Hedvig Mollestad\u2019s main guitar is a blonde 1988 Gibson ES-335 Showcase Edition, which she modified with \u201957 Classic humbuckers, Bigsby tremolo, and gold hardware.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>For a stiff contraption of metal and wood, the guitar can convey an extraordinary range of human emotions. Combine it with an 11-piece ensemble and the options expand like a flower. Norway\u2019s Hedvig Mollestad, her blonde Gibson ES-335 in hand, revels in these myriad possibilities on her latest album Maternity Beat<\/em>, a commissioned project with the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. (Previous TJO guest collaborators include Chick Corea and Joshua Redman\u2014not too shabby.)<\/p>\n It’s a logical progression. Over the course of seven albums for Rune Grammofon since 2011, the Oslo-based Mollestad remained focused on the decidedly rock-edged sound of the Hedvig Mollestad Trio, with Ellen Brekken on bass and Ivar Loe Bj\u00f8rnstad on drums. Then came a shift in 2020, which led to the release of two solo albums, Ekhidna<\/em> and Tempest Revisited <\/em>(2021), also for Rune, that changed the sonic equation.<\/p>\n Instead of electric bass, Mollestad recruited two keyboardists for Ekhidna<\/em> and added trumpet. On Tempest Revisited<\/em>, the lineup grew to include three saxophonists and two drummers. She may not have known it right away, but she was laying the foundation for Maternity Beat<\/em> and the expanded sound world made possible by the TJO.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Hedvig Mollestad & Trondheim Jazz Orchestra – All Flights Cancelled<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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