More of that Jazz

After my positive experience with Steve Vai and his merry band of musicians, I had the pleasure of encouting Bobo Stenson's trio featuring the excellent Stenson on piano, double bassist extraordinarie Anders Jormin and new hot shot Jon Fält on drums.

Being on the board of Jazz in Malmö, many tasks can come your way. I was asked if I could go to the airport to pick this dynamic trio. I obliged, of course. As it turned out, the guys were ever so nice. Even better, they are truly amazing musicians! The interplay between Stenson and Jormin in particular is dynamic, creative and always interesting to the listener. Fält is the new man in this team, but as he really is a coming man within the Swedish jazz scene, he fits in nicely with his Monk-ish/Motian-ish mad drumming. And I mean mad in the nicest and best way possible.

The material performed proved that jazz can - and is - lots of things nowadays. Starting with a polska from Abbekås, then onto works by Monteverdi and Ives and onto original compositions by Stenson and Jormin, everything came together as great music. Not necessarily jazz, not art music as such, not simply improvised music. Just beautiful, intense, exciting music.

Any recording by Bobo Stenson trio comes highly recommended. Why not try the latest, featuring the splendid drumming of Paul Motian, Goodbye.


I spent the evening looking through some old concert and documentary footage of IB. Unfortunately, the only existing footage from the Cheval tour is patchy and filmed with a single handheld video camera. The live material is cut up and fragmentary. Still, having missed the tour myself, I was happy to at least get a glimpse of what the stage set looked like and what IB & Hallandsensemblen sounded like live.

I am currently watching IB performing live at the old fire station in Halmstad. This is a concert from 1993, and the band are really hot (pun intended). This was a line-up that existed for no more than a year and a half. Pity. Bo N. Roth is playing really well, managing to merge technical brilliance with matured restraint. His tunes aren't half bad either. Klas Assarsson was the new guy at this point and he certainly had his work cut out, taking care of the cello and the piano parts on The Voyage.

It's also great to hear songs such as "Nimis", "Factory Man" and "Initiation" by this line-up. And when can we hear Mats play a Picassiette live again? Please?

As I watch this concert - unfortunately filmed with only one camera - I realize that this was the last version of IB that worked with theatrics on stage. Personally, I miss this aspect. I think it really added to the music.


"More of that Jazz" is the last track on Queen's fine album Jazz. A great track that sums literally sums up the whole album. Not jazzy at all, but based on a heavy groove and some mean singing by Freddie Mercury.

NP: Isildurs Bane - Live at Brandstationen, Halmstad