Jazz floats through the night in Carlton

Oldenburg House owner Glenn Swanson made the rounds on Saturday, winding between tables, chatting with guests in the dinner break between live jazz performances.

"If we were to name this as a nightclub, its name would be Club Sardine," said the gravelly voiced Swanson, noting that they'd packed 38 music-loving guests into the L-shaped dining room of the Carlton bed and breakfast for another Cookin' at the O event.

It was the second weekend of performances for Danish jazz vocalist and composer Sinne Eeg, who was accompanied by pianist Will Kjeer, bass player Billy Peterson and Swanson on the drums.

How does a well known Danish singer find herself in Carlton?

It's a tale of connections. Swanson has 50 years of history with the Peterson family jazz dynasty.

"I've worked a lot with Billy, his sister Patty, his younger brother Ricky - who did Saturday Night Live with Stevie Nicks a couple weekends ago - he's in the major leagues. Anyway, Billy's sister Linda lived in Copenhagen."

Long story short, Billy was on tour in Europe and - because Linda knew Sinne - he did the Copenhagen Jazz Festival with Eeg in July. Billy knew she was coming to the States, including a performance in St. Paul.

"So he says we should get her to come here, and we did," Swanson said. "One dot removed in this case and now we're buddies."

Eeg had one more connection to add to the story: LA musician Roger Neumann, whom she met in Japan in 2012. He invited her to LA, and that's where she first met the Peterson family

"There are many steps to this journey," she said during the break.

Eeg's husband, Danish filmmaker Warny Mandrup, is also a new friend, one that Glenn's wife, Emily, is trying to connect with film festivals in the state, for a potential future visit.

"Emily and Glenn never stop thinking, they're like 'You seem like a great person, who can we connect you to?" Eeg said, with a laugh.

Eeg said she's always sung jazz - her dad loved jazz - and performs in a range of venues. "I play concert halls and big festivals, big jazz clubs, small jazz clubs, and sometimes settings like this. I do like the variation, because it's nice, of course, to play for a big crowd, but there's something really good about being in an intimate situation. Here you have people right in front of you, and you can interact with them in another way that you can't on a big stage. I love being able to do both."

Eeg showcased more versatility during Saturday's performance, singing a wide range of songs and styles, from traditional jazz to samba to a couple different James Bond theme songs, highlighting her original music as well.

American international performer, vocalist Bruce Henry, will return in January for another Cookin' at the O jazz dinner.

"Bruce refers to doing these dates with us as his new Paris, because it's like a little Parisian hole in the wall where you're playing jazz," Glenn said with a chuckle. "It's actually becoming a thing, performing here. And the way the community here supports it is surprising. We don't even have to advertise anymore, just send out an email to a few hundred people and within a few weeks we're sold out."

To find out more about upcoming events, visit oacc.us/programs/cookin-at-the-o/. Find videos of Eeg's performance on the Pine Knot Facebook page.