Swedish Azz

[Leeway]

I have a love-hate relationship with Mats Gustafsson. I love all the things he does with The Thing, with Brotzmann, Vandermark, and Paal-Nilssen Love. You know, the wild, hard-blowing, ear drum eviscerating, punk-free jazzer thing. Yeah, I love that stuff. Then there is the other side of Mats, consisting typically of the, let me call it, electronic noodling projects. I feel about these as I feel about George Lewis: when he picks up a trombone he is golden, when he picks up a laptop, he is not much different than some kid in the music program at Bard. “Hate” is too strong a word though. “Meh!” might be closer to the feeling. And I feel bad about that. I like artists who challenge themselves, challenge their listeners, and as a listener, I like to be challenged. But often enough Mats has left me nonplussed, befuddled, and dismayed (and out $15 or $20). There is one rule though about Mats that I have: when he is in town (even when it is not my town), I go see him. Mats is one of the more charismatic musicians on the scene.

So it was that I launched myself into the riptides of I-95 (if you are not familiar with the I-95 corridor, DC to NYC, consider yourself fortunate) to see the Swedish Azz concert at the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia, Saturday night. From comments that Mats made, this was the inaugural concert of the group in the United States. Looking at the group calendar at this time, it might be the only one for some time, so it was not to miss.

The performance space at the Museum turned out to be the entryway of the building, with the audience seated on a carpeted grand staircase leading up to the galleries, with other audience members seated in the galleries or on the sides of the staircase. Odd, but fun. The huge vaulted ceiling added some ambience to the sound, especially to the sax and drums, not too much, just a slight richness.

Swedish Azz consists of Mats on alto and baritone saxes; Kjell Nordeson, vibes; Per-Ake Holmlander, tuba; Erik Carlsson, drums; and, DIEB13, turntables. Nordeson and Holmlander are long-time friends of Mats. Mats, who apparently now lives in Austria, met DIEB13 there and liked his sound. Mats said that when he was putting the group together, he felt something was missing; that led to the inclusion of DIEB13, whom Mats called “The X Factor.” That turned out to be decidedly true.

The purpose of Swedish Azz is to feature the compositions of Swedish jazz players and composers, from popular songs, “conventional” jazz , to bebop, to somewhat free arrangements. That seems a fairly conservative premise. It is clear that Mats is really invested in these composers and this music. But then you have the rather unusual lineup of vibes, tuba and electronics, you know this will not be a straightforward tribute. Using all the members of the group, these compositions are pulled in every way, like a kid with silly-putty, or stated then disrupted using all the members of the group. Most interesting, DIEB13’s turntables functioned to support the compositions, sometimes even tplaying old records that featured the music, to utterly destabilizing and deconstructing the music. Truly an X-Factor in the group. The electronic dimension also seemed to create a space in which the other musicians could play in and against the composition. Mats played pretty and he roared mightily, especially on the bari. He had a lovely little Conn alto that sounded wonderful. The group dynamic was quite wide, from soft ballad to hard free jazz. But the integrity of the composition was never quite lost.

The concert proper lasted about 70 minutes, followed by sincere, sustained and enthusiastic applause, that led to a final 15 minute encore from the group. I think everyone, band and audience, felt this was a superlative concert. Like Vandermark, Mats tends to bring a small record shop with him when he performs, so I picked up some LPs and I’ll see how well the group translates in recordings. As I headed south, I thought that in this concert, Mats finally bridged the gap between “Love” and “Meh!” There’s a lesson there.

[David Ayers]

Great write-up - thank youi very much!

[Clunky]

Great write-up - thank youi very much!

Yes, thanks ; really makes me want to hear the music. I've a lot of time for Mats.

[mjazzg]

Thanks Leeway, nice review. I've one of the Swedish Azz LPs, Azz Appeal still sealed - I must break it open and listen. Mats is a fairly regualr visitor to London (Cafe Oto almost exclusively) but hasn't brought this band over yet, sadly. his Fire! Orchestra is slated to play here in September - a must, I think.

Edited May 18, 2014 by mjazzg

[Leeway]

Thanks for the nice comments folks. I kind of wrote this in my head as I was driving up and back; five hours give you time to do that.

MJAZZG, follow my rule (you can always blame it on me later ), when Mats in town, go see him. He really is terrific live in probably any ensemble; the recordings can be a bit variable. I'd love to see the Fire! group.

I wanted to note that Philadelphia has been presenting an incredible array of music this year, only a small part of which I've been able to get to. Most of it has been coordinated through Ars Nova Workshop. Worth checking out.

[Steve Reynolds]

Thanks, Leeway

I knew The Thing was in Queens on Friday night - I did not know about the Philly concert with that band. I love Nordeson on drums - he was on the awe inspiring AALY trio bit I'm not that familiar with his vibes playing.

Another very established figure in the small form electro-acoustic improvisation scene is Dieb 13 who made a great record with Burkhardt Stangl about a decade ago called "Eh".

I've always thought there could be a melding of these worlds and I guess Mats is one of the guys to do it.

I imagine I would have loved the show.

For me the band I really, really want to see Mats with is Tarfala with Guy and Strid. I've only seen him with Brotzmann's Tentet a couple if times, The Thing with Joe McPhee and once with the awesome aforementioned AALY trio with KV back in 2001 or so. All were very memorable performances.

[Van Basten II]

Mats comes here to play on a regular basis but I don't think I got to see his" other side" , like you leeway I try not to miss him when he comes to town, unfortunately he does not seem to be part of the Suoni this year, great review indeed, personal while still informative and enjoyable to read.

[Leeway]

Thank you Van Basten II. Much appreciated.

Steve, I considered going to that Queens show, which I think was a Noise Festival of sorts, but it was literally a bridge too far.

Oh yeah, Tarfala-- one can only hope!

I remembered that the first time I saw The Thing was in Philadelphia, now some years ago, at a place called Karate Necktie, a small bar with a small stage. Standing room only, packed, The Thing just slamming, loud, and then Joe McPhee got on stage, and things got even hotter. Incredible show.

[Steve Reynolds]

I saw The Thing at The Stone maybe in 2008. Mats started on baritone and the addition of McPhee was a huge plus.

AALY was @ Tonic and it that tour was the last time as far as I know that the great band played live. This was right as "I Wonder if I Was Screaming" was recorded/released. That is a great recording which I believe is very difficult to find (on Crazy Wisdom).

[Van Basten II]

The Thing with McPhee is indeed baddddddddddddddd !

[David Ayers]

Cuts, with Merzbow and Pandi, is a fantastic record. I listened in detail to the whole thing again last night. Mats is mainly on electronica, though I imagine it is the Japanese number one who contributes the real substance. I love this record and wish there were more like it - or I wish I knew what else there is like it....

Edit: this post is by way of a contribution to the topic of MG's electronica.

PS - I have never heard Swedish Azz, by way of comparison. Mats' only other project I know is Splatter, where Marhaug is in sole charge of noise, IIRC.

Edited May 21, 2014 by David Ayers