a r t i s t : Oskar Schoenning
t i t l e : Happy Jazz, Please
d a t e : 2006
l a b e l : Amigo
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : Jan/2007
t r a c k s : 12
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 61,5 MB
_______________________________________________________________________
"Happy Jazz, please" sees Oskar Sch÷nning - the band AND the
man - take a leap into the unknown with a record as inventive
as it is exciting.
Throwing - caution and convention to the wind, these Swedish
hipsters follow their hearts to create a sound all of their
own, with one eye on jazz's traditions and another open to the
forms endless possibilities.
Across 12 songs - and make no mistake, that's exactly what
they are - Oskar Sch÷nning fully realise the creative
potential hinted at by their previous long player.
Maybe you know the 2004 debut? That eponymous album was a
delightful calling card: melodic, confident and fresh.
I discovered the first record during a flying visit to
Stockholm. I went looking for romance and, while I didnt get
the girl (What? You've been in that movie, too?), I started a
love affair with the music of Oskar Sch÷nning. On returning to
Scotland, I started buying copies for friends. "You HAVE to
hear this, You'll LOVE it", I insisted. To a man and woman,
they did.
But how, I wondered, could the band better this glorious
suite?
With "Happy Jazz, please" the Stockholm scenesters do exactly
that.
Just listen to the title track - what a joyous celebration.
Stand to attention as pianist Jonas ╓stholm sets the pace,
sway as horn players Emil Stranberg and Nils Berg join the
parade - and then cut loose as drummer Sebastian Voegler and
bassist Oskar march the band to the top of the hill.
This jubilant performance is only part of the story. Take
"Fraid", the spooky masterpiece that opens this set. It sounds
to me like a missing passage from Saint Saens' "Danse
Macabre". It's the first of many surprising twists from these
utterly inventive cats.
Or how about "Loa"? Sentimental, sure, but never schmaltzy, it
curls around you like a blanket. And then ╓stholm breaks free
with spider-on-a-hotplate soloing that shows his understated
virtuosity. Did I forget to mention that Happy Jazz can be
melancholy, too?
With album closer "Love/Hate Dreaming", Oskar Sch÷nning
rejects the constraints with which so many modern jazzers
restrict themselves (Oh, how long must we endure musicians
whose fear of the unknown means they'd rather recycle than
innovate?)
The spine-tingling ring of fingers on wine glasses lifts us
high above the Earth before Berg's lighter-than-air clarinet
hovers into view. Somewhere between the stars, Stranberg's
trumpet floats past. ╓stholm speckles the darkness with
delicate flashes of piano, while Voegler and Sch÷nning keep
the band in orbit with elegant performances that underpin,
never overwhelm.
Clearly, if you're looking for a Blue-Note-for-note retread of
jazz's hallowed past, you've come to the wrong place.
At the heart of this album is bandleader, bassist and writer
Oskar Sch÷nning. His gifts as a composer are evident but mere
talent is not enough to create this music. Oskar might be
humble, even shy, but his vision is as clear as it is
singular.
He says: "The idea is to steal a room for our music in modern
society; to make our jazz hard to place in a specific genre by
letting it trickle down in the oddest places".
A minuscule recording budget meant that, while they didn't
actually have to steal one, the band did have to borrow a room
to make this album. A couple of music lovers - perfect
strangers who Oskar called out of the blue - handed over the
keys to their home outside Stockholm each day, allowing the
group to record in their living room during office hours.
Thanks to their help - and the loan of microphones from former
Don Cherry bassist, Sigvard Krantz, Nicolai Dunger manager Per
Wickstr÷m, and graphic designer Johann Mansson, "Happy Jazz,
please" was on tape within a week. An astonishing achievement.
As I write this on a spring afternoon in Glasgow, I have lived
with "Happy Jazz, please" for six weeks. Every day, I find
something new in it: a subtle melody; a piano line that
shouldn't but somehow DOES make perfect sense; a hint of even
greater things to come from Oskar Sch÷nning.
- Euan McColm, Glasgow, Scotland, April 2006
---
All songs writen by Oskar Sch÷nning
Emil Strandberg: trumpet
Nils Berg: clarinets
Jonas ╓stholm: piano, glockenspiel & melodica
Oskar Sch÷nning: double bass
Sebastian Voegler: drums
Special guests:
Catharina Backman & Carin Blom: glass
Eva Lindal: violin
Produced by Jonas ╓stholm, Oskar Sch÷nning, Nils Berg,
Emil Strandberg & Sebastian Voegler
_______________________________________________________________________
01-Fraid [02:45]
02-Happy Jazz, Please [03:49]
03-Loa [05:09]
04-Stoner [02:45]
05-Peter [05:36]
06-Nino Casino [02:19]
07-Lars [04:49]
08-Epa [03:45]
09-Trio [02:35]
10-Tusch [03:52]
11-Oldlife [03:37]
12-Love/Hate Dream [03:54]
-------
44:55 min