Stephan is more than our “man for everything Jazz”, but he surely is very well-versed in that field and especially its fringe outlandish edges, where the free-lance attitude of Jazz meets things like Noise and Metal. Hence, it was natural for us to have him have a look at the Paradox lineup for this year:
So if that’s what it’s going to be this year again, I’ll gladly take it. But let’s see what’s even on the Jazz menu in 2026:
Friday, April 17 starts with the Dutch/Icelandic Ragnarök Trio. In The realm of Heavy Jazz the constellation of guitar, drums and saxophone can surely be considered classic and whatever you imagine their widely improvisational mix of raw Jazz Rock, Prog and Noise to sound like - you’ll probably won’t be completely off. And that’s a good thing, since their show promises to be a wild and exciting ride.
Big names hide behind the in itself unremarkable number 137 - yes that (or Onetwothree) is the name of the quartet led by saxophone / woodwind player Larry Stabbins and including members of Sons Of Kemet and Portishead. Rumbling Noise eruptions with screeching horns can be expected as much as Jazz Fision craziness and Ambient Post Rock goodness. But since 137 is a hundred percent improvisational project - who knows what they’ll be up to with the Roadburn bug whispering into their ears?
Is it Avantgarde Rock? Experimental Noise? Jazz from a parallel universe? It’s not Zu’s first rodeo at Roadburn and from everything I’ve heard I will try my utmost not to miss these Italian spiritual nephews of John Zorn and cousins of Sumac! [Note: Do not forget to check out our interview with two thirds of Zu]
Saturday, April 18 continues this year’s appearant focus on varieties of Heavy Jazz with the Belgian trio Kameel. Their compositions between riffs, Post Punkish melodic guitars and experimental Jazz playfulness also opens up to electronic sounds.
I’ll leave it to you to guess from which country Steamboat Switzerland will travel to Roadburn. The trio’s instrumental line-up of Hammond organ, bass and drums may seem rather conventional, yet their unpredictable freely formed sound might actually be the most bonkers stuff you’ll hear on this stage. But who knows? It’s not a competition, but certainly a golden thread of this year’s Paradox booking.
The final show on Saturday night closes the circle with a second show of Ragnarök Trio. They’ll bring three extra musicians to celebrate the annual tradition of the Heavy Jazz Jam as the Ragnarök Extended Sekstet. Sounds like a good occasion to burn the world (you know, the whole Ragnarök thing…) to me.
