Photo: Michael Thorén |
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Kjell Jansson Quartet has to date recorded six CDs with original music. This one, Ad Lib on Nippon (ER 19), however is a tribute to Duke Ellington and is devoted solely to his music.
The group has focused on some of his later music, seldom played nowadays, including a long composition, "Ad Lib On Nippon", which is here played as a suite and also serves as the name of the album. |
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The group has also included some of Ellington’s finest and most well known classics. The fact that it is a quartet interpreting the music makes it exciting and different from the original. This CD was recorded "live" at the jazz club "Nefertiti" in Gothenburg on the 14th November 2008.
The music of Duke Ellington, as that of Mozart, Debussy, Stravinsky and many other great classical composers, is enduring and will always be performed. During his life, over the whole time that jazz music was developing, Ellington was a central figure, making major contributions both as a composer and pianist.
The music of Duke Ellington will never grow old, in fact one is struck by how modern and up-to-date it always sounds.
Photo: Emelie Lager |
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2007, Kjell Jansson Quartet celebrated its tenth anniversary. Kjell highlighted that by releasing his sixth CD, (ER 14), on which he widens and seasons the jazz idiom by incorporating classical musicians (including players from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra) and Annika Skoglund's voice.
Still, it is the quartet, which is at the heart of this production. The musical blend becomes "Crossover" – complex compositions coupled with improvisations and other surprising musical excursions.
Kjell Jansson has for two decades provided, above all, jazz groups in and around Gothenburg with his swinging, driving, steady and, not least, imaginative bass playing. He has been the rhythmic and harmonic foundation for such groups as Mount Everest, Opposite Corner and Åke Johansson Trio. In other words he belongs to the foremost exponents on his instrument in Sweden, both as a rhythm section player and soloist. By no means leas this solos played with the bow have been appreciated by international artists visiting Sweden when accompanied by Åke Johansson’s Trio, for example Chet Baker, James Moody and Toots Thielemans.” (Jan Bruer, Stockholm – 1998)
"Gilbert Holmström's tenor saxophone playing is characterised bynot only a respect for tradition but by its youthful sense of mischief and charm. ” (Lennart Blomberg, Göteborgs-Posten)
Gilbert began his musical career as an alto saxophonist at the end of the ’50s. He appeared at the first Montreux Festival in 1967 with his own sextet. Since then he has taken part in many groups and, in particular, led his own bands, for example: Gilbert Holmström Quintet, Mount Everest and Isobop which among its activities toured with Lee Konitz. Kjell Jansson began playing with Mount Everest in 1971 and in 1975 recorded the album ”Waves From Albert Ayler”, on the well known progressive music label Atavistic Records in the U.S.
Tommy Kotter
”Tommy Kotter, a pianistic delight to hear his embroidery at the keyboard.” (Lennart Wikström, Strömstads Tidning)
”Tommy Kotter is the enfant terrible of Swedish jazz, doing more or less whatever he feels on the keys.” (Stig Jonasson, Smålands-Posten)
For the last few years Tommy Kotter has become one of the most in-demand pianists in Gothenburg.
In 2002 a solo-piano CD was issued with Tommy playing his own compositions and improvisations. He also plays with Roland Keijser Quartet, Peter Jansson Trio, and Bohuslän Big Band where he has accompanied such artists as Georgie Fame, Maria Schneider, Jojje Wadenius, Svante Thuresson and others.
Göran Kroon is a trained classical percussionist. For the last fifteen years however, he has played drums and percussion , principally within jazz and improvisation music. He has been member in groups like Änglaspel and Bohuslän Big Band, in the second mentioned he is still permanently employed. He has played with foreign artists as Ray Andersson, Lew Sollof, Bob Mintzer, Kevin Wheeler, Severi Pyysalo and Maria Schneider. Examples of Swedish artists he has played with is Lars Jansson, Anders Jormin, Harald Svensson and Johannes Lundberg. He also works as a teacher at the Academy of music in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Annika Skoglund
Annika Skoglund came to Gothenburg from Stockholm in the early eighties to study opera at the Academy of music there. She also devoted herself to singing jazz and began performing and recording with the group "Opposite Corner" in which Kjell Jansson was the bass player. After her studies in Gothenburg, followed by London, Annika went on to gain much international acclaim, singing with symphony orchestras in London, Venice, New York, Prague, Liverpool, Budapest and many other cities. In 2004 Kjell Jansson Quartet with Annika Skoglund recorded the album "Endless".
Rune Carlsson
Rune has made his reputation as a sensitive, listening and creative drummer. Over the years he has played with a great number of American, European and Swedish soloists, among them his favourite pianist, Bill Evans. Rune and Kjell toured for many years with the Åke Johansson Trio where they had the pleasure of playing with many fine musicians such as Chet Baker, James Moody, Art Farmer, Bud Shank and others.
Hvilakvartetten was formed in 1995 by four musicians from Göteborgs Symfoniker (Gothenburg, Sweden); Nicola Boruvka (violin), Helena Kollback (violin), Karin Claesson (viola) and Paula Gustafsson (violoncello).
On this recording there are also some younger, talented musicians participating; Nina Söderberg (violin) who studies at the Academy of music in Gothenburg and who also has studied in the USA for a year, Stina Jansson (violin) who studies at the Academy of music in Malmö (Sweden), Elin Sydhagen (viola) studying at the Academy of music in Gothenburg and Amelie Helmstad (cello) studying in Birmingham, England.
Yvonne Kamme (bass clarinet) is for some years engaged in Göteborg Wind Orchestra (former Göteborgsmusiken).
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