(7-9Wed, Oct 14th, 7-9pm, Casual Concert – Danish traditional music duo Jensen & Bugge
Dynamic Danish folk duo Jensen & Bugge are coming to the Northwest for a tour of rare Danish traditional music on virtuosic fiddle and accordion. Mette Jensen is one of the best young accordionists in Denmark, and an award-winning interpreter of tradition. Kristian Bugge, recently married to a Métis fiddler in Olympia, WA, is one of the most in-demand fiddlers in Denmark and leads everything from duos and trio to a full folk-rock brass band (Habadekuk). Both Jensen and Bugge are as comfortable on the concert stage as they are playing music for country dances in Denmark. Indeed, their roots in Danish dance music show in the impeccable and sprightly rhythms they pull forth from their instruments. Together, Jensen & Bugge are known throughout Denmark, but have also made a big splash in the US with their unusual partnership with elder American fiddler and accordion player Dwight Lamb from Iowa. Upon meeting Lamb, Jensen & Bugge realized that he had inherited a lost tradition of Danish folk music from his grandfather that had disappeared in Denmark. Together, they recorded two albums with Lamb to preserve and celebrate these rare tunes. Likewise, Jensen & Bugge’s newest album, Slid Din Tid, pays homage to another lost treasure of Danish tradition: the 19th century tune composer Borcher Madsen. Diving deep into this old repertoire, they bring out the darkly minor-key melodies of Madsen and deliver music that is at once familiar in the larger Scandinavian music world, but also very old and unique. 
Both Jensen and Bugge have won coveted prizes at the Danish “Grammy” awards, and they have played for many dances and concerts in Denmark and other countries like the USA, Canada, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, South Korea and Poland. Throughout, they’ve remained rooted to the traditions of Danish fiddle and accordion and have sought out elder masters across Denmark to teach them the various regional traditions as well. “We play traditional Danish music, originally composed and played for dancing in various parts of the country…”, says Kristian. “We concentrate on learning the details of the local music traditions in the more isolated areas and out on the islands. On Fanø, for instance, there is a very strong tradition, that has been alive and growing now for 300 years. People there still use their music for parties, weddings, hogmanay, midsummer festivities, and so on, so we often go to Fanø to learn the music, the dances and the rhythm, that’s what I really get excited about.” Mette Kathrine takes over: “We play a lot of music from Thy in the north west of Jutland, too, and we know an old accordion player there who has been playing for over 80 years. We often visit him, we play together, he teaches us tunes and makes suggestions as to how we could play them.”  An evening with Jensen & Bugge delivers a rare perspective on Danish traditions and a display of powerful musicianship on the fiddle and accordion.  www.jensen-bugge.dk  www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vCKedze1v0   www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjyktk_p8DM   www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOIQCpnJ82A  www.youtube.com/watch?v=mck2fmrlknI
Admission by donation, PayWhatYouCan @ Char’s Landing FMI (778) 421-2427 Visa/MC/Amex/Debit
FMI http://alberni.ca/events   Char’s 19+ Lounge opens M-F 4pm, S-S 1pm www.charslanding.com Char’s Landing, 4815 Argyle @5th. Port Alberni V9Y 1V9