[2001·AMCD889]

Live Vol. 1 at Glenn Miller Café

Berger Knutsson Spering

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Berger Knutsson Spering: Live Vol. 1 at Glenn Miller Café (Amigo AMCD 889) 2001

“Christian Spering.
It seems as the name itself is a guarantee for great music .
As I was quite prejudical against Swedish jazz I really didn’t listen and has completely missed all new and older musicians who never sat in TV talkshows telling jokes.
One as Spering is for real.
Seriously.
As I’ve been quite prejudical against all jazz is the jazz I started to listen to and gradually came to both understand and love a very easy listenable, old-fashioned and traditional version – it is not until now that I started to listen to, maybe understand and like a little of what a closely related woman calls psycho-jazz.
While Christian Spering’s latest solo-cd is more traditionally structured this is more experimental and more far-reaching.
I don’t say that it is difficult to listen to because it is also very playful and humourous.
One finds traces of everything that made jazz great and still makes jazz great. Spering (bass), Bengt Berger (drums) and Jonas Knutsson (saxophones) throws themselves with dexterity and amiability between diffrent styles, they can “honk” pretty well but also let the music be completely still.
This is music that creates good spirits and big smiles.
The name of the CD is “Vol. 1” and I’m looking forward to “Vol. 2″
Go get it! ”
Mats Olsson June 25 2001 www.feber.se
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“That drummer Bengt Berger is Sweden’s funniest jazzmusician is really a paradox. You see, he belongs to that generation, the serious, that was young in the 60ies and 70ies.
In those times he recorded on the record company ECM with the strict estetic Manfred Eicher. As primus motor in Swedens craziest jazztrio Berger draw out the playfulness and inventivness of saxophonist Jonas Knutsson and bassist Christian Spering. It starts already with the repertoire. All in a saving but well-arranged mixture of chaotic “free-form jazz”, beautiful melodic lines and tender poetry, afro rythms and caribbean.
The trio is so entertaining on stage that a transfer to a record could appear to be risky . But it works – not least thanks to the ‘as clear as glass’ clarity in the middle of the messieness and variety.”
Ingrid Strömdahl Svenska Dagbladet