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The Bohusl: Plays Zappa
by Jack Bowers
Although I never considered Frank Zappa a Jazz artist, this is the third album I’ve heard in which big bands have reprised his music. The first one I didn’t care much for, the second I liked, and I’m saddened to report that this one, by Sweden’s talented Bohuslän Big Band, rests squarely in the former class. I know they must have had their reasons for launching this ship, but I found the waters choppy and voyage wearisome — an altogether ...
read moreThe Bohusl: Faces
by Jack Bowers
Sweden’s world–class Bohuslän Big Band, which hit its stride in the ’90s via a number of superlative recordings with guest artists (One Poem, One Painting; A Perfect Match; Pegasos; The Blue Pearl), stumbles from the starting gate and has trouble closing ground on Faces, an ambitious but uneven set of compositions and arrangements by members of the band. This is, of course, only one reviewer’s less than definitive opinion, and the session does indeed enclose its share of engaging moments, ...
read moreBohusl: One Poem, One Painting
by Jack Bowers
One Poem, One Painting consists of music composed by pianist Lars Jansson to mark the 500th anniversary of the Swedish municipality of Uddevalla. What is conspicuous from the outset is that within the framework of modern big–band Jazz, Jansson writes spellbinding musical poetry and sketches luminous portraits in sound. There are nine selections on this generously timed album, and none is less than compelling. No less persuasive is Bohuslän itself, easily one of Europe’s most polished and sophisticated Jazz orchestras, ...
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