Jazz Articles

John Hogman: Frozen Dreams

by Jack Bowers
June 22, 2006

John Högman, who played only baritone sax on his debut as leader (Reduce Speed, Sittel 2004), spreads his wings wider on Frozen Dreams, seeking to evade monotony by mixing things up. Högman not only plays soprano, tenor and baritone but lends a hand on keyboards, rhythm guitar and “rhythm programming. He also varies the size and makeup of his group, uses special effects to underline his concepts, and generally places rhythm in the forefront.

As Högman wrote and arranged everything, ...

The Jan Lundgren Trio: Plays the Music of Jule Styne

by Jack Bowers
October 17, 2004

In reviewing an earlier album by Swedish pianist Jan Lundgren ( Bird of Passage, Four Leaf Clover), I wrote that “he has, among other things, exquisite taste, marvelous touch, flawless technique, an attentive ear, power to spare... and a bounteous wellspring of creative ideas." Listeners should be pleased to learn that nothing has changed.

Well, one thing has changed--the music itself. Rather than playing mostly his own compositions, as he did on Passage and the more recent For Listeners Only ...

The Janne Ersson Big Band: Live at the Stockholm Jazz Festival

by Jack Bowers
June 17, 2004

The world is full of dreamers, but few of them have the boldness and tenacity to make their dreams come true. From the moment he heard a recording of the Buddy Rich big band in 1966, Swedish drummer Janne Ersson decided he would one day lead a band like that himself. After years of paying his dues, Ersson became disenchanted with the music business and took a job at the post office, working there for years until the branch was ...

Martin Sjostedt Band: Mondeo

by Ken Hohman
April 8, 2004

As the AAJ column Nordic Sounds attests, there is a lot of fine jazz coming out of Scandinavia as of late. One group that certainly deserves an audience beyond the borders of Scandinavia is the Martin Sjostedt Band, which hails from Sweden. Led by the steel-fingered young bassist Martin Sjostedt, the band’s new release Mondeo puts forth an engaging set of compositions that are rich in emotional texture.

Though Sjostedt’s name is on the marquee and his ...

The Jan Lundgren Trio: Landscapes

by Jack Bowers
April 3, 2004

On Landscapes, the brilliant young pianist Jan Lundgren takes a break from the usual jazz and popular standards to survey and accentuate the music of his native Sweden, and what one notices almost immediately is that there is no perceptible decline in quality, melodically, rhythmically or harmonically. In other words, these are quite lovely songs; unfamiliar, of course, but no less charming because of it.

The picturesque program consists of eleven traditional themes (four comprising a medley), two new works ...

The John Hogman Quartet: Reduce Speed

by Jack Bowers
April 2, 2004

Having heard Gerry Mulligan, Lars Gullin, Nick Brignola, Pepper Adams, Serge Chaloff, Ronnie Cuber, Gary Smulyan, Cecil Payne, Jack Nimitz, Claire Daly and so many other superb baritone saxophonists, I never thought I'd encounter another one who'd adrenalize my senses the way they could. And now I stand corrected. Trust me, Sweden's John Högman proves on Reduce Speed that he deserves at least to be mentioned in the same breath with those acclaimed standard-bearers.

So who is this guy and ...

Fredrik Kronkvist: Altitude

by Jack Bowers
September 25, 2003

There's a thriving jazz community in Sweden, some of whose roots are planted firmly in the bop idiom, and young alto saxophonist Fredrik Kronkvist's quartet, which follows that path, is about as accomplished as any you're likely to hear in this country.

Kronkvist himself comes from a line that began with Bird, continued through the Sonnys Criss and Stitt, Jackie McLean, Phil Woods, Lou Donaldson, Cannonball Adderley, Charles McPherson, Herb Geller and Frank Morgan to such younger contemporaries as Gary ...

Andreas Pettersson: Getting Close to You

by Jack Bowers
May 1, 2002

Here’s another album to file under “p” for “pleasant surprises” — even though one shouldn’t really be surprised by the quality of any group whose rhythm section includes bassist Mads Vinding and drummer Ed Thigpen. More eye–opening are the singular talents of guitarist / leader Andreas Pettersson and his good friend, pianist Daniel Karlsson, who add the melodic flexibility to Vinding / Thigpen’s rhythmic backbone. Without making any comparisons, let’s say that each of them is a masterful post–bopper with ...

Johan Leijonhufvud: Eurolines

by Jack Bowers
November 1, 2001

So I can’t pronounce the cat’s name. It matters not. That’s what makes Jazz — almost any music, for that matter — so singularly inspiring. It transcends such narrow boundaries as name, rank, serial number, age, ethnicity or other specious considerations. The only question that must be answered is, “Can he (or she) play?” Guitarist Johan Leijonhufvud and his hard–working associates (bassist Christian Spering, drummer Peter Nilsson) respond musically with an emphatic “yes” on Eurolines, recorded in concert last October ...

The Jan Lundgren Trio: For Listeners Only

by Jack Bowers
September 1, 2001

Another superlative outing by Sweden’s most accomplished young post–bop pianist, Jan Lundgren, and his clairvoyant sidekicks, bassist Mattias Svensson and drummer Rasmus Kihlberg. Lundgren, who is of course almost unknown here in the States, displays the delicate touch, flawless technique, clarity of tone, grasp of dynamics, depth of awareness and enormous improvisatory acumen that this reviewer associates with such acclaimed contemporary giants as Kenny Barron, Barry Harris, Tommy Flanagan or the late Michel Petrucciani, to name only a few. Lundgren ...