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Mats Aleklint
Nils Berg & Norrbotten Big Band: Paid To Cry
by Maciej Stasiowski
When faced with the trauma of loss, we stifle. Tears flow when the defense shields are eventually down or the dam is allowed to overflow with emotion. Crying out loud--pardon the pun--turns into a performance that comes with its own measures of mastery in feigning the lament for the screen or--as in the case of Nils Berg and his 2025 collaboration with Norrbotten Big Band --the speakers. Rest assured, lachrymose arrangements are genuine, melodies verge on the cathartic. With the ...
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Johan Lindström Septett: Humankind
by Vincenzo Roggero
Humankind è il terzo album del gruppo guidato da Johan Lindstrom, un ensemble che comprende alcuni degli esponenti di spicco del jazz svedese più creativo con l'aggiunta di una manciata di ospiti di sicuro interesse. Come la maggior parte dei lavori di Lindstrom ( qui alle prese con chitarra, pedal steel guitar, sintetizzatori, celesta) Humankind sfugge a qualsiasi tipo di catalogazione. Perché il musicista svedese è interessato a creare mondi sonori immaginifici, che assorbono svariate fonti ispirative, ricchi ...
Continue ReadingScheen Jazzorkester & Fredrik Ljungkvist: Framat!
by Mark Corroto
Scandinavian large ensembles have much to teach their more conservative American counterparts about reinventing the jazz orchestra for the 21st century. Framåt! by Scheen Jazzorkester is a powerful affirmation of this idea. This Norwegian ensemble has consistently pushed the boundaries of large ensemble jazz, and Framåti--their tenth release since forming in 2010--is another compelling addition to their adventurous discography. Preceding this album were two Thomas Johansson-led projects, As We See It (2019) and Frameworks (2014), both released on ...
Continue ReadingAngles + Elle-Kari With Strings: The Death Of Kalypso
by Chris May
As a genre, jazz-opera is thinly populated. The recorded archive is marked more by quality than quantity, with albums by Mike Westbrook and Kate Westbrook, Carla Bley and Charlie Haden to the fore. But the best ever jazz-opera, in this parish anyway, predates anything by these musicians. Composer Todd Matshikiza and lyricist Pat Williams' King Kong premiered in the Great Hall of the University of Johannesburg in February 1959 to rapturous reviews, and went on to romp through sold-out proscenium-arch ...
Continue ReadingAhanes: Petrichor
by Glenn Astarita
This European sextet, with members from Athens and Stockholm, dishes out an absorbing journey through diverse soundscapes which blend genres effortlessly throughout the four tracks. Hence, the album immerses the listener in a rich tapestry of sonic exploration.Ahanes confidently navigate through diverse musical territories, seamlessly weaving together disparate elements of jazz, electronica, and ambient sounds. This amalgamation creates a wraithlike stratosphere which feels familiar and refreshingly novel, noticeable on the artists' layered and bursting cover of John Coltrane's ...
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Johan Lindstrom & Norrbotten Big Band: Johan Lindstrom & Norrbotten Big Band
by Vincenzo Roggero
Continua a sfornare grandi album Moserobie, etichetta creata da Jonas Kullhammar sassofonista e illuminato agitatore musicale svedese. Perché di un grande album questo Johan Lindstrom & Norrbotten Big Band si tratta. Non il classico schema solista-orchestra ma un organismo proteiforme, sorprendente, che si scompone, si assottiglia, si nasconde, esplode, si rilassa, creatura dadaista che solletica i sensi, e fa volare l'immaginazione. E così l'incedere marziale di “Parade," tra hard rock e liriche aperture, scalda i motori, “Blues ...
Continue ReadingVilhelm Bromander: In This Forever Unfolding Moment
by Chris May
Ornette Coleman's haunting “Lonely Woman" is becoming something of a 2023 soundtrack. At the time of writing, we have had memorable versions from Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble on Spirit Gatherer (Spirit Muse), and Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter on The Iridescent Spree (Edition), plus another couple of efforts about which the less said the better. Here comes a third boss edition. Sort of. “Låt Våra Tårar Bli Våra Vapen," which opens side two of Vilhelm Bromander's ...
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Music
Eyes On The Prize (Paradise)
From: Paid To CryBy Mats Aleklint
