Album: Gjermund Larsen Trio, Ankomst (Hello)

One of the reasons for the aesthetic rightness of so much Norwegian jazz is the easy accommodation it enjoys with the Scandinavian folk tradition.

Here's an example of that easiness. Larsen is a young violinist with an impressive track record, including time spent with the Christian Wallumrod Ensemble, which blurs the distinctions between folk, jazz and classical composition like no other group. Larsen's trio (fiddle plus piano or accordion and bass) plays highly melodic compositions which wander like jazz but root themselves like folk.