The American trumpeter and composer Jon Hassel’s sound influenced guitarists like Eivind Aarset and, well, me, as well myriad other musicians. He passed away on June 26, 2021. This year he would have turned 85 and to honor him Nasjonal jazzscene in Oslo, Norway put on a terrific memorial concert on his birthday, March 22.
Celebrating his music were Nils Petter Molvær, Arve Henriksen and Kristina Fransson on trumpet, Harpreet Bansal on violin, Eivind Aarset on guitar, Jon Balke on keys, Helge Norbakken on percussion, Jan Bang on live sampling, and Erik Honoré on live sampling and keys. All of these Norwegian musicians have either collaborated with Hassel or have a relationship to his music. The music is composed or inspired by the ground-breaking trumpeter.
The memorial concert was produced in collaboration with Punkt, which Hassell visited several times, and was organized in consultation with Hassell’s family.
This is now unavailable.
How can I get a copy of this show?
I am afraid I don’t know. I will see what I can find out.
Dear sir, although the video of this remarkable memorial concert (and its once-in-a-lifetime assembly of singularly superb artists) has sadly been hidden from YT view (for some totally unfathomable “reason”), for a copy of the audio, kindly do a search for “Musica Degradata” and from there scroll down. Unfortunately, can’t vouch for the “security” of the DL site itself (be forewarned), but it can indeed be found. Both this and recordings of several other live performances by the inestimable man himself can also be found with a brief search of the site. Another site worthy of perusal (though this particular performance is not available) is Live Jazz Lounge. Happy hunting!
P/S: Young Ms. Kristina Fransson’s performance here is a revelation. REALLY looking forward to seeing/hearing whatever comes from her in the future! 😍✨
Extraordinary , Thanks for sharing Michael, This brought tears to my eyes, such a beautiful tribute to a true master of sound and space