Experimental jazz – between composition and improvisation 

Olga Witte's second organ trio (Organ Trio No 2) is a coherent piece based on the story of the terrifying East Javanese witch Calon Arang.

Olga Witte composed the piece for pipe organ (served by Witte herself) and the two amazing experimental saxophonists Anja Nedremo and Jacob Danielsen, who come from classical and jazz backgrounds respectively.

The basic element of the music is experimental jazz with a strong presence of modern compositional music, which lies between improvised and composed, where Olga works with different compositional grips and frameworks for improvisation.

Moreover, the use of structures, principles, and practices from Balinese gamelan, which she learned and internalized through long-term ethnomusicological fieldwork in Bali, is consistent throughout the work.

According to JazzNyt (Feb. 2022), with her organ trios, Olga has "created her own, deeply original musical language. She is so deep into the music that it melts together in a wonderfully logical way. It's wild and gentle – and worth exploring."

The work was released in 2021 as part of the album Olga Witte Organ Trio No 1 + 2, on which Seismograf (January 2022) wrote that "a line-up of two winds and pipe organ [can] work wonders."

After the concert, Olga Witte will talk about her use of Balinese gamelan in her compositional work.

The concert is supported by Jazzpuljen.

Read more about Olga Witte Organ Trio No 2

Read more about Olga Witte Organ Trio No 2