BØRNETEATRET 2014

At the Copenhagen Jazz Festival on 14 July 2014, Saturday night had just turned into Sunday morning when I biked to Christiania to hear Ned Ferm on saxophone, Mads Hyhne on trombone, Nicolai Munch-Hansen on bass, and Jakob Høyer on drums at Christiania’s jazz club, Børneteatret. I had a camera in my pocket, and I did my best to capture the atmosphere in the dark club, lit by two blazing spotlights that focused on Mads Hyhne’s white shirt. While beautiful music burned through me, glowing spots and Mads's white shirt burned holes in my camera.

The jazz club Børneteatret was half full and loose in the best sense of the word. The music felt as if it was being played from a cloud — at the same time gentle, swinging, open, disciplined, and completely free. Ned and Mads floated above a burning Nicolai and Jakob; on the one hand, this concert deserved a vast audience, but on the other hand, these moments in Børneteatret were precisely as they were meant to be. An evening for those of us who happened to be there. This would be the last night I had the privilege of experiencing Nicolai play live. I am grateful I made it.