From the archives
Geoffrey Smith enjoys a box-set that surveys the multi-faceted career of jazz vocalist Karin Krog
Over the years, the Norwegian jazz scene has been notable for its distinctive take on the music’s African-american origins, mixing diversity, quality and originality to give it its own Scandijazz appeal. Though Jan Garbarek may be the country’s best-known jazz ambassador, vocalist Karin Krog could claim to be its doyenne, and her resplendent box set The Many Faces of Karin Krog: Recordings 1967-2017 (Odin CD 9560) both celebrates her 80th birthday and confirms her stature as an artist of impressive talent and range.
Appropriately, the set’s six CDS are not arranged chronologically, but by genre, to highlight Krog’s abilities across the jazz spectrum. Equally appropriately, the first disc conveys her essential skill in The Art of Duo, with a series of duets teaming her up with such pianists as Roger Kellaway and Steve Kuhn, bassists Niels-henning Ørsted Pedersen and Red Mitchell, and tenorist Archie Shepp. She says her motto has always been ‘Give me one good musician – that will substitute for a whole band’ and she obviously thrives on musical concentration, with her light, classy, perfectly placed voice and excellent ear responding to her colleague. She and Red Mitchell share a particular affinity, reinventing the standard ‘Just in Time’ with Krog’s deft pointillism, the perfect foil for his mellow double-stops and swinging lines.
Whatever the context, she’s at her best in the best company. You could say she’s both contributor and catalyst, whether Singing the Blues with the likes of Dexter Gordon, With the Big Bands, featuring Don Ellis and Clark Terry, or dipping into All Sorts, which includes a moving version of Charles Mingus’s
‘Good Bye Pork Pie Hat’ with lyrics by Roland Kirk.
New Paths shows her facility for experimentation and electronics, often in the company of her partner, British saxophonist-composer John Surman. And From the Songbooks brings the set to an end with a stunning ‘That Old Feeling’, featuring bassist Red Mitchell and tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh – just one more face of the many-sided art of Karin Krog.