{"id":8564,"date":"2017-08-13T00:48:13","date_gmt":"2017-08-13T07:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=8564"},"modified":"2017-08-13T17:30:36","modified_gmt":"2017-08-14T00:30:36","slug":"and-finally-from-ystad-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2017\/08\/and-finally-from-ystad-2\/","title":{"rendered":"And Finally, From Ystad"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival ran six days and was packed with so much music that there was no chance of hearing it all. Here are brief impressions of a few more performances.<\/p>\n

Gilbert Holmstr\u00c3\u00b6m New Sextet<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the Per Helsas Gard courtyard, the 80-year-old tenor saxophonist led five younger musicians \"\"in pieces that drew in equal measure on late bebop and on free jazz of the Ornette Coleman school. Holmstr\u00c3\u00b6m blended with trumpeter Magnus Broo, at times incisively, at others floating and abstract. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Wizard,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d dedicated to the late arranger\/composer Gil Evans, had a nifty line played at first in unison, then harmonized by Holmstr\u00c3\u00b6m and Broo. Holmstr\u00c3\u00b6m\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153West African Dance\u00e2\u20ac\u009d rode on Kresten Osgood\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sui generis<\/em> drum pattern supporting a Broo solo that nailed the essence of West African music. Jonas Kulhammar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s baritone saxophone solo departed from that equatorial feeling to explode in a wild, free conclusion. Mathias Landau was the pianist, Mattias Svensson the bassist. Kept busy at this festival, they are in the top rank of Swedish jazz artists and played with their usual excellence.<\/p>\n

Nicole Joh\u00c3\u00a4nntgen, Sofia II<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following her acclaimed performance at Ystad in 2015, Ms. Joh\u00c3\u00a4nntgen returned with another band of international female jazz artists. The music included three pieces that she said were inspired by a recent visit to Iceland but were titled \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ystad 1,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ystad 2\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ystad 3.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d All were redolent of contemporary jazz practices, with space for harmonic interpretation by the players\"\" and considerable interaction among them. The band included instruments rarely used in jazz\u00e2\u20ac\u201dtabla, harp and accordion. The blues inflections and bent notes in Joh\u00c3\u00a4nntgen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s soprano and alto sax solos created atmospheres of their own. Belgian accordionist Anne Niepold\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face showed strain in the act of creation that was not reflected in her clever, relaxed solos. Exotic in a turban and flowing gown, Swiss harpist Julie Campiche employed a good deal of amplified twang and fuzz in her solos. With the percussive flow of her drumming, the Nepalese tabla player Shresta Sanskriti filled nearly every moment with her energy. Carlotta Andersson gave her composition \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Malm\u00c3\u00b6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d dramatic drone guitar effects. Bassist Lisa Wulff of Germany dedicated her composition \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Lund\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to her bass teacher, who she said was in the audience. The drummer was Great Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Sophie Alloway. Remarkably, the musicians Joh\u00c3\u00a4nntgen assembled in Ystad got together for the first time the day before the performance. It is noteworthy that with so little rehearsal time, they achieved considerable cohesion.<\/p>\n

Jan Lundgren Potsdamer Quartet<\/strong><\/p>\n

Festival artistic director Jan Lundgren took his Potsdamer Quartet into the Ystad Theater for a concert of music from their recent Potsdamer Platz<\/em> <\/a>album. The title tune and all but one of the \"\"ten others were by Lundgren. They included the quartet version of his emotional \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Poet,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which he had played the night before as a duet with trombonist Nils Landgren. Finnish alto saxophonist Jukka Perko\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s affinity for Paul Desmond was apparent throughout, nowhere more than in his long lines and the tonal purity of his high notes in the ballad \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Never Too Late.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Further along in the program, Perko had moments of vigor more in common with other contemporary alto players like Miguel Zen\u00c3\u00b3n and Steve Coleman. Danish drummer Morten Lund frequently used brushes to interact with Dan Berglund\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s forceful bass lines, the rhythm partners buoying Lundgren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s forward motion, which was already propulsive. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Twelve Tone Rag\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was a vehicle for Lundgren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Perko\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s virtuosity at a speedy tempo. For all of its delicacy, this quartet made powerful music. Creativity generates power.<\/p>\n

Eddi Reader, Scottish National Jazz Orchestra Directed by Tommy Smith<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ms. Reader is a singer of compelling stage presence who dances, glides and strikes poses to\"\"”\u00a0supplement her performance. If that description makes her seem off-putting, she is not. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s enough wry spoofing in what she does to make her charming and enough musicianship to justify her work with a first-class band. The photos of her with the orchestra indicate the nature of her personality. Ms. Reader\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s program included a number of songs based in the poetry of Robert \"\"Burns, including \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Fond Kiss. \u00e2\u20ac\u009dIn her Ystad concert, she had the estimable support of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra led by tenor saxophonist Tommy Smith. He is one of several soloists in the band who played impressively in the ensemble and in solo. Among the others were pianist Steve Hamilton and alto saxophonist Martin Kershaw. Smith is the saxophonist on your left in the larger picture. He had a superb solo on, among other pieces, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Glen of Tranquility.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Jerry Bergonzi And Tim Hagans<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tenor Saxophonist Bergonzi and trumpeter Hagans are established veterans of modern jazz who thrive in the post-bebop tradition. The Ystad Theater concert by their quintet affirmed their high standing in the music. With a rhythm section of Danes Carl Winther and Anders Mogensen on piano and drums, respectively, and the Finnish-Swedish bassist Johnny \u00c3\u2026man, their concert\"\" opened with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A.M. Time,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a tune named for Mogensen. His drumming established a demanding pace and a spirit that carried through the afternoon. In Hagans\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Things Happen In A Convertible\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (he tends toward titles with obscure meanings), \u00c3\u2026man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bass solo elicited from Bergonzi that ultimate jazz expression of approval, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yeah.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Long solos followed, by the horns and Winther. Hagans introduced \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dream Child,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a song by the pianist\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s late father Jens Winther, revered in Scandinavian jazz circles for his trumpet playing, arranging and bandleading. Bergonzi brought great intensity to his solo. In his choruses, Hagans worked in a couple of quotes from the Freddie Hubbard phrase book. In \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Laura,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bergonzi found the essence of that perfect David Raksin ballad from 1945. Hagans\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 improvisation included reminders of the tune\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s melody, a service too few soloists perform for their listeners. Finally, the quintet played Hagans\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s What Happens When You Leave The Door Open,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with solos by all hands at a tempo so fast that it may have left the audience breathless \u00e2\u20ac\u201dbefore they broke into an ovation.<\/p>\n

(Photos by Markus F\u00c3\u00a4gersten, except Johanntgen by Harri Paavolainen)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival ran six days and was packed with so much music that there was no chance of hearing it all. Here are brief impressions of a few more performances. Gilbert Holmstr\u00c3\u00b6m New Sextet In the Per Helsas Gard courtyard, the 80-year-old tenor saxophonist led five younger musicians in pieces that drew […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8568,"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-8564","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\/8564","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=8564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}