Tag / music photography

by trondjs

41. The Sun Will Shine Again

The song “The Sun Will Shine Again” was originally released on Jon Lord’s “Beyond the Notes” album from 2004. On the album, the song was sung by Frida from ABBA. There is a story behind it.

41. The Sun Will Shine Again

From the left: Jon Lord, vocalists Nathalie Lorichs and Steve Balsamo, conductor Torodd Wigum, and backing singers Karina Hanssen and Nina Brovoll.

From the left: Jon Lord, vocalists Nathalie Lorichs and Steve Balsamo, conductor Torodd Wigum, and backing singers Karina Hanssen and Nina Brovoll.

The song “The Sun Will Shine Again” was originally released on Jon Lord’s “Beyond the Notes” album from 2004. A melodic, simple ballad with an uplifting tune. On the album, the song was sung by Frida from ABBA. There is a story behind it.

I’ll tell it through the words of Christer Lorichs, father of vocalist Nathalie Lorichs, who handled the lead vocals for this concert.

“Knut Morten Johansen knew Nathalie was very familiar with the material. Asking Jon about using Nathalie as singer, Jon swiftly replied “Excellent!”. As Nathalie sung backing vocals on Jon’s concert in the Nidaros Cathedral in 2007, Jon was well aware of her voice.
One question Jon had for Nathalie during preparations for the show was regarding “The Sun Will Shine Again”. Would she prefer doing the original Frida-version, or the current version in a key suitable for Kasia Laska? Nathalie said she probably couldn’t sing in a key as low as Fridas. “Well, no one can”, Jon said with a smile. So the higher key it was.

On the first day in Trondheim, Wednesday before the show, there was a meeting with media and the first meeting with the band. Jon immediately took Nathalie aside from the rest, held her arm, looking very serious, saying: “Nathalie, I want to dedicate “The Sun Will Shine Again” to Ronnie. It is a song I wrote for Frida when her husband died. Do you think you can hold it together?”. “I hope so” Nathalie answered. “Perfect” smiled Jon.”
View the song as performed during the concert.

“Ronnie” was of course the legendary rock vocalist Ronnie James Dio, known from Rainbow, Elf, Black Sabbath, and his own band Dio. Ronnie lost his battle with cancer just a week prior to this concert.

Here’s a performance of the song with Jon and Frida from German television.
https://youtu.be/TydCFLkGr0Q

And it only seems to fitting to add this cut:
Ronnie James Dio singing the beautiful songs “Sitting in a Dream” and “Love is All” from Roger Glover’s “Butterfly’s Ball” with Deep Purple and the London Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in 1999, for the 30th anniversary for Jon’s “Concerto for Group and Orchestra”:

https://youtu.be/lxaCl7Ce95M

 

All Material (except YouTube embeds): © Copyright Trond J. Strøm. All Rights Reserved.

No usage without my written consent. Links to the blog and blogs posts on social media etc are of course OK, but stealing the photos without permission is not.

The book is out – head to the bookstore to order your copy. There is two sizes and two bindings for each size available, from the standard sized book with soft cover, to the lavish coffee table book on high-end photo paper.

by trondjs

40. Another Ballad

"The Sun Will Shine Again"

From the left: Jon Lord, vocalists Nathalie Lorichs and Steve Balsamo, conductor Torodd Wigum, and backing singers Karina Hanssen and Nina Brovoll.

Seen from the left: Jon Lord at the grand piano, vocalists Nathalie Lorichs and Steve Balsamo, conductor Torodd Wigum, as well as backing singers Karina Hanssen and Nina Brovoll. The Lord Chamber Orchestra behind the, with the wonderful arches and the mighty rose window of the Nidaros Cathedral forming a stunning backdrop.

All Material: © Copyright Trond J. Strøm. All Rights Reserved.

No usage without my written consent. Links to the blog and blogs posts on social media etc are of course OK, but stealing the photos without permission is not.

The book is out – head to the bookstore to order your copy. There is two sizes and two bindings for each size available, from the standard sized book with soft cover, to the lavish coffee table book on high-end photo paper.

by trondjs

39. “Child in Time” Crescendo

39. Conductor Torodd Wigum with Jon Lord

Conductor Torodd Wigum leading the orchestra through the closing crescendo of “Child in Time”, with Jon Lord in the background.

As the end of “Child in Time” is building towards the finishing crescendo, conductor Torodd Wigum is fiercly leading the orchestra, Jon Lord seen towards the back on the right hand side.

All Material: © Copyright Trond J. Strøm. All Rights Reserved.

No usage without my written consent. Links to the blog and blogs posts on social media etc are of course OK, but stealing the photos without permission is not.

The book is out – head to the bookstore to order your copy. There is two sizes and two bindings for each size available, from the standard sized book with soft cover, to the lavish coffee table book on high-end photo paper.

by trondjs

38. Conductor Torodd Wigum, Jon Lord, Orchestra

38. Torodd Wigum with Jon Lord and

Conductor Torodd Wigum leading the orchestra through the closing crescendo of “Child in Time”, with Jon Lord in the background.

Conductor Torodd Wigum is leading the orchestra as “Child in Time” is coming to the crescendo. Jon Lord at the Hammond organ on the right side.

All Material: © Copyright Trond J. Strøm. All Rights Reserved.

No usage without my written consent. Links to the blog and blogs posts on social media etc are of course OK, but stealing the photos without permission is not.

The book is out – head to the bookstore to order your copy. There is two sizes and two bindings for each size available, from the standard sized book with soft cover, to the lavish coffee table book on high-end photo paper.

by trondjs

37. Jon Lord, Nathalie Lorichs, Steve Balsamo

37. Jon Lord, Nathalie Lorichs, Steve Balsamo

Jon Lord signalling to the musicians with his right arm, as Nathalie Lorichs and Steve Balsamo sing the final high notes during the second verse of “Child in Time”

We continue with the large bulk of photos taken during the last run-through of “Child in Time” before the concert. Here we see Jon Lord in a typical pose in the background, playing the Hammond organ and signalling to the band and orchestra, as vocalists Nathalie Lorichs and Steve Balsamo are reaching the higher notes during the second verse of the song.
See the video of the song performed during the concert here. The cover photo for that video is indeed taken at more or less the same moment during the song as this one, but from another angle.

All Material: © Copyright Trond J. Strøm. All Rights Reserved.

No usage without my written consent. Links to the blog and blogs posts on social media etc are of course OK, but stealing the photos without permission is not.

The book is out – head to the bookstore to order your copy. There is two sizes and two bindings for each size available, from the standard sized book with soft cover, to the lavish coffee table book on high-end photo paper.

by trondjs

35. Jon Lord – with Magnus Johansen

35. Jon Lord with Magnus Johansen

35. Jon Lord by the Hammond organ with keyboardist Magnus Johansen and the “Children in Time” choir in the background

Jon Lord plays the Hammond organ during “Child in Time”. Keyboardist Magnus Johansen watches him in the background. The choir is also visible. The “Children in Time” choir was gathered for the concert and conducted by Elen Cath Furunes.

All Material: © Copyright Trond J. Strøm. All Rights Reserved.

No usage without my written consent. Links to the blog and blogs posts on social media etc are of course OK, but stealing the photos without permission is not.

The book is out – head to the bookstore to order your copy. There is two sizes and two bindings for each size available, from the standard sized book with soft cover, to the lavish coffee table book on high-end photo paper.

by trondjs

34. The Martins

Bassist Martin Méndez and drummer Martin Axenrot playing.

34. The Martins

Bassist Martin Méndez and drummer Martin Axenrot watching Jon Lord (not in the photo) for cues during “Child in Time”

Bassist Martin Méndez and drummer Martin Axenrot playing – their eyes fixed on Jon Lord (not in the photo). This is still during “Child in Time”.

Martin and Martin form the rhythm section in Swedish prog-metal band Opeth. Opeth is held in high regard among their fans all over the world. But the rhythm section of a band starting out in the death metal genre back in 1990 appearing on an orchestral concert backing Deep Purple legend Jon Lord might not seem obvious to many of their fans. So how did it all come about?

“Exactly how they felt. They were so impressed by playing with Jon… and he seemed to like what they did too…” was Christer Lorichs’ comment to this photo when I posted it on Flickr shortly after the concert.

Christer is a central piece in this puzzle. A fan of Jon Lord for decades, he got to know the artist after meeting him for the first time while Jon was playing in one of the early versions of Whitesnake in 1979. His daughter Nathalie has been brought up listening to the music of Jon Lord and Deep Purple. And Nathalie Lorichs is the partner of Opeth drummer Martin Axenrot.

When Knut Morten Johansen set out to put this concert together, one of his main concerns was getting a really good backing band together. Of course, as big fans of Jon Lord, Knut and Christer’s paths had crossed long before this – as mentioned previously, Nathalie Lorichs sang backing vocals on Jon’s 2007 concert in the Nidaros Cathedral, for instance.

So, as I’ve heard this, Knut one evening sent an SMS to Christer – could there be a chance of getting Martin Axenrot to join as the drummer for this concert? Martin’s first reaction was very humble – why on Earth would Jon Lord want him as the drummer? Christer convinced him it was a good idea. Martin’s big idol as a drummer is Ian Paice – playing with Jon surely must have been a dream come true.
Nathalie was later suggested to Jon by Knut as a possible main female vocalist. Jon, remembering her voice from the backing vocals from 2007, quickly agreed to the suggestion.

Then, after Opeth’s concert in the Royal Albert Hall in London on April 5, 2010, Magnus Johansen – Knut’s son – on a whim asked Martin Méndez backstage after the gig if he would like to play bass on Jon’s Trondheim concert. Quite taken aback, Martin Méndez nonetheless said “Yes, of course!”, and the band lineup was complete.

At the party after the concert in Trondheim, Jon walked up to Martin and Martin and said: “Can I play with you guys again?” He also said to Nathalie: “Your boyfriend is one Hell of a drummer. Usually I have to wave my whole arm, to him I only have to show my little finger.”

A colour version of this photo has previously been published.

All Material: © Copyright Trond J. Strøm. All Rights Reserved.

No usage without my written consent. Links to the blog and blogs posts on social media etc are of course OK, but stealing the photos without permission is not.

The book is out – head to the bookstore to order your copy. There is two sizes and two bindings for each size available, from the standard sized book with soft cover, to the lavish coffee table book on high-end photo paper.

by trondjs

33. Nathalie Lorichs Singing “Child in Time”

Nathalie Lorichs singing backing vocals during “Child in Time” – the second of two photos.

33. Nathalie Lorichs

Nathalie Lorichs singing backing vocals during “Child in Time”

Nathalie Lorichs singing backing vocals during “Child in Time” – the second of two photos.

Organizing the concert, Knut Morten Johansen knew Nathalie Lorichs was very familiar with the material, and suggested her to Jon Lord. Jon remembered her from her backing vocals in 2007, and swiftly answered “Excellent!”. Jon asked Knut to have Nathalie contact him via mail for preparartions. The mails shared between the two displayed both Jon’s attention to detail and his ability to inspire people – all according to a good source.

All Material: © Copyright Trond J. Strøm. All Rights Reserved.

No usage without my written consent. Links to the blog and blogs posts on social media etc are of course OK, but stealing the photos without permission is not.

by trondjs

32. Nathalie Lorichs

Nathalie Lorichs

Nathalie Lorichs singing backing vocals during “Child in Time”

A study in two parts of Nathalie Lorichs singing backing vocals during “Child in Time”, where Steve Balsamo was the lead singer.

Nathalie Lorichs is a vocalist who truly knows Jon Lords music. Her father, Christer, met Jon for the first time as a fan in the early Whitesnake days in 1979. Eventually they became friends.

Among other things, Christer Lorichs’ friendship with Deep Purple resulted in the band visiting the music high school Nathalie went to – although this was in 2003, shortly after Jon had left the band.

In 2007, she was invited to sing backing vocals on Jon’s second concert in the Nidaros Cathedral.

(For those curious as to what these photos look like in colour – this is one of the photos I’ve previously published, so you can have a look over here.)

All Material: © Copyright Trond J. Strøm. All Rights Reserved.

No usage without my written consent. Links to the blog and blogs posts on social media etc are of course OK, but stealing the photos without permission is not.

by trondjs

31. Steve Balsamo Singing “Child in Time”

Vocalist Steve Balsamo singing the Deep Purple classic “Child in Time”.

Steve Balsamo

Steve Balsamo singing “Child in Time”

Vocalist Steve Balsamo singing the Deep Purple classic “Child in Time” during rehearsals in the Nidaros Cathedral.

Steve Balsamo collaborated with Jon Lord during the last years of Jon’s life, singing on many of Jon’s live shows. The only studio recording they got to finish together, was the studio version of “Concerto for Group and Orchestra”, which was released after Jon’s passing in 2012. They were also working on an album of songs, of which only one has been released – the song “All Those Years Ago”, which was released as part of the lavish photo book about Jon Lord, where it also provided the title.

Steve has a formidable vocal range, perfectly able of tackling a challenging song like “Child in Time”.

The concert version of the song, complete with a lenghty Hammond organ solo from Jon and a children’s choir, can be seen and heard here.

All Material: © Copyright Trond J. Strøm. All Rights Reserved.

No usage without my written consent. Links to the blog and blogs posts on social media etc are of course OK, but stealing the photos without permission is not.