Trying to slot artists into specific trends, genres and an ever-expanding number of subgenres is a constant obsession for meticulous music fans looking to define what they're listening to. Journalists categorize, sometimes to the dismay of the bands they're covering, to make things simpler for their readers. But some acts defy easy classification.
One such act is Norway's Jaga Jazzist, who will be appearing at this weekend's Tokyo Jazz Festival for its second time.
Since the eight-piece band started in 1994, its music has been described as nu-jazz, experimental jazz, electronic jazz, post-rock, prog rock and no doubt any number of cool-sounding word strings, and while each of those labels may describe part of Jaga Jazzist's sound, none seems to really encapsulate it.