Jazz Articles about Bobo Stenson

Bobo Stenson Trio: Cantando

by Budd Kopman
September 15, 2008

The ECM label has championed the jazz aesthetic, quite audibly European rather than American, in differing proportions from release to release. Indeed, although ECM's New Series is ostensibly dedicated to new classical music, its edges leak over into jazz. For forty years and over one thousand albums, ECM has led the way towards the creation of a truly modern jazz. Cantando is a remarkable musical document by pianist Bobo Stenson, bassist Anders Jormin (his long-time partner), and ...

Bobo Stenson Trio: Cantando

by John Kelman
September 2, 2008

While Bobo Stenson's last record, Goodbye (ECM, 2005), was a fine addition to the Swedish pianist's small but significant discography, it was also something of a transitional record. Drummer Jon Christensen--an essential member of Stenson's trio for decades, appearing on all four of the pianist's previous releases as a leader on ECM from Underwear (1971) through to the high watermark of Serenity (2000)--was gone. The legendary Paul Motian filled the drum chair for Goodbye, bringing a very different kind of ...

Bobo Stenson Radio Interview "Goodbye"

by Chris Comer
August 30, 2008

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Acclaimed Swedish jazz pianist and ECM recording artist Bobo Stenson discussed his trio CD Goodbye, featuring the legendary Paul Motian on drums and Anders Jormin on bass. Bobo describes the evolution of his playing style over the years and the artistic direction of ECM Records. Bobo also describes playing with Paul Motian for the first time on this CD. Bobo Stenson's heart-stopping playing is an inspiration, and Chris Comer gives his take on Bobo Stenson's version of ...

Bobo Stenson/Anders Jormin/Paul Motian: Goodbye

by Terrell Kent Holmes
April 14, 2006

The title of this release has a type of finality to it, especially considering the somberness of the tunes therein. This is meticulously crafted jazz, atmospheric and full of spare landscapes. Pianist Bobo Stenson, bassist Anders Jormin and the wonderfully restless drummer Paul Motian play with imagination and economy, Stenson with a facility and tenderness that recalls Bill Evans, a similarity driven home by the presence of Motian, an Evans alum. During a recent gig at Birdland, the trio played ...

The Bobo Stenson Trio at Birdland

by Budd Kopman
April 5, 2006

Bobo Stenson TrioBobo Stenson: piano, Anders Jormin: bass, Paul Motian: drumsBirdland, New York City March 18, 2006 Birdland was packed for the 9 pm show as the crowd anxiously awaited the entrance of the trio. This was the last night of a three night stand, and, from the moment that Stenson, Jormin and Motian started playing, one could hear the sensitivity and extremely honed musical reflexes of the individual musicians that make up the trio. This ...

Bobo Stenson

by Andrey Henkin
March 12, 2006

Many listeners and writers of jazz (this correspondent included) have been at times guilty of perpetuating the myth of the 'Nordic Sound' in jazz. Not only is this inaccurate, it is also a gross simplification of a culturally diverse region. Pianist Bobo Stenson, himself probably a victim of this categorization during his career, stated in a recent interview, “When I was playing professionally, then those days I didn't think of Scandinavian music, I almost didn't play with people from Norway ...

Bobo Stenson: Faithful Yet Irreverent

by John Kelman
January 16, 2006

While the European jazz scene has been vibrant and forward-looking for decades, it's only been in recent years that some of its brightest stars have received the kind of exposure in North America that they've both deserved and enjoyed elsewhere. The German ECM label, in particular, has been responsible for generating renewed interest in aging but still active and innovative artists, including Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava and Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, to American audiences--not only through recordings, but concert tours ...