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

Rolf Ericson And His Swingin' Swedes

Rolf Ericson

Swedish Pastry

One of Sweden's finest trumpeters, Rolf Ericson was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on August 29, 1922. He moved to New York City in 1947 and, in 1949, joined Charlie Barnet's big band and then with Woody Herman in 1950. Later, he worked with Paul Gonsalves, Charlie Parker, and Charles Mingus.

Returning to Sweden in 1950, he recorded as a leader and with Arne Domnérus, as well as for Leonard Feather's Swinging Swedes and Lars Gullin. He returned to the U.S. during 1953–1956, and played with the big bands of Charlie Spivak, Harry James, the Dorsey Brothers, and Les Brown, and was with the Lighthouse All-Stars. In 1956, he toured Sweden and played with Ernestine Anderson and Lars Gullin.

From 1956 to 1965, he was back in the U.S., working with Dexter Gordon, Harold Land, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich, Benny Goodman, Gerry Mulligan, Dan Terry, Max Roach and Charles Mingus, among others. He was with the Duke Ellington Orchestra from 1963 until 1971. In the early 1960s, he made three recordings as a member of the Rod Levitt orchestra (octet). Ericson played with the Al Porcino Big Band in Berlin in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His warm tone and creative yet melodic style were always considered an asset.

Rolf died in Stockholm, on June 16, 1997.

When American fans first became aware of the existence of a modern jazz cult in Sweden, one of the first musicians to spread the good word around was Rolf Ericson, the Stockholm-born trumpet player, who had emigrated to America in 1947, and played with Woody Herman, Charlie Barnet, Elliot Lawrence, Benny Carter and other name bands. 

Rolf's pride in the accomplishments of his fellow-Scandinavians was concerned not only with the individual solo talents of the Swedes, but also in their ability to weld themselves into clean-playing, neatly-arranged jazz units. 

Most of these men ...(who accompany Rolf in this album)..., at one time or another, have won the annual poll conducted by Sweden's ESTRAD magazine. When you hear these performances you'll undoubtedly agree with the Scandinavian jazz fans who voted for them.

*Leonard Feather (liner notes)*

Side 1

1 - Miles Away

(Ericson)

2 - How High The Moon

(Morgan, Lewis)

3 - Conservation

(Theselius)

4 - Perdido

(Tizol)

Side 2

5 - Strike Up The Band

(Gershwin)

6 - The Nearness Of You

(Carmichael)

7 - Lullaby In Rhythm

(Profit, Sampson)

8 - Git Straight

(Ericson)

#1 to #4:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Georg Vernon (trombone), Arne Domnérus (clarinet, tenor sax),

Gösta Theselius (tenor sax), Lars Gullin (baritone sax),

Reinhold Svensson (piano), Simon Brehm (bass), Sven Bollhém (drums).

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, September 19, 1950

#5 to #8:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Arne Domnérus (alto sax),

Rolf Blomquist (tenor sax), Lars Gullin (baritone sax),

Gunnar Svensson (piano), Yngve Åkerberg (bass), Jack Norén (drums).

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, January 10, 1951

Rare And Obscure Argo Recordings (XVIII)

Benny Bailey And The Quincetet

The Music Of Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones wears many hats. He is an arranger of brilliance. He plays trumpet passably. He leads his own large orchestra, a feat that requires more than conducting, in that a leader also has to be father, mother, wife, and psychiatrist to some 16 musicians. But, most of all, he is a composer who writes with delicate melodic sense and rhythmic vigor-

He is a budding Duke Ellington, and there are many who will tell you that his orchestra will be the band of the 1960s.

He already has given impressive indication of the road he intends to take. The recent trip he made with his band revealed to listeners what his first two albums had led them to suspect – that his orchestra is precise, joyously swinging, and interested in exploring arrangements that show thought in their preparation and are written expressly for the musicians in that band, utilizing their individual capabilities.

One of those individuals created a good deal of attention on his own. That would be Benny Bailey, the trumpeter with huge tone and broad attack who went to Europe in 1953 with Lionel Hampton and stayed there until Quincy called Benny back from Sweden to join him.

Bailey's performances herein show you why Jones was so eager to get him on the band. This LP was cut in Sweden last year in the company of another American, drummer Joe Harris, and the light-quick Swedish trombonist Åke Persson, another member of the Jones band. Several combinations of Swedish all-stars make up the backing.

We think you'll find this combination of Quincy Jones' music and the resounding horns of Benny Bailey and Åke Persson to be a stirring mixture and one that points out yet one more facet of Quincy's talent. He has an unerring sense of taste when it comes to picking the right chairs. Quincy Delight Jones is something else! *Al Porch (liner notes)*

An excellent album that's a perfect document of the strong impact that Quincy Jones had in the transatlantic jazz scene of the late 50s and early 60s! The set was recorded in 1960, and features two players that Quincy would leave behind in Europe to have a huge influence on the scene. Trumpeter Benny Bailey is the greatest of these – and his impact on jazz in Germany and Sweden during the 60s and 70s cannot be discounted. The other is drummer Joe Harris, who does excellent work here in a group that includes Arne Domnérus on sax, Åke Persson on trombone, and Gunnar Svensson on piano – all Swedes that Quincy picked up after touring the country heavily during the late 50s. The set grooves with the best of Jones' work on Mercury from the time – and although Quincy's not listed in the credits, it's probably only because of contractual reasons. Titles are all Jones originals – including "Meet Benny Bailey", "Plenty, Plenty Soul", "Fallen Feathers", and "The Midnight Sun Never Sets". *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

This album is one of the earliest devoted solely to the compositions of Quincy Jones and emerged from his work in Europe in the late 1950s. A classic session that took place 1959 in Stockholm featuring international stars Joe Harris and Benny Bailey. Together with a troop of legendary Swedish jazzers from this era they recorded this album which in many ways is a tribute to the songwriting skills of master Quincy Jones. Apart from Åke Persson, musicians like Arne Domnérus, Lennart Jansson and a handful of others are making this to a true gem.*paladinvinyl.com*

Side 1

1. The Golden Touch

(Jones, Pettiford)

2. I'm Gone

(Quincy Jones)

3. Jones Beach

(Quincy Jones)

4. The Midnight Sun Never Sets

(Jones , Salvador)

Side 2

5. Meet Benny Bailey

(Quincy Jones)

6. Plenty, Plenty Soul

(Jones, Jackson)

7. Fallen Feathers

(Quincy Jones)

8. Count 'Em

(Jones, Cleveland)

Benny Bailey (trumpet); Åke Persson (trombone); Arne Domnérus (alto sax);

Bjarne Nerem (tenor sax); Lennart Jansson (baritone sax);

Gunnar Svensson [#1], Gösta Theselius [#2 to #8] (piano); Gunnar Johnson (bass);

Anders Burman [#3, #6], Joe Harris [#1, #2, #4, #5, #7, #8] (drums).

Recorded at Millessalen Recording Studios, Stockholm, Sweden, October 8, 1959

Arne Domnérus And His Group - Swedish Modern Jazz

One of the wonders of the postwar jazz world has been the sudden rise to dominance in European jazz of Sweden, a country which could scarcely have been found on the jazz map before 1946. The first suggestion that Americans had of Sweden’s jazz potential occurred in the late Forties when the Swedish clarinetist Stan Hasselgard came to this country. Here, it seemed, was the first clarinetist who could challenge Benny Goodman’s long rule as top man on that instrument. So good was Hasselgard, in fact, that Goodman hired him and the young Swedish jazzman suddenly found himself in the unique position of being the only other clarinetist that Goodman has ever featured.

Hasselgard’s career was nipped in the bud when he died in a tragic auto accident, but even in the few brief months that Americans heard him, his presence served to turn attention to Sweden as a jazz source. And there proved to be jazz aplenty there. 

Not just jazz in general, either, but a rather special kind of jazz that the Swedes have since made uniquely their own. It is based on the Swing Era of jazz, the first jazz period of which the Swedes were strongly aware. From Swing, the Swedes moved readily to Bop and the later refinements of Bop. No other country is quite so oriented toward modern jazz as is Sweden. 

But it is apparently not in the Swedish nature to abandon anything that is good simply because something new and attractive has come along. So they have clung to swing even while they embraced bop and, in consequence, most Swedish jazz has a swingingly modern quality that is found only occasionally elsewhere. 

When the jazz world’s attention was directed toward Sweden by Hasselgard’s talent, one of the first major figures it encountered was Arne Domnérus who has maintained his position throughout the Fifties as one of thetop three jazzmen in a country brimming with able jazz musicians.

Domnérus began playing alto saxophone when he was a teenager (he was born in Stockholm in 1924) and one of his earliest experiences was in a young amateur band which included Rolf Ericson, a trumpeter who has played with Woody Herman and Charlie Barnet; Simon Brehm, who became a pioneer Swedish bass star; and pianist Gösta Theselius (who arranged the two full band selections in this collection). By the time he was seventeen, Domnérus was leading a band in a restaurant in a small town in Lapland, possibly the most frigid apprenticeship that any potential jazz star has undergone. For the next ten years he was heard in various Swedish bands playing both alto and clarinet.

In these selections, Domnérus is heard on alto saxophone in all but three instances he plays clarinet. In his early days, when the alto was his only instrument, his style was patterned on the smooth, sweeping flow of Benny Carter. Later he fell strongly under the influence of Charlie Parker but now, as these performances show (the first side was made in 1957, the second in 1956), he has evolved an extremely effective fusion of Parker and Carter which is thoroughly in the vein of the general swing-cum-modern feeling of Swedish jazz as a whole. *Liner notes*

Side 1 

1 - Topsy Theme

(Gunnar Svensson)

2 - Relax

(Arne Domnérus)

3 - Frenesi

(A. Dominguez)

4 - For Dave

(Domnérus, Svensson)

5 - Lady Be Good

(George Gershwin)

6 - Round About Midnight

(Monk, Williams, Hanighen)

Side 2

7 - Blue Moon

(Rodgers, Hart)

8 - I Got Rhythm

(George Gershwin)

9 - Don't You Know I Care

(Duke Ellington)

10 - Gone With The Wind

(Allie Wrubel)

11 - Take The ''A'' Train

(Billy Strayhorn)

12 - Creole Love Call

(Duke Ellington)

#1 to #10:

Arne Domnérus (alto sax, clarinet [#2, #5]), Gunnar Svensson (piano), Georg Riedel (bass), Egil Johansen (drums).

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, March 14, 1956 (#7, #8, #9, #10); March 10 (#1, #2) and March 19 (#3,#4, #5, #6), 1957.

#11, #12:

Bengt-Arne Wallin (trumpet), Arne Domnérus (alto sax, clarinet [#12]), Rolf Blomquist (tenor sax), Lennart Jansson (baritone sax), Gunnar Svensson (piano), Georg Riedel (bass), Egil Johansen (drums).

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, January 27, 1956.