{"id":5959,"date":"2014-08-22T16:51:15","date_gmt":"2014-08-22T23:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=5959"},"modified":"2017-05-08T21:57:52","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T04:57:52","slug":"ystad-jazz-the-wrapup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2014\/08\/ystad-jazz-the-wrapup\/","title":{"rendered":"Ystad Jazz: The Wrapup"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"YjazzMuS\"<\/a>It has been two weeks since I returned from Europe, but the Ystad Jazz Festival is still on my mind. It was impossible to hear all of the young Swedish musicians who played at the festival and there was not enough space in my Wall Street Journal<\/em> report<\/a> to cover all those I did hear. Here are thoughts about some whose names you may want to remember; their talent and potential staying power could make them known well beyond Scandinavia.<\/p>\n

\"We<\/a>Norwegian electric bassist Anne Marte Eggen led the quartet she calls We Float in pieces that often paired singer Linda Bergtr\u00c3\u00b6m\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s voice and Fanny Gunnarsson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s piano in crisp unison lines. Ms. Eggen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and drummer Flip Bensefelt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s propulsive swing compensated for English lyrics that might have reduced some \"Fanny<\/a>of the songs to New Age clich\u00c3\u00a9s. The harmonic resourcefulness of Ms. Gunnarsson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s solos was impressive with the Eggen Group, as it was later in the week with her own quartet featuring the imaginative young\"Karolina<\/a> soprano saxophonist Karolina Almgren (pictured right), bassist Kristian Rimshult and drummer Hannes Olbers. In this group, the vocalise was by Ms. Gunnarsson in parallel with her piano, a practice heard in several young groups at the festival. The English lyrics to her original songs had a philosophical bent enhanced by melodies that incorporated something of the mournful minor-key sadness of Swedish folk music.
\n(Photos by F\u00c3\u00a4gersten)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ingelstam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the intimate confines of Scala, Sweden\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s oldest cinema\u00e2\u20ac\u201destablished in 1910\u00e2\u20ac\u201dtrumpeter and vocalist Bj\u00c3\u00b6rn Ingelstam opened his concert blazing through a Kenny Dorham composition. It startled the man sitting behind me, who tapped me on the shoulder and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Did he say \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcLotus Blossom? That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sound like Strayhorn.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d No, it sounded like a loud, fast version of Dorham\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tune of the same name, played by a young man who had paid attention to Dorham, Clifford Brown and Tom Harrell. Singing \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Almost Like Being In Love\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in English, Ingelstam handled the lyric with understanding until he injected a gratuitous \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh, Baby,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d an attempt at hipness that took the edge off his interpretation. He recouped with a lovely flow of ideas in his muted trumpet solo. Following his final vocal chorus he scat-sang an effective tag ending. Ingelstam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rangy trumpet solo on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Old Folks\u00e2\u20ac\u009d included growls and slurs, touches that demonstrated his familiarity with trumpet styles that preceded bebop. Felx Tani\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lyrical piano solo was the highlight of the piece. The other members of Ingelstam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quartet were Danes, bassist Matthias Petri and drummer Andreas Svendsen. In \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll Close My Eyes,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Svendsen, a listening drummer, had a series of conversational eight-bar exchanges with Ingelstam.<\/p>\n

\"I.<\/a><\/p>\n

Isabella Lundgren and the Carl Bagge Trio performed in Ystad\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Per Helsas g\u00c3\u00a5rd. They opened with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ac-Cent-Tchu-ate the Positive,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ms. Lundgren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s firm voice penetrating to the farthest corners of the vast 15th century courtyard. Johnny Mercer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s famous lyric was only the first philosophical treatise in her repertoire. A student of theology, Ms. Lundgren and Bagge composed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eudiamonia,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d inspired by Aristotle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s term for the highest human good. She also sang Bob Dylan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s paean to incompatibility \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It Ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Me Babe,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the blues \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Unlucky Woman\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and her composition \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There is a Time for Everything,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with the text from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. In her spoken introduction to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Glory of Love,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she quoted Kierkegaard, possibly a first in the history of jazz concerts.<\/p>\n

Philosophy aside, her singing is in tune, with firm rhythmic values and intonation. When she leapt to a high note several lines above the staff to end \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It Ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Me Babe,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she nailed it with perfect accuracy.\"I<\/a> Bagge, bassist Niklas Fernqvist and drummer Daniel Fredriksson accompanied Ms. Lundgren as active partners and soloed as well as she did. Bagge made an impression with his interesting improvisation on the unusual harmonic changes of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eudiamonia.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d One of the striking aspects of the set was the extreme interest the four musicians took in one another\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work. Ms. Lundgren frequently came to rest at the front of the stage listening to Bagge as if she were memorizing what he was playing.<\/p>\n

We have no video of the Ystad performance. Here is Ms. Lundgren in a montage from a recent concert with the Nordic Chamber Orchestra, the Bagge trio and trumpeter Peter Asplund.<\/p>\n