In the Rainbow

Monday morning, June 29th, we ate an early breakfast with Kari and Magne because we had the possibility of visiting Rainbow Studio at 9 AM. Because Kari and Magne don’t have a car we took a taxi down to the studio (which is situated in the old textile mill area of Oslo beside a picturesque river). From the outside there is little to indicate the great things inside, just a little nameplate above the door buzzer. When 9 AM rolled around (we got there 10 minutes early so we just looked around the area first) Kari pushed the door buzzer. We heard a click indicating the door was unlocked so we pulled it open and walked in.

There didn’t seem to be much on the first level (and no one around) so we headed up the stairs - saw some old analog tape recorders and misc gear, but still no people so Kari called out hello (in Norwegian of course) and we heard a response from downstairs. Down we went to meet a man who looked to be in his mid to late 50's… and sure enough, this was Jan Erik Kongshaug - the great recording engineer himself. He greeted us warmly and showed us into the studio (which was on the main floor behind an unlabeled door).

For those of you who missed my early blog about Jan Erik Kongshaug let me recap a bit. This recording engineer has been behind the mixing board of many of my favourite recordings of all time. He probably has been involved in half of the recordings made for ECM Records, the most significant European Jazz Label for the past 40 years. Many of the recordings on ECM have been recorded or mixed at Rainbow Studio in the past number of years. Not at this specific space, because Rainbow Studio moved to its current location about 5 years ago (apparently the original space ended up with an Irish Pub underneath it, thus some unresolved disputes with the landlord, and eventually a move to the current space which Jan Erik said he likes very much). Mr. Kongshaug has been almost single-handedly responsible for changing the way jazz recordings sound - in the 70’s he (along with producer Manfred Eicher) created an approach to recording that resulted in “the ECM Sound” - which as best as I can describe it is a warm, clear, crystalline, detailed sound which hints at being in a cathedral. Jan Erik Kongshaug is a musician who also has an interest in technology, and this combination results in a high quality recording from both a technical and musical perspective. Jan Erik has won many awards and accolades over the years (and also some criticism in the early years from those who thought jazz should sound only a certain way). This was the legend that we met at the Rainbow, and it was a dream come true for me.

For half an hour Jan Erik showed us around the studio, talked about the equipment, reminisced about some of his favourite sessions over the years. During this time a group was setting up (bringing in drums and other gear), and the piano was being tuned. Mr. Kongshaug told me that the most important element in getting a good recording of a piano is to have it well tuned, this is the single most important thing he stressed. I think, once he saw that I wasn’t a crazed lunatic, but someone who simply appreciated his work very much, he was quite happy to show us around. At one point he was talking about doing a recent session with the Norwegian Pianist Ketil Bjørnstad to which I responded “I’ve been trying to get his Rainbow Sessions CD for months now but I haven’t had any luck” to which Jan Erik replied “Oh, I think I have a copy of that here.” This recording features three CDs, the first being the last recording session in the old Rainbow Studio, the second disc being the first recording session in the new Rainbow Studio, and the third disc being the first recording on the new Steinway piano which is now part of Rainbow Studio's gear.

After half an hour of visiting and looking at the studio I felt we should leave and let Jan Erik get on with his work, so I thanked him for allowing us to see the studio and to take some of his time. He was a very gracious and humble person and I was genuinely happy to meet him. Just before we left he said “Wait a minute” and he popped into another room briefly, returning with the 3 CD set we had spoken of earlier. He offered it to me, I asked if he would sign it (which he did) and how much I owed him for that - he very generously said “No, nothing, I hope you enjoy it”. So a big bonus, not only did I get to see Rainbow Studio, and meet Jan Erik Kongshaug, I also was given a rare CD set by a wonderful Norwegian pianist! It wouldn’t matter what happened the rest of the day - as far as I was concerned it was already a big success.