Ståhls trio: Källtorp Sessions, Volume One

In a more perfect world, jazz would be found on jukeboxes. Better still, how about adventurist jazz on jukeboxes? Mattias Ståhl's trio brings this thought to mind. His Källtorp Sessions, Volume One is comprised of nine tracks averaging 3¾ minutes, perfect for those 45 rpm singles.

The Stähls Trio of Mattias Ståhl (vibraphone), Joe Williamson (bass), and Christopher Cantillo (drums), follow up on their premier outing Jag Skulle Bara Gå Ut (Moserobie Music, 2013). These escapades by a vibraphone-led trio certainly aren't your father's conception of jazz. The sound is more like a guitar trio. Ståhl, like Jason Adasiewicz, favors a machine gun percussive sound. The opener "Elmers" contorts like a Thelonious Monk composition with odd meter and angular sound. Certainly this approach relies on an amalgamation of disciplined musicians with a shared purpose.

With Williamson and Cantillo, Ståhl has such capable compatriots. The busy sound of "Lev Som Vanligt Bara" (Live As Usual Just) is decorated with bird calls, and the speed of "Diagram" sprints by like Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Flight of the Bumble Bee" on amphetamines. While the pyrotechnics are one thing, the melodies of "Morgon Pä Torpet" and John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" are engagingly tuneful. The latter piece performed with a reggae pulse accentuates the silvery blue nature of composition. The guitar trio aspect is exemplified by Stähl altering the tuning of his vibraphone—much in the way of guitarist Mary Halvorson—on "Lennart Jernestrand."

In that imaginary perfect world, somebody cries across the juke joint: "Hey, somebody play B17!" And as Frank Sinatra might croon, "Set em up Joe," as a Stahls Trio disc begins to spin.