Silje Nergaard
Port of Call

THE REVIEW

It is quite complex to think of a remarkable jazz artist so far from the natural homeland of this music, so far from the warm sensations that, in most cases, envelop these atmospheres. Yet for years now, if I had to think about the women who have most moved me, musically speaking, I would put at the forefront at least three Scandinavians. Among them Silje Nergaard, and in particular this CD of standards and more.

Accompanied by an excellent trio (piano, bass, drums) and various guests, all strictly above the parallel of Copenhagen, Nergaard certainly manages to melt the ice surrounding her, and gives us very warm moments. The voice is not hoarse and deep as one would expect from a jazz singer who seems to have studied Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan a lot, but rather it is high and with a distinctive tone, more akin to a pop diva than to these sacred monsters. In fact, her other productions are more oriented towards pop rather than jazz, sophisticated yet pop.

On the album, the ultra-classics Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered, Don't Explain, and Dream A Little Dream in which she mimics the famous Ella & Louis version at least two octaves higher, accompanied in singing by Heine Totland and making humorous references to certain musicalities that reminded me of Marilyn Monroe. Also nice is the slow-motion remake of Sting's If You Love Somebody, very well crafted, as well as Paul Simon's You're Kind. The other original compositions are all of good quality and especially excellently played by the trio, at times invigorated by a superb sax and other times by a small dose of strings, without ever overdoing it.

I saw her in a video recorded at the North Sea Jazz festival in The Hague in 2004, singing with the trio of His Majesty Tord Gustavsen, for me one of the best pianists around, and I was very well impressed by her skill and professionalism.