oder Sie die heftigen Beats des guten alten Rock'n'Roll lieben, das Trio ist zu einem Live-Favoriten geworden und hat alles gespielt, von schmutzigen kleinen Clubs auf der ganzen Welt über noble Konzertsäle, die für John McLaughlin eröffnen, bis hin zu großen Metall- und Musikfestivals wie Roadburn, SXSW, Tons of Rock, Berlin Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival, Tampere Jazz Happening und Øyafestivalen. 

“A bee in your bonnet is something that you can’t stop thinking about,” explained celebrated guitarist/composer Mollestad from her coastal home near Oslo. “I wanted something that would describe the musical idea of the trio, which is what we’ve been doing for eight records.” As a child, Mollestad would be moved literally to tears by the ostensibly dissimilar sounds of, say, Sonny Rollins and Pearl Jam – often on the same day. This genre juxtaposition, once dubbed “jazz Sabbath,” has become her trademark as a revered composer, award-winning solo artist and, since 2009, with her beloved trio (also known as HM3), formed after she received the This Year’s Jazz Talent award at Moldejazz that year. Fourteen years later, Mollestad returned to that storied fest as Artist in Residence, following the likes of Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, and John Zorn in receiving that honor. In 2019, she was also awarded the prestigious Musicians Prize at Kongsberg Jazz Festival. While her father was formerly a professional flügelhorn and trumpet player whose recordings include seminal folk-jazz opus Østerdalsmusikk with Jan Garbarek, Mollestad didn’t start nurturing her own talents seriously until her early twenties. She graduated from the Norwegian Academy of Music but found her own voice almost in spite of her formal education while playing clubs with a diverse array of rock and jazz acts. “All genres were exploded a long time ago,” she mulled. “The biggest reason we play music is because it’s extremely fun, makes us happy, and spreads joy, even if it gives you strong feelings.” HM3’s Smells Funny made Rolling Stone’s “11 Great Albums You Probably Didn’t Hear in 2018,” with senior editor David Fricke also praising “the quality and ferocity of [Mollestad’s] guitar playing and improvisation, and the rhythmic bond of the group.” Their vibrant live sets shun any somberness associated with virtuosic musicality, instead focusing on sparkling spontaneity (and often stagewear), visceral audience connection, and sheer, dynamic joie de vivre. In short, they’re a band devoted to having a serious and musically challenging good time. After an outpouring of seven acclaimed albums over a decade, accompanied by rapturously received touring all over Europe and North America, it’s been nearly four years since the Hedvig Mollestad Trio released triumphal seventh album Ding Dong. You’re Dead. Mollestad’s pent-up delight in reconnecting with cofounders Ellen Brekken (bass) and Ivar Loe Bjørnstad (drums) pervades Bees in the Bonnet’s thirty-seven invigorating, beautifully baffling yet accessible minutes. Always self producing and releasing records solely through Rune Grammofon, HM3 has created its own fascinating sonic universe, offering fans a singular aural experience that’s earned a global cult following. “This is the longest stretch of time we’ve had since a previous release,” offered Mollestad, who’d been busy with commissioned works for festivals and solo releases. “It was very important for me that we got together with the trio again, because it’s like the pounding heart in all of our musical lives.” With HM3 lately playing as many rock clubs as jazz venues, Bees in the Bonnet is perhaps Mollestad’s most even-handed exploration of both styles to date, indebted equally to compatriot jazz guitarist/composer Terje Rypdal and Texas boogie rockers ZZ Top, Canadian proggers Rush and her pysch rock Norwegian labelmates Motorpsycho. “There are open parts, but also there are structures in this record that are very long, quite complicated, and written out as a score,” said Mollestad, who has also played with Nels Cline, Trevor Dunn, Colin Stetson, Ingrid Laubrock and Shahzad Ismaily. Released on February 11, first single “Golden Griffin” is an up-tempo, shifting series of Rush-y major key riffs exuding positive vibes with propulsive yet fluttering drums, psych-lite guitar motifs, and tapped bass. Dreamily delicate follow-up “Lamament,” due on March 18, honors HM3’s tradition of featuring a ballad on each album, on this occasion a tribute to Mollestad’s father as the catalyst of her musical passion. Playful third single “Bob’s Your Giddy Aunt” drops right before the album release, it’s title – melding two throwback colloquial British phrases “Bob’s your uncle” and “My giddy aunt” – a reflection of Mollestad’s fascination with language and study of literature alongside her band’s trait of not taking itself too seriously. Bees in the Bonnet will be accompanied by at least one music video plus extensive touring across Europe in the summer and fall of 2025, before making a long-awaited return to America in 2026, continuing to satiate and intrigue fans of both hard rock and open-hearted jazz with rare dynamism and seductive panache. hedvigmollestad.com

Thalia Zedek’s considerable body of work demonstrates a clarity of vision, a singular performance style, and an expansive range. Her ability to deliver raw emotions through her vivid stories of loss and hope, strife and triumph is unmatched. Zedek has long been a melodic songwriter in a series of heavy bands. That contrast, along with her distinct blend of both direct and poetic lyrics, allows her to sing of the most difficult of life’s moments in ways that are both elevating and devastating. Out and proud her entire career, Thalia never hesitates to speak truth to power. A commanding presence, Zedek wields her band like a storm, hurling tempests and cutting through the mist with precision, the ensemble swelling and unspooling in sync with her every gesture. The Boat Outside Your Window finds Thalia Zedek contemplating absence and distance, with songs as spirited as they are profoundly moving