New CD: Svend Asmussen

MichaelHorowitz

Alice Babs and the Swe-danes" border="0"
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Svend
Asmussen

Alice
Babs and the Swe-danes



Jazz pa Ungerska / In Pleno"
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Svend
Asmussen and Jan Johansson

Jazz
pa Ungerska / In Pleno

Cuimean

I don't know about the Alice Babs one, but the Asmussen/Johansson disc is really good. It's actually two albums on one CD, and Asmussen only appears on the first one (Jazz pa Ungerska). It's not gypsy jazz, but it is a great way to hear a really creative and mature jazz violinist play some folk-based jazz with an amazing pianist and his band. The second album included on this disc, In Pleno, requires a bit more adventurous ear. There are some Brubeck-y tunes, a percussion workout, a dissonant multi-tracked piano piece, a jazz take on an American spiritual, an Ornette Coleman tune, and some excellent Johansson original tunes. Johansson's piano style is cool, sparse like Basie, modern, and melodic.

It's funny that Michael should post this now. I was just reading an interview with Billy Taylor in Jazz Times in which both Asmussen and Johansson came up. The interviewer played Taylor a Johansson tune, and Taylor liked it but commented on how cool he found it. He then said something like, "Lots of Scandinavian stuff was like that after Stan Getz toured up there. Before that, Scandinavian guys used to play really hot...like Svend Asmussen."

(Guitar geeks: Rune Gustafsson played electric guitar on the Jan Johansson stuff. He's quite good.)

MichaelHorowitz

Thanks for the review!

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sockeye

Cuimean,

Thanks for the review! Sounds like a CD I'd enjoy.

Best wishes,

John

scot

Svend Asmussen made several LPs with Boulou Ferre back in the days of vinyl. I don't have these and would very much like to have at least the content of these recording. As usual I have ample goods to barter...

Anyone? Please PM me.

stubla

scot wrote:

Svend Asmussen made several LPs with Boulou Ferre back in the days of vinyl. I don't have these and would very much like to have at least the content of these recording. As usual I have ample goods to barter...

Anyone? Please PM me.

I'm pretty sure you're mistaken;i have the vinyl that Asmussen recorded on the Sonet label in the '70's and the only django style guitarist he recorded with was Ulf Wakenius and Guitars unlimited(not the french group)
Asmussen DID play with Boulou and Elios at the first Samois festival in 1978--and a documentary was made about the festival at the time.
If i'm the one who is mistaken i'd love to hear the results of their collaboration.
BTW i have the record that Asmussen did with guitarist Ulrik Neuman and its a beauty;one of the nicest vln/gtr duos ever imo.
Stu