Article by John Kelman
Read the original article at allaboutjazz.com

Violinist Ola Kvernberg, on the other hand, was the clear center of attention at his late night performance. With his regular trio—bassist Steinar Raknes and drummer Erik Nylander—augmented by Børge Fjordheim, who brought a number of unusual textures that included a bowed saw to his array of percussion instruments, Kvernberg drew largely from his latest album, the irrepressible Folk (Jazzland, 2009).

Starting with the buoyantly slap-dash rhythm of "Roland," Kvernberg quickly got the audience's attention with his octave violin, an instrument tuned an octave below a normal violin. Strumming it like a guitar before grabbing his bow to deliver its languid theme, Kvernberg also used a series of foot pedals to subtle effect, creating a rhythm loop to drive the more folksy lyricism of "Mariam."

The additional percussionist could have cluttered things up, but Fjordheim worked in perfect concert with Nylander, creating layers of rhythm that drove Kvernberg's concise solos to greater heights, bolstered by Raknes' penchant for grabbing onto a pattern and milking it for all it was worth. Kvernberg took the majority of the solos throughout the set, and that was largely a good thing as Raknes, for instance, was a far better accompanist than he was a soloist.

The music ranged from hip hop-inflected to folkloric, with a fiery exchange between Kvernberg and Nylander at the start of the hard-swinging, modal "John" the closest Kvernberg came to the intense free play of his work in bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaken's quintet. Kvernberg's music was eminently accessible while being undeniably substantial, and if Folk is one of the best releases of 2009, the violinist's performance at Nattjazz stands as one of the festival's high points.