Stockholm Concert

One of Europe's many fine big bands is The Stockholm Jazz Orchestra which was formed over 30 years ago and has released 14 albums. In this concert they bring a big band dynamic to music either by or associated with John Coltrane in some really creative arrangements. On this stunning live recording, the band tackles the momentous legacy of saxophonist John Coltrane, performing some of the legendary artist's most beloved standards and originals.

Jean Sibelius - Tapoila / En Saga / Finlandia / The Oceanides / The Swan Of Tuonela
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra / Sir Andrew Davis
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 230 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Apex # 0927 40620 2 | Country/Year: UK 2001, 1997
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

…the highlight of this excellent disc is Davis' outstanding account of The Oceanides, more rapturously evocative and atmospheric than Järvi's and better recorded than Rattle's EMI version. A wonderful disc.

Per Henrik Wallin, Johnny Dyani & Erik Dahlback - Burning In Stockholm (1981) {Atavistic ‎UMS/ALP249CD rel 2004}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 270 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 118 Mb
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© 1981, 2004 Atavistic | ‎UMS/ALP249CD | Unheard Music Series
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Piano

These three men are well-known in free improvisation contexts. The two Swedes, pianist Per Henrik Wallin and drummer Erik Dahlback, form two thirds of a trio whose bassist surely couldn't have minded the amazing and now departed South African bassist filling his role on this 1981 date. The music might be called free improvisation, but there's nothing weirdly dark or uncontrolled—or tame or dull or incoherent.

Just discovered in 2021, the previously unreleased Ray Charles Live In Stockholm 1972, captures Charles at the height of his powers in one of his best live recordings ever. Recorded on a magical night in 1972, this set faithfully captures great moments and arrangements often heard in Ray’s live performances but rarely, if ever, on record. The evening begins with a rip-roaring rendition of Ray’s classic concert opener, “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” followed by an electrifying “What’d I Say”. Ray then delivers two more rarities, a gut-wrenching bluesy rendition of “I’ve Had My Fun” followed by “Games People Play,” a number that features each of Ray’s legendary 1972 Raelettes. The set continues with Ray’s unique live arrangements of “Don’t Change On Me” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You” before closing with the hard-swinging band feature “Marie” followed by an extended 8-minute version of “I’ve Got A Woman” that sees Ray riffing on his 1954 hit, building to a finale that brings the house down.

John Coltrane - Live In Stockholm 1961 (1987) {Affinity, CD Charly 117, Early Press}
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© 1961, 1987 Affinity / Charly Records | CD Charly 117
Jazz / Modal Music / Post Bop / Saxophone

My favorite Coltrane album, The entire band, which includes Eric Dolphy, gives truly inspired and searching prefomances. Coltranes solo on "My Favorite Things" sends me to another realm everytime I hear it, "Blue Train" roars and swings like crazy, some of Dolphy's most imaginative blues work. The sound in the concert hall is excellent. This is the only album I've ever felt obligated to review; for me, its one the greatest jazz recordings, though relatively unknown.

This second Eric Dolphy release from Impro-Jazz marks an essential addition to the incomparable reedman's discography, as it contains two of the rare occasions in which Dolphy was captured on film. Both of these clips feature Dolphy performing with the Charles Mingus Sextet. The first shows Dolphy in a rehearsal with the band, which explains the inclusion of two different takes of Mingus' "So Long Eric". For the rehearsal's third and final tune, the band begins playing Mingus' composition, "Meditations".

Typically, the Stan Getz Quartet (with Jim McNeely on piano, George Mraz on bass and Victor Lewis on drums) would open the concert with a long set that included such favorites of Stan’s as “O Grande Amor” and “We’ll Be Together Again”; Chet would do a couple of vocal numbers, usually “Just Friends” and “My Funny Valentine”; section; and then the two would jam on three or four songs like “Stella by Starlight” and “Airegin.”

Benny Goodman was the first celebrated bandleader of the Swing Era, dubbed "The King of Swing," his popular emergence marking the beginning of the era. He was an accomplished clarinetist whose distinctive playing gave an identity both to his big band and to the smaller units he led simultaneously. The most popular figure of the first few years of the Swing Era, he continued to perform until his death 50 years later. Goodman was the son of Russian immigrants David Goodman, a tailor, and Dora Rezinsky Goodman. He first began taking clarinet lessons at ten at a synagogue, after which he joined the band at Hull House, a settlement home.

On her debut album, the Icelandic pianist and singer Anna Gréta, who lives in Sweden, enchants with subtle songs, her nuanced voice and expressive piano playing between jazz, indie and folk. A remarkable new player in the "Nordic Sound".