Review Centre: Brazilian Entertainment

"Kulturhuset Bølgen in Ålsgårde is a rare combination of concert hall and restaurant. Hornbæk Jazzklub hosts their events here every first Friday of the month. There is room for more than 100 diners, who take their seats an hour and a half before the music begins. When the musicians take the stage, the lights in the hall are dimmed and the tables retract, and the place becomes a concert hall, where the audience does not have to move, but can remain in their good seats at the tables. The bar is silent when the music is playing, but during the break it wakes up to action, like another Holger Danske, and rattles, not with the saber, but with glasses, bottles, coffee and cake. The audience mingles both with each other and with the musicians, and a temporary close and beautiful community emerges. It was the same good atmosphere that prevailed among the musicians when Jesper Hedegaard presented his Sound of Brasil at Bølgen on Friday. The Brazilian Samba has many ramifications, and each rhythm has its own life and its own name. Jesper Hedegaard knows a lot about that, having lived in Brazil for many years. He came there in 1976 and made friends who he took with him to Denmark. Some still live here, others have returned home and new ones have joined. On Friday it was bassist Sidiel Vieira and drummer Celso de Almeida. When they play it looks playful, but that's only because they are masters of their instruments. The music flows from them, like a tsunami, whose enormous power is not noticed until it meets resistance. On Friday, there was no opposition for Jesper Hedegaard can his sambas and the evening's soloist was world class. It was Alexander Kraglund who, without a single note, played the most terrific Brazilian violin and viola with countless small shifts in the rhythmic and surprising harmony changes in the melodic, which is an essential detail of the music. Alexander Kraglund mostly played the viola and the deep timbre blended beautifully with Jesper Hedegaard's piano playing, which mostly took place in the high register. The bassist played counterrhythm and very little walking bass as in jazz. He played merrily with the already dancing rhythms in moody counterplay and he could frolic freely thanks to the fact that the drummer provided a non-slip surface for the music. The evening's many different pieces of music were a mixture of Jesper Hedegaard's own compositions and the bossa nova that Antonio Carlos Jobim started in the early 60s with A Girl From Ipanema. One is to play the violin, another is to play the harmonica, and Alexander Kraglund used this instrument in about half of the pieces. In his violin playing, there were almost no references to Svend Asmussen, which is surprising. In the harmonica playing there was great inspiration from Toots Thielemans. Jesper Hedegaard may not be the world's best-known pianist, but by thinking of another pianist, namely Chick Corea (who plays at Kulturværftet at the end of April), and some of his samba-inspired compositions such as La Fiesta and Amando's Rhumba, you get a sense of the music that was played at Bølgen on Friday. The fact that Bølgen's own sound man, Casper Skovgaard, also knows which buttons to touch and not to touch is the extra quality that Bølgen has and that many other venues can only dream of."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We really enjoyed your show last night in Carnaby Street. My wife loved your Facebook song. You got everyone involved in your performance, and that’s great. I’m a Dj and I know that’s not easy. But you got the crowd on fire!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"You were great and it went down really well with the guests!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you for playing both nights and extending your set. Everyone has been very complimentary."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

" The Fanci Duo played at our wedding day two at Waterford Castle in July 2023. They were very easy to book and communication was prompt and proactive leading up to the booking. They did a great job of playing lovely acoustic music which created a fab atmosphere for a more relaxed vibe we were after. They were also lovely to interact with on the day and were happy to take requests. They played a long set for us; we were really happy with our choice. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Cafe Ole exceeded all expectations. They provided an excellent range of music catering for all tastes. A very professional performance with some impressive guitar playing, fab drumming and lovely singing! Everyone really enjoyed the music. Many thanks! "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"The Latin Formula are brilliant! We hired them for a birthday party at our house, communication was excellent from the moment of booking. A most professional outfit who made our event a spectacular success. Arriving in good time, they set up without disruption to the proceedings. They are all talented musicians who played a wonderful mix of latin music and popular tunes cleverly adapted into a Cuban style which got everybody dancing. A highly polished yet personalised performance that impressed everyone and we would definitely recommend them."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Kieran was thoroughly professional and excellent all the way from booking to packing up at the end of his performances. He accommodated our requests and performed exactly what we were looking for. We were really pleased with him and would recommend him! Thanks Kieran!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Ti Boyz are the best Jazz fusion group in Finland ,by a long way and I Eetu recommend this band you can´t go wrong ."

Rating: 9 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you so much for playing, your music was amazing and the perfect accompaniment to our special day. Everyone was very impressed by your music."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: