{"id":7716,"date":"2016-08-10T17:45:07","date_gmt":"2016-08-11T00:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=7716"},"modified":"2017-03-06T20:26:30","modified_gmt":"2017-03-07T04:26:30","slug":"ystad-joe-lovano-the-bohuslan-big-band-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2016\/08\/ystad-joe-lovano-the-bohuslan-big-band-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Ystad: Joe Lovano, The Bohusl\u00c3\u00a4n Big Band &#038; Others"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As the <em>Rifftides<\/em> staff flies home, digital magic allows us to continue reporting on highlights of the 2016 Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival.<\/p>\n<p>In the first of two Ystad appearances accompanying soloists, Sweden\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s formidable Bohusl\u00c3\u00a4n Big Band backed singer LaGaylia Frazier. The Bohusl\u00c3\u00a4ns opened the concert with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153St. Louis Blues\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in an arrangement that had touches<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-7721\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/J.-Rolandsson.jpg\" alt=\"J. Rolandsson\" width=\"134\" height=\"204\" \/> reminiscent of Thad Jones and incorporated a reference to Fletcher Henderson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153King Porter Stomp.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It had a peak moment in a Joakim Rolandsson alto saxophone solo that emulated Charlie Parker and Phil Woods without imitating or directly quoting them. Every time I hear him, Rolandsson (pictured) is increasingly impressive.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Frazier, an American who has lived in Sweden for 15 years, is a woman of a certain age who has the energy and demeanor of a hyperactive teenager. Singing all-out all of the time, she poured her dynamism into a variety of songs that ranged from the Beatles\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153With A Little Help From My Friends\u00e2\u20ac\u009d through Lerner and Loewe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s (sp) \u00e2\u20ac\u0153On The Street Where You Live,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Dizzy Gillespie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Night In Tunisia\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and Antonio Carlos Jobim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153One Note Samba.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-7722\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Lagaylia-2.jpg\" alt=\"Lagaylia 2\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/>Rapping between songs, she described herself as a soul singer, but in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Shadow Of Your Smile,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she included the verse and interpreted the lyric with sensitivity that had little to typecast her in any genre; it was simply good singing. Her hand jive and her dancing to Stefan Wingefors&#8217; piano interlude could have been distractions, but she integrated them into the performance. Her jumping around and yelling during Fats Waller&#8217;s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Honeysuckle Rose\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <em>were<\/em> distractions, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcway over the top. Following the Waller and a piece by Stevie Wonder, Ms. Frazier chose the Swedish song \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cecilia Lind\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as an encore, comfortably wrapping herself around its minor harmonies.<\/p>\n<p>Later in the week, the Bohusl\u00c3\u00a4n Big Band collaborated with tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, as he explored pieces from his quarter of a century recording for the Blue Note label. During the set, Lovano received frequent endorsement by the Bohusl\u00c3\u00a4n reed section as their heads shook and jaws dropped when he negotiated feats of virtuosity transcending the most advanced saxophone method books. The arrangement of his composition \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bird\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Eye View\u00e2\u20ac\u009d contained a saxophone soli passage that established the Bohusl\u00c3\u00a4n saxophonists\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 own collective virtuosity.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Lovano-by-Markus-F.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"215\" height=\"322\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Lovano-by-Markus-F.jpg 215w, https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Lovano-by-Markus-F-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 215px) 100vw, 215px\" \/><br \/>\nA few other high points of the concert:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Pianist Wingefors&#8217; switch to accordion for a romp with Lovano through \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Streets Of Naples.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>A gorgeous reading of Charles Mingus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ballad \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Duke Ellington\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Sound Of Love.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Lovano roaring through the demanding harmonic changes of fellow tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Inner Urge.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>A great (term used advisedly) solo on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Portrait Of Jenny.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Lovano indulging his Italian operatic passion in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Viva Caruso.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Ystad festival\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s printed program describes the German pianist Joachim K\u00c3\u00bchn as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a world class musician whose playing style defies catergorization.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He lived up to that evaluation in his solo concert at the Klosterkyrkan. The stone walls and high ceiling of the 13th century church give it acoustic properties that produce a sound delay of as much as six seconds. That may be <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-7720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Joachim-K\u00c3\u00bchn-.jpg\" alt=\"Joachim K\u00c3\u00bchn\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/>a challenge for the Klosterkyrkan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s choir. It is certainly one for the player of a nine-foot Steinway concert grand, but K\u00c3\u00bchn was unfazed. Indeed, he thrived in the resonant atmosphere. A piece that K\u00c3\u00bchn said originated with the rock band The Doors had a dissonant left-hand pattern that seemed to come from all parts of the room. A theme from Roman Polanski\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s <em>Rosemary\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Baby<\/em> swelled with the peculiar mystery and beauty of that film. K\u00c3\u00bchn did not identify some of the music he played\u00e2\u20ac\u201dor when he did, his heavily accented English obscured his words\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut Gil Evans\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Blues For Pablo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d needed only a perfunctory introduction. K\u00c3\u00bchn played the piece with a stormy, nearly Lisztian aspect that gave way to sunshine. For his encore, he chose Ellington\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sophisticated Lady.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He embraced the melody and answered it with runs redolent of complex layers of chromatic harmonies that K\u00c3\u00bchn may have learned in listening to Art Tatum.<\/p>\n<p>The Klosterkyrkan also hosted a pair of duet recitals involving pianists. The 83-year-old German tenor saxophonist Heinz Sauer teamed with Michael Wollny, a countryman less than half his age. The empathy they have developed in ten years of collaboration made their concert spellbinding.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7719\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woolly-Sauer.jpg\" alt=\"Woolly, Sauer\" width=\"491\" height=\"315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woolly-Sauer.jpg 491w, https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woolly-Sauer-300x192.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 491px) 100vw, 491px\" \/><br \/>\nNot tethered to standard form, harmonies or concepts of swing, the two played through a succession of pieces that riveted the audience\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attention. Playing or at rest, Sauer stood gazing above the heads of his listeners as if searching for something in the back of the church\u00e2\u20ac\u201dor beyond. Wollny was a study in motion. He bobbed and weaved on the bench, his right foot fluttering the piano\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sustain pedal, his left jabbing the soft pedal. He reached into the instrument with his left had to pluck or swipe across strings as his right ranged through the upper octaves. Sauer often seemed to be meditating, hands to his forehead. They did not announce the names of tunes. Audience reaction indicated that no announcement was needed for Thelonious Monk\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Evidence.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d They flawlessly played the melody of Monk\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s famous study in hesitancy and blew freely on the changes\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand often also without regard to them. They played abstractions on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everything Happens To Me,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d working in a phrase from Billie Holiday&#8217;s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Explain\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as the piece ended, and concluded with a hymn-like song appropriate to the surroundings. Listening to Sauer and Wollny is like overhearing an intimate conversation.<\/p>\n<p>Next time: Another Klosterkyrkan duo, and more, from Ystad 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Rifftides staff flies home, digital magic allows us to continue reporting on highlights of the 2016 Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival. In the first of two Ystad appearances accompanying soloists, Sweden\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s formidable Bohusl\u00c3\u00a4n Big Band backed singer LaGaylia Frazier. The Bohusl\u00c3\u00a4ns opened the concert with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153St. Louis Blues\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in an arrangement that had touches [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7716","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-main","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}