Slåtter fra Gaupdalen IV (Tunes from the Lynx Valley IV)

Originally from Estonia, fiddle player Jüssi has spent much of her life travelling around the Nordic countries as well as Germany and the Shetland Isles before settling in Norway, her home for the last nine years. Here she found musical soulmates in Bendik Lund Haanshus (guitars) and bass player Christo Stangness who delight as much in Nordic dance tunes as in ancient hymns finding layers and textures that transport the listener somewhere quite new. And that place is Jüssi’s starting point, her imaginary valley, her dream place to create her music. It’s a place where anything can happen, where this trio weave folk tunes with elements of Nordic jazz, steeped in Jüssi’s deep knowledge learned through her travels. Lynx Valley, she says, “is the place where I wanted to live, where my musical wanderings could rest and develop.” Jüssi’s fiddle and viola playing are warm and brilliantly engaging in all the styles explored here. The traditional hymn ‘Salmetone’ reaches back in time and creates new visions, the opening ‘Plan C’ celebrates the humanity of folk music and who wouldn’t want to meet the mischievous ‘Helle & Magnus’.