The ”Club Jazz” series was a series of nine volumes of jazz recordings made for Swedish Radio between 1970 and 1974, a bit like a jazz equivalent of the three ”Tonkraft” double LPs released in the early 80s. The albums were usually split between two artists, one per side, and not all couplings made sense. There's for instance one album with Arbete & Fritid on one side and trad jazzers Kustbandet on the other. ”Club Jazz 5” has a better match, with a very early Opposite Corner recording and one by a rare sixpiece line-up led by bassist Palle Danielsson.
This session with Opposite Corner is five years earlier than their proper debut album ”Jazz i Sverige '76” and a bit different. It's not full on free jazz wild but they let loose a bit more here than they did later on. And it's much better! The Arabic scales in opening track ”Ayazin” is very tasteful, and Gunnar Lindgren delivers some fine tenor sax soloing in ”Blacklouti Strikes Back”. Last track from them is ”Tibetanskt urindop” and is probably as close Opposite Corner ever got to Arbete & Fritid. A very good session, well worth hearing even if you're not into their later work.
Turn the record over and you find four tracks from Palle Danielsson's band. This is where it gets really interesting. Featured here is an all star cast of Lennart Åberg, Bobo Stenson, Jon Christensen, Bengt Berger and Roland Keijser along with Danielsson himself! A highly vivid session with Berger in particular going bonkers on the drums – it's among the most ferocious drumming I've heard from him, and it's interesting to note that this was recorded in the same year as Fickteatern's ”Allt växer till det hejdas” which also has some mad Berger playing. But the ensemble effort is great all through, and I really wish there were more recordings from this particular lot.
So with two unique and splendid
sessions, this is one for the ages.
Full album