Tromsø World – Marianna Sangita & Trondheim Jazz Orchestra – ΣΠΊΤΙ/Hjem

Home is where the beat is.

Marianna Sangita Angeletaki Røes ΣΠΊΤΙ/Hjem is a deeply personal, ambitious musical work spanning several musical traditions. The singer and percussionist has built what might be the most stylistically diverse version of the legendary Trondheim Jazz Orchestra to date, including practitioners of joik, greek folk music, arabic maqam, carnatic music and balkan traditions. The music is based in Røes own studies of the maqam tradition in Crete, as well as her search for a sense of home in the world, a reconciliation of her Norwegian and Greek roots. It is based around monophone melodies and rhythms, common in several music traditions, shared and toyed with by the many gifted musicians present.

In addition to telling her own story, ΣΠΊΤΙ/Hjemwas also Mariannas way of pushing Norwegian improvised music in a positive direction. It is more diverse than ever, but an orchestra such as this, where jazz is just one of many perspectives on improvisation and interplay, feels like something new. There are moments of intimacy and introspection in these songs – but when the members of ΣΠΊΤΙ/Hjem meet up on stage it also feels like a grand social occasion, filling venues with joy, rhythmical ecstasy and dreams of new musical possibilities