Kullhammar's top Swedish jazz picks

Swedish sax player Jonas Kullhammar lists his picks of essential jazz albums with a connection to Sweden: http://svenskmusik.org/article/jonas-kullhammars-essential-jazz-albums/

Mosorobie back in swing this spring

Swedish jazz label Mosorobie hasn't put out anything new since May of 2009, but they're coming back in full effect this spring with a tremendous lineup of new albums:

Mats Öberg Trio - So very Mats (out now)
Nicolai Dunger & Jonas Kullhammar - Vallmo OST (180g vinyl only, 300 copies)
Kullrusk - Digital (180g vinyl only, 525 copies)
Nacka Forum - Leve Nacka Forum (also vinyl only, I think)
Jonas Kullhammr Quartet - Från och med herr Jonas Kullhammar
Espen Aalberg Trio feat. Jonas Kullhammar & Torbjörn Zetterberg - tba
Zanussi Five - Ghost dance
The Core - tba
Magnus Broo - tba
Gilbert Holmströms Kvintett - Utan misstankar (Remastered reissue, first time on CD w/20min bonus track feat. Åke Johansson)

Please note that aside from the vinyl releases which I saw listed in Hot Stuff's newsletter, the information provided from the label is vague and possibly subject to change.

Free Jazz reviews Pinton, Kullhammar, Zetterberg, Nordeson

Free Jazz favorably reviews the Alberto Pinton, Jonas Kullhammar, Torbjörn Zetterberg and Kjell Nordeson live collaboration "Chant": http://freejazz-stef.blogspot.com/2009/10/pinton-kullhammar-zetterberg-nordeson.html

MNW turns 40

In addition to the 40th anniversary concert mentioned earlier, MNW is also releasing a book and 4CD collection for their birthday called "Ljud från Waxholm" featuring interviews, rare pictures, 250 album covers and 68 tracks from the label's history. As they say themselves, "från Björn Afzelius till Ebba Forsberg." The release date is October 14. And that's not all- they will also apparently be doing a few special anniversary reissues from their 70s back-catalogue and have also put together a tribute comp entitled "Retur Waxholm" featuring current artists covering classic MNW songs. That one comes out October 7 and here's the tracklist:

01. Kajsa Grytt - Gunga bergets topp (Babylon Blues)
02. Kjell Höglund - Men bara om min älskade väntar (Nationalteatern/Bob Dylan)
03. Annika Norlin (Hello Saferide/Säkert!) - Jag vill inte suddas ut (Sånger om kvinnor)
04. Johan Johansson - Vårdsjuk blågul fanblues (Smutsiga Hundarna)
05. Stefan Sundström & Fjodor - Tvivelaktig kurtis (Gunder Hägg)
06. Pernilla Andersson - Huvudet högt (Eldkvarn)
07. Plura - I hajars djupa vatten (Blå Tåget)
08. Sanna Carlstedt - Vem kan man lita på? (Hoola Bandola Band)
09. Jonas Kullhammar - Badidoom (Archimedes Badkar)
10. Asha Ali - Kärlek (Röda Bönor)
11. De Lyckliga Kompisarna - Törnrosa (Marie Selander)
12. Toni Holgersson - Kort vals till min älskade (Peter LeMarc)
13. Love Antell - Samma vindar samma dofter (Contact)

New Nicolai Dunger album 'Play' coming in October

Swedish singer/songwriter Nicolai Dunger will be releasing his new album "Play", his first proper "pop" album since 2004's "Here's my song...", on October 14 via Flesh Boat Recordings/Bonnier Amigo. It was recorded with Mats Schuberts from Bo Kaspers Orkester and co-produced by Staffan Andersson (Lars Winnerbäck, Olle Ljungström). Mats also plays in the backing band along with drummer Federico de Costa (Qoph), renown reeds player Jonas Kullhammar and the illustrious Per Wikström on congas, who you might recognize from this video.

WaPo Express interviews Jonas Kullhammar

The Washington Post Express talks to Swedish jazz heavy Jonas Kullhammar in anticipation of his performances at Nordic Music Week: http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2009/06/jonas_kullhammar.php

Nordic Jazz Week comes to Washington DC in June

The Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish embassies are teaming up for Nordic Jazz Week in mid-June in Washington DC. Here's the schedule:

06/14 - Embassy of Finland w/Karikko (FIN), Bjørn Solli Quartet (NOR)
06/16 - House of Sweden Rooftop w/Jonas Kullhammar Quartet (SWE), Karikko (FIN), Søren Kjærgaard Trio (DK)
06/17 - House of Sweden Rooftop w/The Sunna Gunnlaugs Quartet (ICE), Nils Petter Molvær & Arve Henriksen (NOR), Jonas Kullhammar Quartet (SWE)

Jonas Kullhammar will also perform at the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center on June 19.

Mattias Hellberg & The White Moose + Jonas Kullhammar live

Mattias Hellberg & The White Moose will be doing a special live collaboration with renown sax player Jonas Kullhammar at the Göteborg Filmfestival on January 24.

The August issue of All About Jazz NYC features a label spotlight on Jonas Kullhammar's Moserobie Records: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/newyork/

MP3: Britta Persson - Hajar'u de då Jack?

I don't know much about Cornelis Vreeswijk beyond what can be gleaned from his bio at wikipedia, but I am definitely aware of his reputation and eminent stature which is why I was immediately interested in the new all-star recreation of "Poem, ballader och lite blues" curated by Göran Petersson and Nina Ramsby. Wordy music such as this doesn't always maintain its appeal for listeners who won't immediately understand the lyrics, but I find that the melodies are strong enough to carry it. The strong lineup helps too- Martin Hederos and Fredrik Sandsten from The Soundtrack of Our Lives play on almost every track along with respected jazz musicians such as Jonas Kullhammar and Johan Berthling. And that's just scratching the surface. As for the track I've decided to feature today, what's not to like about Britta Persson? I love the waltz-like lilt of the tune and Britta's delivery is fantastic, especially with the way she practically spits out some of the more aggressive lines. Great stuff.

Britta Persson - Hajar'u de då Jack?

MP3: Knugen Faller - Lungen favoriter

This is kind of a catch-up post since I've been meaning to post about Knugen Faller for awhile, yet somehow manage to postpone it over and over. No more! Anyhow, Nancy's review sums it up pretty well, though I actually like it a lot more than she does. Truth: yes, this is a retro genre piece and as such, it steals shamelessly from acts of yore. However, I'm okay with that 'cuz they do it well. It's all about good songs played with copious energy, not originality and hey, they even get acclaimed jazz musician Jonas Kullhammar to lay down some sax so that's gotta mean something. If you like Randy, Regulations, or even The Hives, there's a damn good chance you'll like this too. 'Nuff said!

Buy it: [click here]

Knugen Faller - Lungen favoriter

"Upp till kamp" is a new 4-part Swedish TV drama about four young people living in Göteborg during the period of 1966-76. Why should you care? Well, the soundtrack was composed by Mattias Bärjed of The Soundtrack of Our Lives and features contributions from other illustrious artists such as Jonas Kullhammar, Ralf Gyllenhammar, Amir Chamdin and more. And said music is being released on 2CD set by Razzia Records on September 19. Check out a video of the first single "Coming down cold" featuring Mattias and fellow TSOOL member Ebbot Lundberg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuk-4N-H9PY

A West Side Fabrication has announced that Mattias Alkberg BD, the solo project of Mattias Alkberg obviously, will release their new album "Ditt hjärta är en stjärna" on October 4. The first single "Reevolution" will be available as a paid download as early as September 11. The record was produced by fellow Bear Quartet member Jari Haapalainen and features guest appearances by Carla Jonsson of Eldkvarn and famed Swedish jazz sax player Jonas Kullhammar.

MP3: Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - Bebopalulia

I made a pledge to post more jazz, so that's what I'm gonna do. Jonas Kullhammar is a well-known and respected saxophonist and the song I've posted today is from his 2003 Swedish Grammy Award-winning album "Plays loud for the people". As this review will attest, Kullhammar manages to cover a lot of ground over the course of the record or even as in this case, over the course of a song. It segues back and forth between the carnival-esque sound of the main theme to bebop skronk and back again, as if the two styles were made for one another. I can't quite call it effortless, but it's certainly not as jarring as one would expect. It feels good, so I like it.

Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - Bebopalulia

This is a week chock full of exclusives! Besides giving you the very first taste of the new The End Will Be Kicks album and offering it up for sale on mp3 waaaaay before it's available anywhere else, I've got yet another treat for you today! When I first heard that Björn Yttling had a jazz album in the works, I was naturally quite curious. Many people now recognize him as a member of the excellent Peter Bjorn and John, but I first became aquainted with his music through his extensive work as a producer. Many fine records in my collection are adorned with his name on the credits. So not only do I have a brand new track from his upcoming album today, but I was also afforded the opportunity to ask Björn a few questions about his work.

AR: Why a jazz album? What was the inspiration for the project?

BY: I've always listened to jazz (stuff like Mingus, Ornette Coleman, Charlie Haden, Ellington and of course Coltrane and Charlie Parker) and ten years ago I also played it. But the jazz scene can be very very boring with people just playing standards in predictable ways, so I kind of slipped away from it. I was still writing jazz songs though, and spurred by saxophone player Jonas Kullhammar I started thinking of making a jazz record.

AR: Is there a lot of difference in the way you work when you are composing jazz charts as opposed to when you are doing arrangements for pop music?

BY: No not really. The biggest different is that (my) jazz music is instrumental and pop music often isn't. Of course with jazz tunes you can leave the forms more open for improvising. I recorded this record in a day, and pop albums always take at least two.

AR: What other current producers do you admire right now?

BY:I really don't keep track on foreign producers that much, but there are many Swedes that I really like. Björn Olsson, Pelle Gunnerfeldt and Jari Haapalainen of course, but don't forget Jocke Åhlund from Caesars and Calle Olsson from Bear Quartet.

AR: So what's next for you then?

BY: I'm doing/planning a few records right now. Montys Loco, Elias & The Wizzkids, The Charm, Pueblo and we're almost done with the new Peter Bjorn And John album. What I really looking forward to do now is a record with Joakim Åhlund, and we're gonna start next week.

Björn's new jazz album with Yttling Jazz is called "Oh Lord, why can't I keep my big mouth shut". It comes out November 21 via Headspin Recordings.