Five-Star Collection... The Swinging Swedes

The Swinging Swedes • The Cool Britons

New Sounds From The Old World

This LP disc is unique in several respects. For the first time on any record, it presents a compact and complete picture of the best in modern jazz from the two European countries that have taken an undisputed lead, over all others outside the United States, in developing first-class talent in this field. For the first time it combines in one comprehensive LP the best in writing, in thinking and performing, that the brilliant young stars of Great Britain and Sweden have given the jazz world.

Every musician on Summertime, Pick Yourself Up and the double-length Cream of the Crop was selected, in a poll taken by Estrad magazine among 25 Swedish music critics, as the No. 1 man on his instrument — and the superb arrangements were the work of the No. 1 penman, Gösta Theselius, whom we hailed in Down Beat as the most brilliant new arranger on the jazz scene, irrespective of country.

(...)

No less remarkable is the swinging spirit of the all-star British groups under the leadership of Johnny Dankworth. Born in London in 1927, Johnny extracts his mellifluous tone and modern style from a plastic saxophone, an idea that has since been copied by several top American jazzmen. On the first two tunes, Birdland Bounce, Leapin' in London, Johnny conducts the winners of a poll conducted among readers of the English weekly Melody Maker, playing two of his own arrangements. The other two numbers, Tea for Me, Cherokee, are played by Johnny with his own combo, which was elected the country's No. 1 small band in the poll.

(...)

All in all, the performances in this double-header might well be described by one of the Swedish titles; they are, in every respect, the cream of the crop. *Leonard Feather (liner notes)*

New Sounds from the Old World is the apt title of this LP, which puts the best British and Swedish jazz back to back.

British titles are eloquent testimony to the triple talents of Johnny Dankworth, as alto man and arranger on all four sides, leader of the bigger group of Melody Maker poll winners on the first two numbers and of his own award-winning combo on the last pair. They also show off a fine trumpet man, Jimmy Deuchar, Ronnie Scott's tenor, several other confident soloists, and rhythm section work that's most effective on Bounce, the best item of the bunch.

We've already saluted the Swedes' Summertime and Pick, released as a single. The six-minute Crop is no less impressive. Theselius wrote a fascinating 12-bar theme and intermittent flashes of arrangement that break up the solo passages admirably but leave plenty of room for everyone to expound at length: Ericson's trumpet, Persson's trombone, Wickman's clarinet, Domnerus' alto, Norin's tenor, Gullin's baritone, Linde's vibes, Hallberg's piano, Carlberg's guitar, and, backing them all beautifully, Brehm's bass and Norén's drums. We've heard hundreds of Scandinavian sides, and to our knowledge this was the most successful date ever cut by the Swedes. Don’t miss it.

*Down Beat, Chicago, March 25, 1953*

Note: At the time of this review, the magazine did not identify the author. They only expressed: “Records in this section are reviewed and rated in terms of their musical merit.” In this case, the five stars went to The Swinging Swedes. The Cool Britons received only four stars.

Side 1

The Swinging Swedes

1 - Pick Yourself Up

(Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields)

2 - Summertime

(George Gershwin)

3 - Cream Of The Crop

(Gösta Theselius)

Side 2

The Cool Britons

4 - Birdland Bounce (a.k.a. Brand's Essence)

(Traditional, arr. Johnny Dankworth)

5 - Leapin' In London (a.k.a. Marshall's Plan)

(Traditional, arr. Johnny Dankworth)

6 - Tea For Me (a.k.a. Seven Not Out)

(Johnny Dankworth)

7 - Cherokee

(Ray Noble)

#1, #2, #3:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Åke Persson (trombone), Putte Wickman (clarinet),

Arne Domnérus (alto sax), Carl-Henrik Norin (tenor sax), Lars Gullin (baritone sax),

Ulf Linde (vibes), Bengt Hallberg (piano), Sten Carlberg (guitar),

Simon Brehm (bass), Jack Norén (drums).

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, September 5, 1951

#4, #5:

Kenny Baker (trumpet), Gordon Langhorn (trombone), Henry McKenzie (clarinet),

Ronnie Chamberlain (soprano sax), Johnny Dankworth (alto sax), Ronnie Scott (tenor sax),

Dave Shand (baritone sax [#4]), Victor Feldman (vibes), Ralph Sharon (piano),

Ivor Mairants (guitar), Charlie Short (bass), Jack Parnell (drums).

Recorded in London, England, February 3, 1951

#6, #7:

Jimmy Deuchar (trumpet), Eddie Harvey (trombone), Johnny Dankworth (alto sax),

Don Rendell (tenor sax), Bill LeSage (piano), Eric Dawson (bass), Tony Kinsey (drums).

Recorded in London, England, July 29, 1950