Øl and Jazz: The Intersection of Cultures

Entering Cafe Hvide Lam felt like stepping back into time. Sconces attached to the muted yellow walls softly illuminated rickety wooden furniture. The air was thick, saturated with the sweet smell of tobacco. Old Danes, at least in their late sixties, filled the bar, gaily drinking topped glasses of beer as they clapped along to the live music played by Danish jazz band Helge Kaj’s Trio and Friends.

Historically, jazz is an American art form -- often considered America’s only musical invention. Developed by African American communities in New Orleans during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, jazz vibrantly amalgamates blues, ragtime, and marches. A key characteristic of jazz is improvisation, which ultimately gives it the potential to spontaneously absorb influences from other genres. Renowned jazz musician Herbie Hancock stated, “jazz easily morphs and adapts and adopts various influences. It’s so open-ended. We welcome the influences from other genres of music, music from other cultures.”

Helge Kaj’s Trio and Friends paid homage to jazz’s history by beginning their set with a traditional jazz tune, Royal Garden Blues, soon developing improvised melodies. The five instruments, clarinet, trumpet, saxophone, banjo, and bass, intertwined and layered over each other, resulting in a free-flowing dialogue among the players. Even when one of the musicians wasn’t playing, he was responding to his bandmates through the tap of his foot, sway of his body, gesture of his hand, nod of his head. The band’s internal conversation evoked sentiments of lunchtime at the Glass Market in Copenhagen: vibrant and jubilant, upbeat but not overzealous.

Despite the wonderful and joyous interaction amongst Helge Kaj’s Trio and Friends’ musicians, the true charm of their performance was their ability to connect with the audience. It was evident that the customers of Cafe Hvide Lam were no strangers to one another. As the men passed by each other, they exchanged a clap on the back, pausing for a brief conversation and hearty chuckle. The women, seated comfortably with beers in hand, leaned over their chairs to converse or share a cigarette with friends. Helge Kaj’s Trio and Friends leveraged the community of friends within the bar to enhance their audience engagement. In between songs, the lead musician of the band, Helge Kaj, would say a few words in Danish that always resulted in the audience laughing, cheering, or hollering a response with friendly jest. During songs, the musicians would yell out at the audience to elicit a positive response, and if resting in between parts, would clap and dance along with the audience members.

Halfway through their set, Helge Kaj’s Trio and Friends called a gentleman from the audience to the stage, inviting him to sing a few songs with the band. Upon doing so, the audience began hooting and exclaiming phrases in Danish, a few even pulling out cameras to record the event. The first song they sang together was Down in New Orleans. The new singer showed no hesitation, instead completely melding with the inviting nature of Helge Kej’s Trio and Friends’ personality. While singing, he comically swung his hips and bounced his shoulders, embracing the rhythm of the music. Throughout his performance, he pivoted his body to make eye contact with everyone in the bar, pointing at some audience members, eagerly nodding his head at others. His voice was untrained and a tad raspy with a Danish accent that was not overpowering but present, giving the songs he sang, regardless of the genre, a folk-like sound. The spontaneity of the gentleman's addition to the band was both exciting and welcome.

After the singer returned to his seat, the band concluded the evening with a few songs in Danish. Although the words became foreign, the music remained unquestionably jazz. The audience, already quite lively, became even more enthusiastic as they sang along to Danish lyrics.

Art is often considered successful if it evokes a strong emotional reaction. In this regard, Helge Kaj’s Trio and Friends failed – their music was neither moving nor confusing nor painful. However, creating polarizing art was not Helge Kaj’s Trio and Friends’ goal for the evening. Instead, it was to brighten the evening of Café Hvide Lam’s customers and play music that was pleasing to the average ear. This, the band accomplished spectacularly well, allowing me to confidently claim that the performance was a resounding success.