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Ståhls Trio: Källtorp Sessions Volume Two
by Mark Corroto
This is the third release by vibraphonist Mattias Ståhl, bassist Joe Williamson and drummer Christopher Cantillo and also the second release to come from the trio's 2017 studio recordings. Källtorp Sessions Volume Two adds trombonist Mats Äleklint on two tracks with Ståhl on soprano saxophone from what one assumes is an additional 2018 studio session. Like Källtorp Sessions Volume One (Moserobie, 2019), the performances are crisp and nattily sharp. Ståhl's vibraphone, which can be heard in bands such ...
read moreJohan Lindström Septett: On The Asylum
by Karl Ackermann
Multi-instrumentalist and composer Johan Lindström issued his 2018 septet debut Music For Empty Halls (Moserobie Music) to global accolades. The unique set was nominated for a Swedish Grammy, an award which Lindström had captured on four previous occasions. The debut was noted for its unhurried and democratic approach to creative ensemble music. On the Asylum, the second outing of the Johan Lindström Septett surpasses its predecessor as a stunning and eclectic project. Lindström is not yet well-known in ...
read morePer Texas Johansson: Stråk på himlen och stora hus
by Glenn Astarita
Swedish multi-woodwind expert and composer Per Texas Johansson is a musical freethinker who dishes out a series of unfettered compositions, injected with heartening attributes on his latest solo effort. As a top-flight session artist, Johansson has been at the forefront of the fertile Scandinavian music scene. Here, the artist blends a multidimensional soundscape with vocalists who often shade or reshape the proceedings with hallowed wordless choruses, while also providing depth to these resonating thematic overtures, spiked with up-tempo motifs, sanguine ...
read moreDanel Bingert: Berit In Space
by Mark Corroto
Berit In Space is available in all formats from LP to CD and digital except cassette, but you don't have to play the vinyl version to get at least some of the vinyl experience. The album's very clever sound incorporates what is described as a “true-vinyl-record-remaster" that includes a needle drop as each “side" begins, plus that end of the “side" snap of the stylus. The sound returns to the warmth of the pre-digital listening experience, as does the music ...
read moreStåhls trio: Källtorp Sessions, Volume One
by Mark Corroto
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 ...
read moreHåvard Wiik: This Is Not a Waltz
by Glenn Astarita
Leading-edge Norwegian pianist Håvard Wiik is a widely acclaimed artist via his work in the eminent Scandinavian free bop band, Atomic and collaborations with saxophonists Joe Lovano, Ken Vandermark and many other jazz VIPs. Yet he's equally at home settling into modern jazz frameworks or when venturing into the outside peripheries of jazz. But this release, recorded with his piano trio, delivers a smaller scale and comprehensive synthesis of his advanced technical skills, approach and style. Wiik injects ...
read moreJohan Lindström Septett: Music For Empty Halls
by Mark Corroto
There is an old soul lurking in the body of guitarist Johan Lindström. I mean both the body corporal and his guitar body. His septet recording Music For Empty Halls draws the ear back to a time when music was less rushed and much more thoughtful. He's assembled a collection of compositions in a most considerate manner. He's done that by composing and arranging the music, and by choosing just the right combinations of performers and varied instrumentation for each ...
read moreJari Haapalainen Trio: Fusion Machine
by Mark Corroto
Short sharp shocks, describes the music of Fusion Machine. The twenty-eight minutes of sound is Jari Haapalainen's knuckle sandwich of a recording. Actually it's thirteen jabs, hooks, and uppercuts; let's call them the track list. The disc contains no composition longer than two minutes-fifty, the shortest, “Flykten Från Djursholm" (Escape From Djursholm), is just 1:34. The Jari Haapalainen Trio performs a familiar type of compressed mayhem, a sort of punk haiku music that draws as much from the ...
read moreNacka Forum: We Are The World
by Mark Corroto
Doom and gloom begone, now for some serious fun. Nacka Forum is back with their fifth recording. The Swedish/Danish quartet cherry picks the biography of jazz for the juiciest and sweetest music, combining systems and methodologies from Ornette Coleman to Sun Ra to create a high-spirited concoction of jazz entertainment. Spinning We Are The World you get the idea, that in addition to the listener's, the pleasure of making this music is also the quartet's. Opening with a ...
read moreAlberto Pinton/Noi Siamo: Resiliency
by Mark Corroto
In the old days, before clouds, streaming music, and compact discs, the first track from reedist Alberto Pinton's latest release Resiliency would encompass an entire side of a vinyl LP. Maybe we should consider the past when listening to this release by his quartet, Noi Siamo. The disc, recorded live at Stockholm's Glenn Miller Cafe in 2015, opens with “Krigarens Väg," (Warrior's Way) a complete workout in itself. Pinton burns through his clarinet before moving onto his baritone ...
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