HEDVIG MOLLESTAD TRIO - Bitches Blues

Norwegian guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen has decisively burst her banks, breaking free from jazz's guiding lines for a broader vision, one that draws first on Black Sabbath-style hard rock (“Ding Dong. You’re Dead”), then on progressive and blues textures (“Bees In The Bonnet”).

Mollestad is without doubt a welcome anomaly on the contemporary jazz scene: not only is she beloved by critics and was recently honoured with a cash prize by the Norwegian Jazz Forum, but the audience following her is also growing steadily, keeping close tabs on her many experiments and collaborations (such as her 2022 album with the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, “Maternity Beat”).

“Bitches Blues” marks a return to the Rune Grammofon fold under the name Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns, the trio she forms with Supersilent keyboardist Supersilent's Ståle Storløkken and Krokofant drummer Ole Mofjell.

With a title paying homage to Miles Davis, “Bitches Blues”, the Norwegian artist immediately raises the stakes, launching into a furious jam session built on free-jazz, dissonance, noise, feedback and sonic unease sharpened by drums, snares and a rebellious organ (the title track).

What follows is a decisive turn towards softer, more meditative sounds. The compositions settle into the sound of organ and snare drum for a languid ballad marked by aching electric guitar lines (“Kompet Blir”), or for an almost ethereal digression, where the organ's sound seems to fade into the distance, leaving room for a delightfully understated guitar touch (“For A Moment I Thought I Could Hear You”).

A visceral, deep interplay runs through the six compositions, which almost seem to flow together like one long jam session: the trio moves from the extreme instrumental control of “Limite” to the prog-rock upheaval of “Dynamax” with striking naturalness, before entrusting the sensual guitar textures of “Reflection Of Sorrow” with another vivid jam of velvety, jazz-blues stride that marries Marc Ribot and Carlos Santana for a fluid, vigorous ballad of contemplative tones.

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17/05/2026