Bertil Strandberg  Kvintett – Cirrus, ARA 3001 , 33 1/3 rpm (SWE), 1973

Very rare Swedish jazz lp

This lp is a very sought after piece of vinyl , in the modal / spiritual jazz vein… and its GOOD!

Strandberg is playing beautiful and the band is great behind him. Some very creative solos by Ed Epstein that moved to Sweden around this period and settled later in the south of Sweden.

Recorded in Örnsköldsvik (Övik) in a very limited run – this vinyl is one of the rarest Swedish jazz lps and goes for lots of cash these days… and musically, its really worth looking for. Especially worth mentioning is the amazing piano playing by Göran (Utsawa) Stranberg – an amazing jazz piano player from the north!

 

 

Bertil Strandberg – trombone, percussion

Ed Epstein – tenor sax

Göran Strandberg – piano

Ove Gustafsson – bass, guitar

Bjarne Boman – drums

 

 

GUIDO MANUSARDI QUARTET – ROMANIAN IMPRESSIONS, Amigo AMLP 814, 33 1/3 rpm (SWE), 1974

 

Unique alternative mock up cover of classic Swedish jazz lp. Test pressing.

 

 

 

This is an amazing classic Swedish jazz lp from 1974 with Lennart Åberg in top form!

The unique thing with this particular copy is that it has a totally different and alternative cover. Which is pretty rockin! With hand lettered information and even an incorrectly spelled title of the album: “Roumanian Impressions”.

Always interesting to see how labels, musicians and artist are preparing and trying various cover ideas and such for a release and this one is a good example.

The music is a great example of the different influences that various ethnic music had on Swedish jazz during this period. Many musicians from the eastern part of Europe came to live in Sweden in the 60´s and 70´s, a.o. Okay Temiz and Maffy Falay. There was also a very strong connection to African music though the influence of Don Cherry (that was living in a country house in Tågarp, Skåne) early on with his Swedish family. Furthermore there was a strong South African input with musicians like Gilbert Matthews and Johnny Dyani living in Stockholm at the time… and many many more examples of amazing musicians visiting the land in the north and effecting its jazzhistory quite a bit!

Many Swedish jazz groups in the 60´s and 70´s were incorporating these influences in very creative ways, for instance Bernt Rosengren, Bengt Ernryd, Janne Wallgren and later Rena Rama (with Lennart Åberg and Bobo Stenson) and also Opposite Corner with Gunnar Lindgren as well as the freer improvising of the great collective Iskra.

The whole musician collective of “Ett Minne för livet” with its connections to the prog /psych part of the rock scene in Sweden were also heavily dealing with these influences.

 

We don’t have any info on why´s and how´s  regarding the rejection of this cover version – but we wanted to show this amazing album in a different visual context.

Lennart Åberg is taking the music to same very creative areas.. his soprano sax skills are ACE! We wanna hear more of Mr Åberg!

This is the cover as it later came out:

 

Guido Manusardi – piano

Lennart Åberg – tenor and soprano sax

Red Mitchell – bass

Peter Östlund – drums

 

DC rank this alternative mock up cover/ test pressing as:

 

 

17 internationales amateur jazz festival Zürich 1967, Ex Libris GC 400,  33 1/3 rpm (SUI), 1967

 

very  rare swiss anthology LP

This record consists of a variety of international amateur jazz tracks, some good some bad… but with ONE killer track….. with the legendary Lars Lystedt Unit… including the Swedish maestros Berndt Egerbladh on piano, Sten Öberg on drums and the ”Warewolf” from Saxnäs on alto sax : Lars Göran Ulander! Playing a Charles Lloyd composition in a super swingin and loose and warm take… amazing!!!

Lystedt is keeping the ship upside and moving and Ulander is taking off like a frenetic Lappish mosquito, finding his piercing lines of beauty, while Öberg is swinging madly.

The balance in this group is quite unique, free and open but always keeping it together.

This Umeå based group was way ahead musically early on… under the leadership of trombone player Lars Lystedt (that is still kickin butts in Umeå , way up north in Scandinavia) – drawing a lot of inspiration form the early groups of Charlie Mingus.

Egerbladh later made a career at the Televison and writing an amazing number of tunes and working in different context. Ulander is one of the best hidden secrets of European jazz and that goes for Öberg as well… in the Lystedt group everything came together.

Amazing super fluent and transparent solo by Ulander!!!!!

 

Lars Lystedt – trombone

Lars Göran Ulander – alto sax

Berndt Egerbladh – piano

Ray Carlsson – bass ?

Sten Öberg – drums

 

NB  — the rating is only for the lystedt track:

 

JAN GARBAREK _ TIL VIGDIS, NJFLP-1, 33rpm (NOR), 1967

very limited edition – a couple of 100 records ?

The holy grail of scandinavian free jazz! This record has it all: kickin music , rarity, great cover…

and… yes, music is as good as u can wish for… a young garbarek kickin and kickin and kickin… playing in a very Coltrane influenced style, but with a definate personal style already. For  me, you can hear the influences from both Trane, Rollins and Ayler – but most of all an unpolished Garbarek language. Jon Christensen is a hurricane! He SWINGS!

Two live recordings that are just AMAZING — very defined music, but still open and free.

a volcanic flow combined with strong melodic elements. it makes you smile, it makes you even wanna dance.. when Eddie Harris´s Freedom Jazz Dance kicks off… it is REALLY kickin off!

beautiful cover image and design! this holy grail is worth looking for… but it goes these days for big money… count on 1500 E and more… sometimes much more….

produced by the Norwegian Student Forum.

Karin Krog wrote the liner notes, ending the text with ” …he can play”

 

 

Jan Garbarek – tenor sax

Arild Andersen – bass

Per Löfberg – bass

Frank Phipps- trombone

Jon Christensen – drums