Albums like Jazz på svenska?
October 1, 2022 11:11 PM Subscribe
I love the chilly, sparse, austere but warm sound of Jan Johanssen's "Jazz på svenska" so much. Can you rec other albums that remind you of it?
I can't really articulate what it is that I love about it - some combo of the minimalist two-instrument arrangements, the virtuosity but total lack of showoffy riffs, the knowledge that they're traditional tunes - but I can't think of anything nicer for a cold winter night's music than Jazz på svenska. I feel there is just the right amount of everything but not even a smidge too much.
Along the same continuum for me as a listener: Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack to Charlie Brown Christmas...weirdly, some of Bjork's "Homogenic", especially "Hunter" but also kind of "Bachelorette" and "Jóga"...maybe Bach's cello suites? What do all these have in common? What else hits like these for you?
I can't really articulate what it is that I love about it - some combo of the minimalist two-instrument arrangements, the virtuosity but total lack of showoffy riffs, the knowledge that they're traditional tunes - but I can't think of anything nicer for a cold winter night's music than Jazz på svenska. I feel there is just the right amount of everything but not even a smidge too much.
Along the same continuum for me as a listener: Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack to Charlie Brown Christmas...weirdly, some of Bjork's "Homogenic", especially "Hunter" but also kind of "Bachelorette" and "Jóga"...maybe Bach's cello suites? What do all these have in common? What else hits like these for you?
How have I never heard this album? It’s low key and lovely.
Here’s some other “sparse” albums it kinda reminds me of:
John Coltrane - Ballads
Grant Green - Street of Dreams
Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert
Glenn Gould - Goldberg Variations
Dave Brubeck - Time Out
Antonio Carlos Jobim - ‘The Composer of Desfinado’ Plays
Maybe also check out some minimal electronica like Pantha du Prince
posted by gnutron at 4:47 AM on October 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Here’s some other “sparse” albums it kinda reminds me of:
John Coltrane - Ballads
Grant Green - Street of Dreams
Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert
Glenn Gould - Goldberg Variations
Dave Brubeck - Time Out
Antonio Carlos Jobim - ‘The Composer of Desfinado’ Plays
Maybe also check out some minimal electronica like Pantha du Prince
posted by gnutron at 4:47 AM on October 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
I think you might love The Box Tree By Skúli Sverrisson & Óskar Guðjónsson!
posted by juliapangolin at 5:53 AM on October 2, 2022
posted by juliapangolin at 5:53 AM on October 2, 2022
Johanssen made a similar record called jazz på ryska.
posted by pasici at 7:08 AM on October 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by pasici at 7:08 AM on October 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
A lot of the ECM Records catalog is in the neighborhood of this aesthetic, I think. This Spotify playlist wouldn't be a bad place to start browsing.
posted by dr. boludo at 7:36 AM on October 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by dr. boludo at 7:36 AM on October 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
Bremer McCoy
Their albums Ordet and Forsvinder are excellent but not on Bandcamp, for some reason. Thankfully, they have them on YouTube and elsewhere.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 9:53 AM on October 2, 2022
Their albums Ordet and Forsvinder are excellent but not on Bandcamp, for some reason. Thankfully, they have them on YouTube and elsewhere.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 9:53 AM on October 2, 2022
Jazz på svenska was one of my first albums ever, at age fifteen, along with Bach's Cello solo suites (played ba Pablo Casals). Always with me in the Walkman (this is early 80s), together with
Blue, Court and Spark, and Heijira, by Joni Mitchell, later Shadows and Light. Somehow the old Mitchell albums do the same for me as Jazz pa svenska, but maybe because i first heard them around the same time, at fifteen and sixteen.
Other favourites without vocals that to me have the same vibe:
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Marin Marais
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Chris Wood and Andy Cutting
Andy Cutting
and finally French Trad.
posted by 15L06 at 11:22 AM on October 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Blue, Court and Spark, and Heijira, by Joni Mitchell, later Shadows and Light. Somehow the old Mitchell albums do the same for me as Jazz pa svenska, but maybe because i first heard them around the same time, at fifteen and sixteen.
Other favourites without vocals that to me have the same vibe:
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Marin Marais
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Chris Wood and Andy Cutting
Andy Cutting
and finally French Trad.
posted by 15L06 at 11:22 AM on October 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Adding Matthew Halsall to the list.
posted by matildaben at 11:44 AM on October 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by matildaben at 11:44 AM on October 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Have you listened to Bill Evans? You also might like Ahmad Jamal
posted by pinochiette at 12:02 PM on October 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by pinochiette at 12:02 PM on October 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
You might like Suzanne Ciani's acoustic work. I'm thinking specifically Pianissimo and Pianissimo II
posted by kbuxton at 1:48 PM on October 2, 2022
posted by kbuxton at 1:48 PM on October 2, 2022
Traditional music, played by an acoustic duo, with deep and understated virtuosity: Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, The Lonesome Touch.
posted by hovey at 3:21 PM on October 2, 2022
posted by hovey at 3:21 PM on October 2, 2022
I have to confess I started out thinking I understood the ask from the description and initial replies. On preview, I decided to listen to the reference material and wonder if I missed the point. This is great stuff and an intersection that feels familiar and yet like nothing I've heard before!
If you're looking for in-the-pocket mellow jazz, I'd recommend solo Duke Ellington or +1 the Ahmad Jamal recommendation above (I think Jamal Plays Jamal might scratch the itch). Also Ellington's collabo with Mingus and Roach - Money Jungle. Very in-the-pocket, same kind of book-ended song structures, and mostly exploratory. Ellington is not flashy in his smaller ensembles, and this is my favorite of Max Roach performances.
If you're looking for Euro-jazz, +1 on ECM and Skúli Sverrisson. Within ECM, Tomasz Stanko and Nils Petter Molvaer are great. I also like Jan Garbarek. Dino Saluzzi's [bandoneon] Cite De La Musique is warm, but very spare. Outside ECM, Esbjorn Svensson Trio are worth seeking out - I haven't found a weak album from their catalog - Leucocyte is a good starting point.
Post-downtown NY Bill Frisell would be good too. I'm thinking of something like Blues Dream. I'd bet his work with bassist Thomas Morgan would mine the same vein.
Even more spare, I go back to Hans Teuber/Paul Rucker's "Oil" again and again and find new things, even as ambient as their interactions are. It's on Jackson Street records, which I think is Rucker's personal label. The link above has the album at 9.99, which is a steal.
Kahil el'Zabar's Ritual Trio might wander a little afield into free jazz tonality on some releases, but I feel pretty confident recommending Big M (Tribute to Malachi Favors). May not be "Euro" enough for you - it's a eulogy for Favors, so they pull in a bit of the blues here. Trance-inducing kalimba, bass, sax and violin (Billy Bang). "Oof" If you like this, it's worth looking at his whole catalog.
posted by SoundInhabitant at 9:25 AM on October 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
If you're looking for in-the-pocket mellow jazz, I'd recommend solo Duke Ellington or +1 the Ahmad Jamal recommendation above (I think Jamal Plays Jamal might scratch the itch). Also Ellington's collabo with Mingus and Roach - Money Jungle. Very in-the-pocket, same kind of book-ended song structures, and mostly exploratory. Ellington is not flashy in his smaller ensembles, and this is my favorite of Max Roach performances.
If you're looking for Euro-jazz, +1 on ECM and Skúli Sverrisson. Within ECM, Tomasz Stanko and Nils Petter Molvaer are great. I also like Jan Garbarek. Dino Saluzzi's [bandoneon] Cite De La Musique is warm, but very spare. Outside ECM, Esbjorn Svensson Trio are worth seeking out - I haven't found a weak album from their catalog - Leucocyte is a good starting point.
Post-downtown NY Bill Frisell would be good too. I'm thinking of something like Blues Dream. I'd bet his work with bassist Thomas Morgan would mine the same vein.
Even more spare, I go back to Hans Teuber/Paul Rucker's "Oil" again and again and find new things, even as ambient as their interactions are. It's on Jackson Street records, which I think is Rucker's personal label. The link above has the album at 9.99, which is a steal.
Kahil el'Zabar's Ritual Trio might wander a little afield into free jazz tonality on some releases, but I feel pretty confident recommending Big M (Tribute to Malachi Favors). May not be "Euro" enough for you - it's a eulogy for Favors, so they pull in a bit of the blues here. Trance-inducing kalimba, bass, sax and violin (Billy Bang). "Oof" If you like this, it's worth looking at his whole catalog.
posted by SoundInhabitant at 9:25 AM on October 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
I think you would like Toshiko Akiyoshi, specifically Her Trio, Her Quartet and Classic Encounters.
posted by Hypatia at 9:36 AM on October 12, 2022
posted by Hypatia at 9:36 AM on October 12, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
NHØP and Kenny Drew were directly inspired by Johansen for this. The album is Duo.
posted by mumimor at 12:29 AM on October 2, 2022 [1 favorite]