Somewhere between blues and jazz

This afternoon will be in the company of none other than the American-born vocalist James Loveless, who is one of the country's very best blues singers.

During this special concert, he moves into the land of jazz with interpretations of well-known jazz classics accompanied by some of Denmark's most renowned jazz musicians – guitarist Uffe Steen, Morten Lund on drums, and bassist Peter Vuust.

James Loveless is best known as the frontman of Aarhus' Shades of Blue, which last year celebrated its 30th anniversary. Over the years, the band has toured all over Denmark. Last year, Shades of Blue's unique concerts were awarded a Danish Music Award for the best live blues band of the year. Although the blues roots never disappear in James Loveless’s singing, he has also dabbled with jazz during the early stages of his career. For a number of years, he was a regular soloist in Klüver's Big Band and toured with the big band in Scandinavia and Russia. In recent years, he has also been on stage with his son Shaka Loveless.

Uffe Steen is one of our best and most unique guitarists. He is known for a very special and wild technique that is related to the fact that he plays the guitar upside down. Over his long career, Uffe Steen has played with a large number of renowned jazz and blues acts. He is known for his empathetic and captivating playing and has achieved international recognition through his CDs with, among others, Adam Nussbaum on drums.

Peter Vuust is a professor at Aarhus University and the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus / Aalborg, head of the Center for Music in the Brain, and is also one of the country's busiest sidemen. He has been featured on more than 90 records, including with several international jazz stars such as Tim Hagans, Mal Waldron, Ted Curson, and Jukkis Uotila. He is known for his groovy and responsive backing and extremely melodic solo playing. As a composer and bassist, he has released six albums, most recently the CD Leaves of Love featuring Lars Jansson (p), Veronica Mortensen (voc), and Peter Asplund (trp).

Morten Lund is one of Europe's most experienced and versatile drummers who loved and respected for his compassionate and extremely creative drumming. He has been featured on over 300 recordings with names like Lars Jansson, Sinne Eeg, Cæcilie Norby, Stefano Bollani Trio, Paolo Fresu, Ulf Wakenius, Klüvers Big Band, Århus Jazz Orchestra, NDR Bigband, The Orchestra, Bohuslän Big Band, Lars Danielsson, Bill Frisell, Mark Turner, Mulgrew Miller, Enrico Rava, and John Abercrombie. In 2006, he received the Ben Webster-prisen award.