For years we have been surprised by great jazz talents from Scandinavia. Although one might suspect that this flow of constant creativity must be slowly breaking off, a new, great talent was discovered again at JazzBaltica 2004: the Norwegian singer Solveig Slettahjell (pronounced Sulwej Schlettajell), who was able to cast a spell over the press and the audience right away. The critics were downright euphoric: for the observer of the trade journal "Jazzthetik," Solveig Slettahjell was simply "the sensation of the festival," which was entirely devoted to "Voices in Jazz.

In Norway, Solveig Slettahjell is considered one of the most popular jazz performers. After studying at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, she launched her career in the 1990s with country pieces, jazz standards and Norwegian folk songs, occasionally mixing in a song by Prince or Tom Waits. But Solveig's ambitions become more demanding as time goes on. In the vocal ensembles ofDrei and Kvitretten, she formulates an experimental style, a kind of onomatopoeic technique with which she breaks, twists, lengthens, shortens and harmonizes syllables and words, creating a distinctive vocal architecture.

For her album Silver, she won, among other awards, the "Spellemannsprisen", the Norwegian equivalent of the Grammy, in the spring of 2005. The jury must have liked the completely unpretentious way in which Solveig repeatedly finds her own approach to jazz standards such as Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love" or Jerome Kern's "Looking For The Silver Lining".

On Pixiedust, her debut on ACT, Solveig Slettahjell goes one step further. If the principle of slowness was already an indispensable stylistic device on her earlier albums, Solveig, together with her ensemble, the "Slow Motion Quintet" - has there ever been a more fitting name for a band? - to perfection.

The art of slowness - taking your time, pausing, lowering your pulse, following your own rhythm: If Sten Nadolny's literary world success from 1983: "The Discovery of Slowness" already set these values against the fast pace and restlessness of our society, the Slow Motion Quintet impressively proves how suggestive and sensual, how multifaceted and surprisingly new sounds and texts can sound when they arise from a conscious musical serenity and calm. Since Nadolny at the latest, we have known that slowness acts like a magnifying glass, the eye is sharpened, the slow person sees more - Solveig Slettahjell teaches us that the slow person also hears more, and that there can be more tension and meaning in the delay, the pause, even the silence, than in the thunderous whirl of our everyday hectic.

"Pixiedust" confronts with an abundance of quietly flowing sounds and emotions. The vocal spectrum, which Solveig Slettajhell has at her command, ranges from gentle ballad recitation to excursions into the avant-garde, which can be attributed not least to the influence of her mentor and former teacher, the Oslo singer Sidsel Endresen. But she is also able to turn a piece by the American songwriter John Hiatt into a highly touching experience.

No doubt, Solveig Slettahjell claims an independent place among the jazz singers of her generation. With the quite outstanding trumpeter Sjur Miljeteig, Morten Qvenild on piano, Mats Eilertsen on bass and the percussionist Per Oddvar Johansen, the 34-year-old redefines the term "jazz singer / songwriter": With November-dark harmonies and clear structures, Solveig's music hangs in space as misty-transparent as if it would dissolve at any moment.

Unplayed notes are given at least as much quality as those played and sung. "I create a zone where the details can live, and fill it sparingly," Solveig says. "Because I sing very little text, the individual words have great importance, I choose them very carefully and make sure that they fit the music in their own melody. Silence is basically an extremely active space that allows for many possibilities of movement." This is done with the utmost feeling. At times, the pieces seem arranged around tiny musical details or lyrical ideas. And depending on the structure of the spare lyricism, the compositions on "Pixiedust" (the album title goes back to "Tink," the elf character from "Peter Pan") are also songs with clear sequences of verses or occasionally freely structured, improvised-looking drafts. Nowhere is this more evident than in the closing piece, the interpretation of the Disney classic "When You Wish Upon A Star": Solveig sings the first lines simply, like a poem, to delicate chords of an electronically distorted piano, before an airy rhythm begins to structure the piece.

"Pixiedust" - elf dust, that's how the singer titled her new album. Pixie dust that can enchant people - Solveig Slettahjell succeeds effortlessly