Åke Persson - New Sounds From Sweden

Åke Persson Swedish All Stars

New Sounds From Sweden

Featuring Arne Domnérus

On a cold and foggy February midnight 1975, ace trombonist Åke Persson put his Germany-registred old Volvo Amazon in first gear and drove slowly down a snowy knoll adjoining a walking path in front of the US Embassy in Stockholm. The Amazon soon reached the icy bayside Edge - but, amazingly, refused to let the onrushing waters turn out the fully lit headlights.

Hours later, a man walking his dog along the same path sees the strange, almost fluorescing lights from under wáter. For a brief second, he wonders what a team of divers mights do out there, in teh darkness of the small hours. Then, he notices rubber tracks in the snow, and a trombone case by a pocket size telephone book sitting on a stone pillar. On arrival, police decides that the unknown Amazon driver is someone by the name of Persson, Åke, home address Blumenthalstrasse, West Berlín.

By 1975, Åke was considered the tombone player in all of European jazz. *Hans Fridlund*

Born in Hässleholm, Sweden, on February 25, 1932, Åke Persson, known as "the Comet" (or "Kometen"), was a fine trombonist with an appealing tone who worked steadily in Europe during his prime years and occasionally guested with American jazzmen who were on tour. Among Persson's associations through the years were Simon Brehm (1951-1954), Arne Domnérus, Hacke Björksten, Harry Arnold's Swedish Radio Band (1956-1961), Quincy Jones' big band (playing for the ill-fated Free and Easy show), Lars Gullin, the RIAS Big Band (1961-1975), and the Kenny Clarke & Francy Boland Big Band (1963-1971). Additionally, Persson had opportunities to play with George Wallington, Roy Haynes, Benny Bailey, Count Basie (1962), Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie, among many others.

Persson, considered one of the top European bop trombonists of the 1950s and '60s, led four numbers apiece during sessions for Metronome in 1953, Philips in 1957, EmArcy from 1956-1957, and Metronome again in 1959: 16 selections in all.

Persson drowned in the Djurgården canal in central Stockholm in February 1975; he had driven his car into the canal either accidentally or deliberately.

Side 1

1 - Jumping With Queen Anne

(Blomquist, Svensson)

2 - Pops

(Blomquist, Svensson)

3 - Walking Feet

(G. Svensson)

4 - Subway

(Blomquist, Svensson)

Side 2

5 - Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

(S. Romberg, O. Hammerstein II)

6 - It Might As Well Be Spring

(R. Rodgers, O. Hammerstein II) 

7 - Hershey Bar

(Johnny Mandel)

8 - My Blue Heaven

(W. Donaldson, G. A. Whiting)

#1 to #4:

Åke Persson (trombone); Arnold Johansson (valve trombone [#1, #2]);

Rolf Blomquist [#1, #2], Carl-Henrik Norin [#3, #4] (tenor saxes);

Ernie Englund (trumpet [#3, #4]); Gunnar Svensson (piano);

Yngve Åkerberg (bass); Jack Norén [#1, #2], Alan Dawson [#3, #4] (drums)

Recorded at Radiotjänst (Karlaplansstudion) in Stockholm, Sweden,

February 19 (#1, #2) and November 6 (#3, #4) 1953

#5 to #8:

Åke Persson (trombone), Arne Domnérus (alto sax),

Bengt Hallberg (piano), Gunnar Johnson (bass), Jack Norén (drums).

Recorded at Radiotjänst (Karlaplansstudion), Stockholm, Sweden, September 14, 1953

Harry Arnolds And His Orchestra - The Jazztone Mystery Band

Arnold was among the finest big-band arrangers and tenor saxophonists in Sweden during the 1950s and '60s. From 1956 to 1965, Arnold led the Swedish Radio Studio Orchestra that featured many of the country's leading Swedish jazz musicians. They recorded quite a few albums, including their first, The Jazztone Mystery Band. It's easily one of the finest big band recordings of 1957. 

*Marc Myers*

An overlooked and now obscure figure in jazz, Harry Arnold led an incredibly tight, talented, and swinging big band in the 1950s. Arnold knocked American critics on their collective ears with what was to become known as The Jazztone Mystery Orchestra named after the record label they were first signed with in the U.S.

Harry Arnold studied clarinet in 1937 and 1938 and started arranging without the benefit of formal study in 1938. He claimed to have learned the technique of arranging through analyzing the works of everyone from Ravel to Basie. Arnold led his own band in Malmo from 1942 to 1949. He then went to Stockholm as a tenor man and arranger with Thor Ehrling's band taking his own outfit back to play weekends in Malmo from 1952 to 1954. In 1956 he organized a 17 piece group to play weekly radio broadcasts (except during the summer) in 1956.

The music of Harry Arnold And His Swedish Radio Studio Orchestra hit the states in the late 1950's. Author George Simon recounted Claes Dahlgren, Sweden's Jazz ambassador, walking into Simon's office and in a very modest and disarming manner leaving some tapes of the band on Simon's desk with a polite, "give a listen if you have the time". Simon and his colleagues were so knocked out by the tapes they played them to others to get second opinions afraid their ears were deceiving them.

Harry Arnold and his big band was subsequently signed to Jazztone. Simon said of the band, "it's brilliant ensembles, it's abundance of exciting modern soloists, it's biting, swinging beat, and it's superb polish – all these things really thrilled us". A few other quotes made by famous jazzmen, upon first hearing the band, having only been told it was the Jazztone "Mystery" Band include; arranger Ernie Wilkins: "This band would be a gasser to write for! What musicianship!" Bandleader Elliot Lawrence: "The band sounds like a modern swinging Tommy Dorsey". Don Cerulli, New York editor of Down Beat magazine: "Actually the band is Elliot Lawrence". Willis Canover from the Voice Of America network: "This is a hell of a swinging band". *swingmusic.net*

Side 1

1 - I Found A New Baby

(Williams, Palmer)

2 - Six-Ten

(Gösta Theselius)

3 - Our Love Is Here To Stay

(G. and I. Gershwin)

4 - This Can't Be Love

(Rodgers, Hart)

5 - This Is Harry

(Harry Arnold)

6 - Crazy Rhythm

(Meyer, Kahn)

Side 2

7 - Blue Lou

(Sampson, Mills)

8 - Little White Lies

(Walter Donaldson)

9 - Cuban Trombones

(Harry Arnold)

10 - Now It Can Be Told

(Irvin Berlin)

11 - Sunday

(Herbert, LeBaron)

12 - Jersey Bounce

(Johnson, Wright)

#1, #3, #5, #6, #7, #8, #12:

Bengt-Arne Wallin, Sixten Eriksson, Weine Renliden (trumpets); Arnold Johansson (trumpet, valve trombone); Andreas Skjöld, George Vernon, Gordon Olsson, Åke Persson (trombones); Arne Domnérus, Rolf Lindell (alto saxes); Bjarne Nerem, Carl-Henrik Norin (tenor saxes); Lennart Jansson (baritone sax); Bengt Hallberg (piano); Bengt Högberg (guitar); Simon Brehm (bass); Egil Johansson (drums).

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, February 2, 1957.

#2, #4, #9, #10, #11:

Bengt-Arne Wallin, Sixten Eriksson, Weine Renliden (trumpets); Arnold Johansson (trumpet, valve trombone); Andreas Skjöld, George Vernon, Gordon Olsson, Åke Persson (trombones); Arne Domnérus, Rolf Lindell (alto saxes); Bjarne Nerem, Carl-Henrik Norin (tenor saxes); Lennart Jansson (baritone sax); Gösta Theselius (piano); Bengt Högberg (guitar); Simon Brehm (bass); Egil Johansson (drums).

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, March 6, 1957.