One of the most fascinating things about the Copenhagen Jazz Festival is that an open venue not only signifies cobblestone and cosy cafés but also large green areas with live music. At Kongens Have (The King's Garden) and Det Kongelige Danske Haveselskab (The Royal Danish Garden Society), one had the possibility to get acquainted with many of the new talents such as emerging pianist August Rosenbaum as well as the established names like Danish tenor giant Jesper Thilo.

With Sinne Eegs concert at Det Kongelige Danske Haveselskab, connoisseurs of vocal jazz were given a special treat. The later years have witnessed a veritable boom in the rise of talented female Danish jazz singers. Names such as Sidsel Storm, Katrine Madsen, Malene Mortensen and Cæcillie Norby, who has released a string of albums on Blue Note, testify to the strength of Danish vocal jazz, but right now there seems to be a singer that towers above the rest: Sinne Eeg.

Eeg's breakthrough came with the masterpiece, Waiting For Dawn (Calibrated, 2007), where she brought together an A-list of Scandinavian jazz musicians to interpret a program consisting mainly of her own compositions. It was this quartet of Swedish pianist Lars Jansson, Danish bass-giant Mads Vinding and young drum-star Morten Lund, who visited the venue. Naturally, the program thrived on their collaboration on that particular album, bringing in such heartbreakers as the title track with a masterful vocal performance ranging from a sensual whisper to a soaring cry. There was also a good deal of relaxed swing in numbers like "Let's Stay Awake" and "Sudden Change of Weather." The mood of the band was jovial, with especially Jansson being a prankster, making imitated percussion-sounds with a bottle of water. The concert proved that it's possible to combine tight interplay, humor, seriousness and showmanship.