“Ars Gratia artis” - Nils Lindberg & his orchestra
“Planet Earth” by Sun Ra.
Take 2 of “Waltz for Debby”, live at the Village Vanguard, by the Bill Evans trio.
Scott Lafaro is probably my favorite bassist. Bill Evans is one of my favorite pianists. Paul Motian is almost certainly my favorite drummer, with brushes. Them together is so beautiful. Probably my favorite part of this album is how none of the musicians follow any of the traditional “rules” set out for their instruments. Bill Evans’ left-handedness leads to an unusual balance of comping and soloing and a beautiful sense of harmonies, although they are naturally more subdued. Scott Lafaro, despite being a bassist, plays very high almost constantly, and never plays walking bass. That’s not to say he is restricted in his feel though; like Motian and Evans, he is an exceptionally empathetic musician. Motian, likewise, does not play any set rhythms, instead opting to responding subtly to the solos and melodies.
you guys have no idea how much i like the intro figure of the first piece on this recording
the arrangement’s interesting too. kind of sparse and random— the piano is the only real constant. the other instruments come in and out seamlessly.
“Visa från Järna”, by Jan Johansson. This track is the beginning to my now-favorite album by Johansson, 300.000.
This track was originally recorded, released, and known publicly from Johansson’s most popular album, Jazz på Svenska. The album is very well known in Sweden, and is sometimes cited as the top selling jazz record there. However, this version, recorded live sometime between 1967 and ‘68 in Stockholm, is very different. The original featured just Johansson and bassist Georg Riedel, and both musicians played very conservatively. Although on this recording, the musicians play similarly, the atmosphere and feel of this version is drastically more drifty and aimless. In fact, I’d even go as far as to say this track is almost creepy; the strange interplay between Johansson and Riedel and sometimes arrythmic playing by drummer Rupert Clemendore creates a delightful subversion of the original’s simple and plain harmonies.
Comparisons to the original aside, “Visa från Järna” is a fantastic way to start off an album. The melody is introduced without accompaniment or harmonic context, and the bass and drums come in slowly and carefully, after a full iteration of the theme. When Johansson starts comping for his solo, and eventually the melody itself, his chords are angular and sometimes irrelevant, providing an ominous counterpoint for a simple folk tune. The live setting (unlike, in my opinion, Live in Tallin) is advantageous to the band, as the acoustics of wherever these musicians are playing benefits the atmosphere of the piece. I highly, highly suggest anyone who is interested in 50s or 60s jazz to pick up this record.
“Staden Mellan Broarna”, by Jan Johansson, off of 300.000. I suggest listening to the track before reading my description/interpretation of it, as it spoils the track, so to speak.
This track marks an important departure for Johansson. Whereas the “out” improvisations done on In Pleno were strictly and purely atonal, this track combines the abrasive with the calm for an atmosphere that is unlike much free jazz from this, or any, era. But, probably most importantly, it features musique concréte, played simultaneously with a rough outline for chords written by Johansson. For me, this marked a moment in Johansson’s career where he took a real step back and looked at the overall atmosphere of his music, rather than that of his own playing and writing. The seemingly abstract samples here blend and meld with one another electronically, but before too long one realizes that the sounds are recordings of mundane life in the city. Near this moment, the listener begins to hear Johansson’s drifty, yet articulate piano playing being matched by (what I think is) Riedel’s bass playing and Egil Johansen’s drumming. Fantastically, the sounds from the concréte carry through and offer further atmosphere to the already beautiful mood during this bit. The piece finishes simply but organically.
This challenges “Sommar Adjö” for my favorite piece by Johansson. Although it is 11 minutes and the first 6 are almost entirely atonal, I highly suggest it to anyone interested in Johansson or jazz in general. For those who are interested, “Staden Mellan Broarna” translates literally (at least, literally to google translate) to “The City Between Two Bridges,” but refers to a particular old town in Stockholm.
