CE16

Blåslåtar

Jonas Knutsson

Play / Buy

“What Knutsson does here, however, is nothing short of miraculous” – Raul da Gama

Nominated for Swedish Grammy 2011!

Swedish saxophone maestro Jonas Knutsson has along all his other musical projects in jazz and world music studied swedish folk music since the eighties from many different sources, old fiddlers and other musicians as well as from notations and old recordings. On july first 2010 he recorded 31 melodies of traditional swedish folk music from different parts of Sweden on solo saxophone. Here is his unique and fabulous album!

“One of the finest albums made by any saxophonist in a very long time.

Knutsson plays no less than 31 folk songs from a large swathe of Sweden—original music written for and almost never played on anything but the traditional fiddle and nyckelharp. Both instruments can be played with limitless glissandi and vibrato, because they are stringed instruments and require that the musician use only his fingers and hands, parts of the body that can be taught to play at various speeds, continuously, for a very long time. What Knutsson does here, however, is nothing short of miraculous, as he has commanded his body to breathe according to his whim and not involuntarily as most humans do.” says Raul d’Gama Rose, in All About Jazz in one of the greatest reviews ever seen

Swedish review from SvD: “Spelet slingrar som en melodikåt orm mellan takterna.”

Here is the album booklet

Tracks

Polska efter Tommos Anders, Älvdalen, Dalarna
Efter Lena Willemark
2.Köiklåten, Skarvsjöby, Lappland
Av Emil Carstedt. Uppteckning av Gunnar Karlsson och Siw Burman
Hinders Jerks polska, Bingsjö, Dalarna
Efter Lisa Rydberg
Hambraeuspolskan, Orsa, Dalarna
Efter Björn Ståbi
Polska efter Junkas Jonas, Bingsjö, Dalarna
Efter Pål Olle och Nils Agenmark
Polska efter Karns Hans, Orsa, Dalarna
Efter Ola Bäckström och Johan Hedin
Polska efter Mats Hansoo, Älvdalen, Dalarna
Efter Lena Willemark
Lorikspolska nr 1, Orsa, Dalarna
Efter Björn Ståbi
Lorikspolska nr 3, Orsa, Dalarna
Efter Björn Ståbi
Jemsken, Älvdalen, Dalarna
Efter Lena Willemark
Min levnads afton, Bingsjö, Dalarna
Efter Pål Olle och Nils Agenmark
Polska från Skog, Skog, Hälsingland
Efter Eva-Britt Nyberg-Johansson
Polska efter Per- Johan Arnström, Bäsksjö, Lappland
Efter uppteckning av Gunnar Karlsson och Siw Burman
Polska efter Knuter Jon, Ore, Dalarna
Efter Ola Bäckström
Magdalenapolskan, Småland
Efter Johan Hedin
Grins Hans jässpödspolska, Rättvik, Dalarna
Efter Ola Bäckström och Johan Hedin
Norrlandssommar, Åsele, Lappland
Av Carl Wiklund. Uppteckning av Gunnar Karlsson och Siw Burman
Låt efter Taklax, Taklax, Korsnäs, Österbotten
Efter Marcus Räsänen
Orsa Storpolska, Orsa, Dalarna
Efter Gössa Anders
Gammal polska e Bleckos, Orsa, Dalarna
Efter Björn Ståbi
Polska efter Jon Marsen, Bäsksele, Lappland
Efter Per-Johan Arnström
Lappolska, Åsele, Lappland
Av Carl Wiklund. Uppteckning av Gunnar Karlsson och Siw Burman
Lillpolskan, Orsa, Dalarna
Efter Björn Ståbi
Polska efter Pekkos Per, Bingsjö, Dalarna
Efter Nils Agenmark
Polska efter Pers Olle, Rättvik, Dalarna
Efter Lisa Rydberg
Snygg Olles Polska, Rättvik, Dalarna
Efter Per Gudmundson och Ola Bäckström
Tokpolskan, Bingsjö, Dalarna
Efter Nils Agenmark
Forslundspolskan, Orsa, Dalarna
Efter Björn Ståbi
Polska från Barsebäck, Barsebäck, Skåne
Efter Ale Möller
Om Dagen, Vilhelmina, Lappland
Efter Lisa Lestander
Baggbölebäckens klagan, Umeå, Västerbotten
Av Kjell-Åke Sandström . Efter Lisa Eriksson

Jonas’ statement

Songs along the way

Jonas Knutsson: sopranino-, soprano-, alt- and baritone saxophones

I was a member of jazz pianist and composer Elise Einarsdotter’s ensemble for many years. In the late 1980’s, the group expanded from a quartet to a quintet with the addition of singer and fiddle player, Lena Willemark. She brought with her traditional music from Älvdalen, which was added to the group’s repertoire. It was then that I learned to play my first fiddle tunes on the saxophone and I was immediately captured by the ingenious melodies. For me, this became the starting point of an adventurous journey through traditional Swedish music.

Alongside other projects over the past 20 years, I have played, transcribed and dissected these special songs in an attempt to better understand the complexity and stories within them.

Playing these tunes on the saxophone entails certain challenges. The musical phrases are most often created for the fiddle, which means there are very few places to breathe. Dynamically speaking, the saxophone is also a much louder instrument than the fiddle. This is why I have tried especially hard to find a way to play softly but with a pure tone and energy that balances well against the tone of the other instruments, including the fiddle and the nyckelharpa.

As a saxophonist playing this music, you can end up feeling like a trespasser in the fiddle player’s territory. Especially while playing traditional songs from Orsa and Bingsjö. This is why it has been particularly exciting on this occasion, to instead create a recording centred on the saxophone’s perspective when it comes to tone, dynamics and key choice. However, as I have learned most of these songs from fiddle players, it is impossible to avoid the influence of their techniques on my own interpretations.

I have learned this music from my fellow colleagues in different bands and projects as well as other folk musicians I have met or listened to, my students and old recordings and transcriptions, which has led to the quite diverse selection of tunes. On this recording, I have simply chosen some of my favourites.

Everything was recorded on the first of July 2010 at Atlantis Studios in Stockholm, with the legendary sound engineer, Janne Hansson, behind the mixing table.

A big thank you to my musical colleagues who have inspired me by playing Swedish folk music on the saxophone: Kjell Westling, Roland Keijser, Sten Källman and Thomas Ringdahl

Also, a special thanks to: Björn Ståbi, Nils Agenmark, Lena Willemark, Ola Bäckström, Per-Johan Arnström, Lisa Rydberg, Carl Viklund, Emil Carstedt, Johan Hedin, Per Gudmundsson, Lisa Eriksson, Markus Räsänen, Kramfors, Ale Möller, Emil Carstedt, Gunnar Karlsson, Siv Burman, Jössa Anders Andersson, Lisa Lestander for the songs and Janne Hansson and Claes Persson for the sound.