CONNECTIONS are better than ISOLATION

Just the day after my last post, about duo-playing, a documentary portrait of two touring muscians was sent on one of the Swedish tv-channels. Jonas Knutsson (saxophones) and Johan Norberg (guitars) were around in northern parts of the country (Norrland = North Land), with a programme focused on domestic folkmusical influences.

No big gestures, it´s imaginary, for fantasy and picturing, in the calmness of the northern landscape. Good relaxed players, experienced but not tired. Who wants big city sound among lakes and forests. The guitar, it´s role was perfect. (Steel string acoustic is by tradition the countrymans tool in the industrial times) I like it when it goes a bit towards the John Renbourn thing, maybe, to the norwegian Terje Rypdal.

It´s about the searching attitude. Open minded and experimentators, but with knowledge of the roots they are circling around. Sound connection between folk/ethnic, jazz, classical, but taking care of sources, anyway sailing outside the most strictly academical side of it. Simplicity can be the greatest. In Sweden, probably the most well known contributor of involving jazz to folk/ethnic…or otherwise, is the pianist Jan Johansson. Many natural contacts with other established jazzmusicians gave his ideas room. This was in the sixties.

Another keyboard (&electric organ) player was Merit Hemmingsson, (still active!) She gave the field between different styles and idioms a new push on the early seventies records. I like them also because of the sound engineering. No digital orgy here…., this was the Swedish popmusic high-tech of it´s time, some time before the Abba expolosion.

Weather Report: It´s still like just going into a refrigerator outdoors, been so steadily for months. But, after a few weeks it can be different. Often, in march…april, when I look out of the window (happens), I see idiots walking at a brisk pace in shorts and colourful hawaiishirts when it´s only + 5 celsius. I know, they are longing for the season on East Beach (which in Halmstad strangely is in the south) and all the playing of flipper pinballgames just like the young pushy Tom Berenger in his little nasty role in “Looking for Mr Goodbar”).

Yeah, it´s old. By the way, in this town you may need the compass (wallet is also good) for clearly right directions. Are these indications of a big city? No.

http://www.fuzz.se/index.shtml
(guitarist Johan Norberg, also collaborator in FUZZ magazine)