Beiggja (NO/NL)

This quartet has a strange name, the meaning of which cannot be found on the internet: what is beiggja, which seems like a word in a Scandinavian language? And is there a link between the image it creates and the group’s first album, Morning (2025), whose cover features a dark black and white photo of apartment blocks at dawn – judging by the cars in the foreground, taken maybe in the 1950s?

Perhaps there is some connection, even if the image of the town may also be misleading and create false expectations. Much better clues are the names printed on the album cover, Kjetil Mulelid, Mats Eilertsen and Per Oddvar Johansen, which probably are familiar to those who know the Norwegian jazz scene. And particularly the name of double bass player Eilertsen (b. 1975), who has visited Finland and the Jazz Happening many times and is also known from pianist Alexi Tuomarila’s groups.

In keeping with the expectations created by the Norwegians, Beiggja’s slow-moving music has a strong Norwegian touch: that of space and rolling forest landscapes, freshness of mountain streams and quiet serenity of fjords and snow-covered mountains What completes the story is the fact that Morning was recorded at the edge of a forest in the countryside, in the middle of the coldest winter, at the home of drummer Per Oddvar Johansen (b. 1968).

The surprise member of the ensemble is its lead sound, Dutch saxophonist Kika Sprangers (b. 1994), who grew up in a completely different environment. Not because she stands out but because she really doesn’t: she plays like a seasoned Norwegian, like somebody who has fully internalised this style. In addition, she has composed one half of the pieces on Morning.

At Sunday afternoon’s opening concert in Pakkahuone, Beiggja also intends to play new compositions that they have already recorded and that will be released on their next album, possibly next spring.

And what about the strange name, Beiggja? The most reliable information available indicates that this word is Faroese, an endangered language spoken in the Faroe Islands, and means ‘brother’.