Tolvan Big Band: Effortlessly - Music by Helge Albin

Swedish saxophonist, composer and arranger Helge Albin has led the Tolvan Big Band since 1979. Albin turned this ambitious, up-to-date big band, located in Malmö in southern Sweden, into a musical institution with an international reputation. They have collaborated with notable American musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Liebman and Michael Brecker, British composer Mike Westbrook and Danish saxophonist Lars Møller; the band even dedicated one of its programs to new arrangements of the John Lennon songbook.

Effortlessly is the second album dedicated to Albin's refined compositions and sophisticated orchestration after Tolvan Plays The Music of Helge Albin (Naxos Jazz, 1977). Albin makes full use of the vibrant energy of this 18-piece big band and its talented soloists. His compositions, all rooted in the jazz legacy, employ infinite possibilities for abstraction of the strong themes, introducing fresh dynamics and colors. All are performed with light, joyful elegance.

Two compositions stand out as the most impressive. On both only one soloist is featured and the energy of the big band is restrained. The first, "Stillness in Motion," featuring soprano saxophonist Cennet Jönsson as the main soloist, contrasts between his lush and gentle telling of the melodic theme, as a kind of nuanced story full of twists and suspense, with the muscular sound of the big band. The second, the serene "Con Brio," features pianist Jorgen Emborg as the main soloist, and weaves a fragile interplay between Emborg's beautiful variations of the melody and the subdued answers of the brass and woodwind sections.

Impressive display of the big band art.