STHLM Svaga - Plays Carter, Plays Mitchell, Plays Shepp (2024) Hi Res

Although still relatively unknown outside Scandinavia, the Swedish septet STHLM svaga is one of the most interesting and peculiar jazz groups to emerge during the 2000s. They specialize in the art of playing jazz with extremely soft dynamics, creating a completely unique, magical ensemble sound. Saxophonist and band-leader Johan Jutterström founded the ensemble and assembled some of the most acknowledged young musicians in Sweden. When he asked Carla Bley to write a composition for the group, she agreed (!), and the recording of this piece was released on the group's debut LP 'Bells & Whistles,' receiving very positive reviews in Scandinavian press. Steve Swallow wrote the liner notes for the album: “The psychological effect of STHLM svaga’s music is a delight: first there’s disorientation, but then there’s reorientation, as you hear that there is, paradoxically, great power in reticence.“ For their new album, they’re stepping up... Three American legends in the history of jazz – Ron Carter, Roscoe Mitchell, and Archie Shepp – have composed pieces especially for the ensemble! These pieces, along with compositions by Per-Henrik Wallin and John Coltrane, are brilliantly performed by the ensemble. The album was recorded in the legendary Atlantis Studios in Stockholm and mixed to analogue tape. Maestro Ron Carter was present in the studio, guiding the ensemble. The sound of the album is otherworldly and, largely thanks to the group’s unique concept, something one has never encountered before. It will certainly enrich the jazz milieu globally, showing musicians and audiences a new, fresh, and sparkling approach to playing jazz/post-bop today.