Gothenburg (Sweden)

Jan 27 2020

Best of 2019 #34: Beloveds – “Så Tar Natten Dig Åter”

 

There’s a whimsical, theatrical quality to the debut of Beloveds, and it’s as much the guiding hand of the music as it is a reaction to the cross-country folk music travels of the septet’s range.  But what brings it all together for this Gothenburg ensemble is their adherence to Progg, the Swedish left wing, anti-commercial music movement of the previous century.  The sense of this being protest music is unmissable, and even when they express a sardonic attitude or silly sense of humor, the weight of their perspective hangs over it all and keeps things centered.  Wild melodic excursions, quick scene changes in tone, and harmonies that spring up like the mighty beating of wings as birds rise in flight make this one of the more eccentric, and fun, recordings of 2019.

Your album personnel:  Channa Riedel (vocals), Anton Jonsson (drums), Björn Petersson (bass), Joel Haag (guitar), Gustav Davidsson (trombone), Pelle Westlin (tenor sax, clarinet) and Karl Magnús Andersson (piano).

Released on Abrovinsch Records.

Music from Gothenburg, Sweden.

Listen | Read more | Available at:  Bandcamp – Amazon

By • Recap: Best of 2019 • 0 • Tags: , , , , ,

Jan 13 2019

Best of 2018 #23: Christopher Ali Solidarity Quartet – “To Those Who Walked Before Us”

 

When I included this album as part of the Best of Bandcamp Jazz 2018 column, I stated that “sometimes, protest needs an anthem to focus its anger and fear and resolve.”  It’s a quality that runs all the way through this exciting release from the Christopher Ali Solidarity Quartet recording.  The heavy punch delivered by this music isn’t a bit blunted by way of the catchiness infused within its melodies.  This in combination with its spellbinding mix of avant-garde, Swedish and Arabic folk musics and modern jazz makes for an arresting listening experience, and the kind of thing that makes it just as compelling in the context of protest music as it is in the absence of.

This album is Self-Produced.

Music from Gothenburg, Sweden.

Read more on Bird is the Worm.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

By • Recap: Best of 2018 • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Jun 20 2018

Want some protest music to focus your rage? The Christopher Ali Solidarity Quartet has got what you need

 

Everything about this album screams protest music.  To Those Who Walked Before Us has got an attitude of stand up for what’s right, stand up and fight.  There’s plenty of different directions a musician can take when giving form to that expression.  Certainly an approach of hard-charging, fist-pounding tempos can be the catalyst for an invocation of principles.  There’s also an open to go subtle and work with a melancholy, almost mournful tone, where the thoughts of what’s lost are the gentle whispers that cause the people to rise up.  The Christopher Ali Solidarity Quartet runs with a method of motion, of pairing a dancing groove with anthemic melodies.  It’s where a bit of catchiness offers up the handholds to spur a protest into action, and to carry it forward like a chant, a meditative state of furious activity.

The quartet of saxophonist Christopher Ali Thorén, oudist Filip Bagewitz, double bassist Alfred Lorinius and drummer Anton Davidsson Norén bring together avant-garde, Swedish and Arabic folk musics and modern jazz for a spellbinding force of language.  There’s a unity to it all, even when one influence takes hold over all others and makes its presence felt.

There are moments of ferocity when the concept of structure barely registers.  And then there are moments of effortless groove, and the flow of the music is like a lighted path of the way ahead.  The best moments incorporate both of those extremes, and the fight and the flow become as one… a place where the act of aggression acquires a certain poetry through motion.  This is best embodied by the staggered shuffle of “Al-Maghrib” and how it possesses a motion resembling that of dance, inciting it from others, but still with that fighting spirit that makes it so much more than a means to an end.

This is a pretty thrilling album.

Your album personnel:  Christopher Ali Thorén (tenor & soprano saxophones), Filip Bagewitz (oud, fretless electric guitar), Alfred Lorinius (double bass) and Anton Davidsson Norén (drums).

This album is Self-Produced.

Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Music from Gothenburg, Sweden.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2018 • 1 • Tags: , , ,