By its broadest definition, Nordic Jazz Week encompasses five nights, including a show tonight at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage. But Wednesday night at the House of Sweden, in which the big draw was Nils Petter Molvær and Arve Henriksen (pictured above), was treated as a closing night of sorts. The omnipresent threat of rain forced the concert indoors instead of its customary spot on the House of Sweden's picturesque rooftop, but that didn't stop a substantial crowd from gathering.

Photos and writeup after the jump. Full gallery here.

Iceland's Sunna Gunnlaugs Quartet opened the evening with a set of straightforward, at times somewhat tentative jazz, pleasant but hardly revelatory. Henriksen took the stage next, joined by electronics wizard Jan Bang, and the two played as a duo with Bang manipulating the sounds coming from Henriksen's trumpet and providing additional layers as well. There was a distinct Jon Hassell influence at work here, but Henriksen's vocals provided a pleasant surprise: he sung wordlessly with amazing range and power, something I wasn't expecting at all. After some time, Henriksen and Bang were replaced, without a break in the music, by Molvær and his two collaborators, Eivind Aarset on guitar and Audun Kleive on drums. The music changed, becoming somewhat more beat-driven and intense, but the overall feel remained consistent: the House of Sweden seemed to be hosting a psychedelic space-music fest as much as it was an evening of jazz.

The Jonas Kulhammar Quartet brought things back to a more conventional level. Before their set, A Love Supreme played over the PA, which was a fitting prelude to this quartet's music, which reminded strongly of early 60s Coltrane. Like the Sunna Gunnlaugs Quartet, it was nothing particularly new and exciting, but very much enjoyable and spiced up by Kulhammar's humorous banter. This quartet will also be playing tonight at the Kennedy Center.

Nordic Jazz Fest has become a reliable annual event at which one can expect to see a good mix of straightforward jazz and slightly more off the wall material. The most "out" the festival has ever gotten was probably the 2006 appearance of Kjetil Møster, but recent years have seen some performances (such as Henriksen/Molvær this year or Kristian Blak last year) gently pushing the boundaries of jazz in diverse directions. I'm already looking forward to what's in store for 2010.

Nils Petter Molvær:

Jonas Kulhammar Quartet:

Sunna Gunnlaugs:

Full gallery here.

Nordic Jazz Fest, hosted annually by the embassies of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Denmark, has become Nordic Jazz Week for 2009, featuring an opening performance at the Embassy of Finland on Sunday, June 14, and then two nights of performances at the House of Sweden on June 16-17.

Of note in the lineup are Norwegians Nils Petter Molvær & Arve Henriksen, who are pioneers in the peculiar kind of jazz/electronic/ambient music crossover that labels like Rune Grammofon (to which Henriksen is signed) are currently exploring. These two play as a duo on June 17, probably my most highly anticipated set of the festival. A close second is the Søren Kjærgaard Trio on June 16; Kjærgaard is a Danish pianist whose tuneful, energetic style has made him an interesting collaborator with such avant-jazz luminaries as Peter Brötzmann, Derek Bailey, Tim Berne, Herb Robertson, and more.

Full lineup, location and ticket details after the jump.

Photo of Nils Petter Molvær above courtesy his Myspace page.

Sunday, June 14 at 6 pm
Concert at the Embassy of Finland
Karikko (Finland)
Bjørn Solli Quartet (Norway)

Tuesday, June 16 at 6.30 pm
Concert on House of Sweden rooftop
Jonas Kullhammar Quartet (Sweden)
Karikko (Finland)
Søren Kjærgaard Trio (Denmark)

Wednesday, June 17 at 6.30 pm
Concert on House of Sweden Rooftop
The Sunna Gunnlaugs Quartet (Iceland)
Nils Petter Molvær & Arve Henriksen (Norway)
Jonas Kullhammar Quartet (Sweden)

Where: Embassy of Finland, 3301 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20008 (June 14) and Embassy of Sweden, House of Sweden, 2900 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20007 (June 16 and 17)
When: June 14 at 6 pm, June 16 at 6.30 pm and June 17 at 6.30 pm
Tickets: Presale tickets only from ticketweb or 866 666 8932.
$25 per night; $50 for all three nights. (No ticket sales at the door.)