A VARIOUS ARTISTS SPECIAL – 3 jazz compilations

Featured artists: Kustbandet / Arbete Och Fritid

Club Jazz 6 (SR, 1972)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

”Club Jazz” was a series of nine volumes of radio recordings released on Swedish Radio's own imprint SR Records from 1970 to 1974, a jazz equivalent of sorts to the early 80's ”Tonkraft – Levande musik från Sverige” series. The featured artists were either given a full album or one LP side each, and the series captures performers such as Eje Thelin, Stefan Abeleen with Lasse Färnlöf, Opposite Corner and vocalist Nannie Porres. The most interesting volume from a progg perspective is also the one with the most bizarre coupling. The sixth installment has one side of Kustbandet's uninteresting trad jazz and the second one dedicated to Arbete & Fritid. The Arbete & Fritid part is Ove Karlsson's fantastic 20 minute track ”Ostpusten-Västpusten” in its entirety, recorded at Uppsala Stadsteater in April 1972. It's Arbete & Fritid at their gorgeous best, and thankfully the track was resurrected as a bonus track on the CD reissue of their third album making it easier to obtain (and easier to avoid Kustbandet).

Jazz från det svenska 70-talet (Caprice, 1974)
Featured artists: Kustbandet / Jazz Doctors / Rolf Larsson & Jack Lidström Dixieband / Ove Linds Kvartett / Björn Milder / Umeå Big Band with Benny Bailey / Peps Blues Band / Gugge Hedrenius Big Blues Band / Lars Gullins Kvintett / Nisse Sandströms Kvartett / Lasse Werner och hans vänner / Nannie Porres Kvintett / Stefan Abeleens Kvintett / Arbe Domnérus Kvintett med Rune Gustafsson / Arbete & Fritid / Bernt Rosengrens Kvartett / Rena Rama / Egba

International relevance: **

Instrumental, English vocals

The title means ”Jazz from the Swedish 70's” and features a wide stylistic range, from the blues of Peps Persson to the fusion of Egba, from the dixieland stomp of Kustbandet to the post bop of Bernt Rosengrens Kvartett. So it serves its purpose of being a non-discriminating catalogue of contemporary jazz but it's also an incredibly frustrating spin if you listen to it all way through. But with such an array of styles, there are of course worthwhile moments. Fans of vocal jazz should be delighted by Nannie Porres's take on ”Willow Weep for Me” – after all, she's the second finest Swedish jazz vocalist after Monica Zetterlund. The contribution from the aforementioned quartet led by Bernt Rosengren is good and lively. Rena Rama makes one of their best vinyl appearances with ”Daisy Lee McGhee” – probably the best selection on the album, and better than Arbete & Fritid's bluesy but unsatisfying ”En solig dag på landet/The Big Bad Bag of Baba-Louie”.

Det nyJAZZte från Göteborg (Caprice, 1977)
Featured artists: Mount Everest / Opposite Corner / Mwendo Dawa / Soffgruppen

Instrumental

International relevance: **

Another Caprice Records release, this time showcasing the talents of the mid 70's Gothenburg jazz and improvisation scene. Mount Everest (as a trio) has a great Coltrane fuelled medley of ”Black Snow” and ”Sherpa Dance”, Mwendo Dawa is a little too close to fusion for my comfort, Opposite Corner is good, while Soffgruppen isn't quite as great as on their album.

Arbete & Fritid - Ostpusten-västpusten
Jazz från det svenska 70-talet full album playlist
Mwendo Dawa - Microsvit

Opposite Corner - Love Song

A VARIOUS ARTISTS SPECIAL – 3 Nacksving compilations 1975-1978

Established in 1975, the Nacksving label ran until 1981 when it went bankrupt. Label boss Tommy Rander bought it and became the sole owner after which he tranformed it to Transmission which kept going up until 1987. The Nacksving studio is still in use however; it was originally built because Rander didn't understand why the progg bands had to have inferior sound and lesser production values than the commercial music business. The label, always under ultimate direction from Rander, became the political epicentre of the progg movement at its tail end which led to its demise as creativity was choked by political dogma. When asked why the progg movement ended, Mikael Wiehe has said it ended because its time was over, and while true, the death of it was certainly hastened on by the narrowminded and unforgiving political bureaucrats at the Gothenburg headquarters.

NACKSVING – ETT SAMLAT GREPP FRÅN GÖTET (Nacksving, 1975)

Featured artists: Nationalteatern / Nynningen / Ariman / Soffgruppen / Motvind / Tintomara / Trio General Goof

Swedish vocals, instrumental

International relevance: **

First ever release on the Nacksving label, including both well-known acts and artists exclusive to this release. Tommy Rander worked at the Gothenburg department of Swedish Radio at the time, and the recordings on the album were made in session for the broadcasting company. With the budget of a fledgling record label, i.e. no money, Rander 'borrowed' the recordings from his employer. The Swedish Radio wasn't exactly happy with it when they discovered the caper, rebuked him, but let him stay on the job.

The album is a good cross section of what Gothenburg had to offer stylewise in the mid-70's, with jazz, rock and political folk pop. Most of it is rather unexceptional though, but the Nynningen and Nationalteatern collaboration ”Ta tillbaka Hagahuset” is powerful (in the same vein as Nynningen track ”För full hals”), and ”Parkeringshets” is the great Soffgruppen in a wonderfully violent mode.

FRISTIL (Nacksving, 1977)

Featured artists: Motvind / Ensamma Hjärtan / Dennis Huntington Band / Väsen / Björn Afzelius / Afzelius, Aldman, Hartelius, Löfdahl and Text & Musik

Swedish vocals, instrumental

International relevance: **

A showcase of various Nacksving artists, including the only record appearance of avant folk outfit Väsen (not to be confused with the 90's folk rock band of the same name) including later-to-be musicology professor Lars Lilliestam. Their two songs are OK, but the album is most noteworthy for the superior vocal version of Motvind's best track ”Lära för livet”. The Ensamma Hjärtan contribution is a disappointing 8 minute slow blues.

FRÅN FLYKT TILL KAMP (Nacksving, 1978)

as Lilla Nacksvingsligan

Featured artists: Björn Afzelius / Lars Aldman / Blues Annika / Sam Westerberg / Torsten "Totta" Näslund

Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Released as Lilla Nacksvingsligan, this album was a charity album for prescription drug abusers and consists of songs recorded specifically for the purpose, with backing musicians from Nationalteatern and Nynningen. Blues Annika's ”I förvaring” is OK but not on par with her solo album (and country music deniers should know that it's much more of a country song than blues). Still the best track of the album, followed by Sam Westerberg's ”Opiets väg”. The rest of it is forgettable, and three Lars Aldman tracks are four too many.

from Nacksving - Ett samlat grepp från Götet

Nationalteatern & Nynningen - Maltesaren 

Nynningen - Batongerna ska dansa 

Motvind - Feta snutar 

Nationalteatern - Ettan 

Motvind - Fikapaus 

Nationalteatern & Nynningen - Ta tillbaka Hagahuset
Soffgruppen - Parkeringshets
from Fristil

Motvind - Bakfull 

Motvind - Lära för livet 

Ensamma Hjärtan - Hal som en ål 

Väsen - Avenyen + Blåskiten

from Från flykt till kamp

Blues Annika - I förvaring

Björn Afzelius - Missbruk

Sam Westerberg - Opiets väg 

Torsten "Totta" Näslund - En kugge i systemet

SOFFGRUPPEN – Greatest Sits (Nacksving, 1975)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

You'd be hard pressed to guess that guitarist Clas Yngström appeared on Röda Ropet's ”Spänn bågen” the same year Soffgruppen released their sole album by listening to any of them, and there's certainly nothing about his later ZZ Top boogie with successful act Sky High to reveal his Soffgruppen past.

”Greatest Sits” kicks off with the free jazz title track before moving into more tranquil territories with the second track ”Jag tänker”. These are the two extremes ”Greatest Sits” darts between, with Yngström more or less constantly bouncing off against Matz Nilsson's jittery bass and Pierre Swärd's paroxystic piano and organ, all the while Anders Kjellberg provides volcanic drum patterns one minute and a steady and funky beat the next. Yes, they add some groove along the way, and some would perhaps define the album as fusion, and well, if you'd accept that description, insufficient as it is, then this is one of the most hard-edged and best fusion albums to come out of Sweden, with some similarities to Terhe Rypdal's Min Bul. It's also one of the few really worthwhile Nacksving releases. Ironically, it almost put the newly founded Nacksving out of business before they got it started, as few could relate to the uncompromising sounds within the wonderfully creepy cover.

Full album