Neighbours

I am currently in a situation which is not unlike that of a professional juggler, if there are any professional jugglers left in the world. A couple of interesting opportunities have appeared, and I need to consider these while dealing with long-term goals and everyday occurrences such as deciding who will I will ask to put in a new heating system in our house.

It's good to have music in these situations. Sometimes for pleasure, sometimes for work, sometimes to turn your brain inside out with research, sometimes to escape and just enjoy the moment.

Last Friday, I took the car to Ystad and heard Magnus Lindgren's quartet with vocalist Rigmor Gustafsson and the orchestra of the Malmö Opera house. I must be completely honest to begin with. I am not a big fan of Lindgren's. He is a good sax player, he seems to have an open mind and people say positive things about him. But I don't get his greatness. But then again, I don't get Bruce Springsteen's or Bob Dylan's respective greatness either.

But having heard Magnus Lindgren perform his work Music for the Neighbours on TV a while back, I became moreinterestedd in his work. And this was the work that was performed in Ystad, so naturally I took the opportunity to experience it in a live environment. The environment in question was the old and very beautiful theatre in Ystad, situated immediately on the seafront with grand view of the sea, ships and the odd train passing by.

What about the music then? Not bad. There was some nice interplay between the jazz group and the orchestra, and I especially enjoyed the chromatic passages played jointly by Lindgren's quartet and the orchestra. Rigmor Gustafsson's wordless vocals were another highlight. She should do this more often I think. When I heard Gustafsson's own group some years ago, I remember liking the more abstract and wordless parts the best. In Ystad she proved that the good bits had become even better I am happy to say.

Magnus Lindgren played many solos, some were impressive, but most of them didn't move me. This doesn't mean in any way that they weren't any good, they just didn't affect me on this particular occasion. Unfortunately, I liked the playing of pianist Mathias Algotsson and double bassist Fredrik Jonsson less. At least on this occasion, they resorted to what in my ears sounded like dull and polite playing lacking fire, intensity and dynamics. This is one of many common problems that often show up when a jazz or rock group perform with a symphony orchestra. A wet blanket of politeness seems to hover over the jazz or rock players. Magnus Lindgren didn't suffer from this though, and I salute him for that. His enthusiasm on stage really did the performance some good, as did Rigmor Gustafsson during the second set, when several orchestrated standards made the evening take a turn towards more traditional musical areas.

It would have been more interesting if there had been more interplay between the jazz group and the orchestra. As it was, the parties met briefly, but there was no mingling and networking. And then there is the ever present question aboutwhetherr or not you should push players to play things they didn't know they could. In this case, I think it might have been a good idea every now and then, just to add some nerve to it. On the other hand, I could have done without the orchestras attempts to join Lindgren's sax lines. He swings, they don't. And who can blame them? They weren't made for that and to swing like a jazz musician, you have to have years and years of experience. Swinging takes plenty of practice.

What stood out the most was an absent musician: Magnus Persson. He took part in the performance of Music for the Neighbours in Stockholm, but was not present in Ystad. Too bad. He is a great percussionist who can play a truly funky groove and really invigorate a performance with some zest. All in all, a good performance, but certainly not a contender for concert of the year.


I was 14 when I first heard the Rolling Stones song "Neighbours". I liked the song instantly. It was loose but moving forward like a steam train that's picked up some speed. Jagger sings with quite an attitude and Richards or Wood (I am not sure who) plays a simple but great solo towards the end of the song. You can find it on Tattoo You. And the video is enjoyable too. It reminds me of why I decided to move house.

NP: Joanna MacGregor - Play