Paal Nilssen-Love circus. Cerkno Jazz festival. Juliana Venter (voice) Thomas Johansson (trumpet) Signe Emmeluth (alto saxophone) Oddrun Lilja (el. guitar) Kalle Moberg (accordeon) Christian Meaas Svendsen (double bass, el. bass) Paal Nilssen-Love (drums, percussion)

Paal Nilssen-Love, one of the most active Norwegian jazz drummers (The Thing, Atomic, FME, Large Unit; projects with names such as Ken Vandermark, Peter Brötzmann, Akira Sakata…), now presents Circus, his new similar project, after a successful stint with the larger band, Large Unit. It was established after the Oslo World Music Festival asked Nilssen-Love to put together a new band of musicians based in Norway during the pandemic restrictions. He came up with musicians from different genres, from traditional music through classical and contemporary music to free jazz, noise and pop. Despite the fact it was a new band and musicians had not played together before, many rated the performance as the best at the festival. The band’s music is based on Nilssen-Love’s songs that are a kind of loose sketches, upon which each member brings his own experience. The septet attracts attention with its unconventional jazz line-up (accordion, vocalist), as well as by openly flirting with global music, from Brazilian to Ethiopian and other African styles. “Ethio-jazz riffs and Brazilian rhythms float in a wild, freely improvised nude bath!” (Torkjell Hovland, Ballade.no). At their premiere Slovenian performance the band will present their debut, which will be released in May.