"An Intimate Salute To Frankie"
Putte Wickman, clarinet/ Jan Lundgren, piano
Gazell Records
Recorded at Atlantis Studio in February 2005
The enclosed album is – at one and the same time – another wonderful
example of the playing of Putte Wickman and a unique document of the
relationship between Wickman and pianist Jan Lundgren. When Wickman
celebrated his 80th birthday in 2004, he could look back as a creative
participant in almost all phases of Swedish jazz.
Of course, it´s in the 1950s that international opinion began to be
aware of what was happening in Sweden. Probably it was producer Leonard
Feather who first noticed in a big way (initially, no doubt, because of
running a weekly record show for the Voice of America, aimed at
European listeners). Soon after the Getz visit, a set was recorded
featuring Domnérus, Gullin, Rolf Ericson, Åke Person and Wickman, and
released in the States under the name “Leonard Feather´s Swinging
Swedes”.
If pianist Jan Lundgren is somewhat less well-known internationally,
that is probably because he is less than half the age of his clarinet
compatriot. Born in 1966, he too began with classical piano lessons
but, through becoming involved in a local big-band as a teenager, a
love of jazz led to backing star musicians such as Bernt Rosengren and
Arne Domnérus, who soon became a mentor for him. As well as working
with Europe-based Americans like Benny Bailey, Herb Geller, Johnny
Griffin and vocalist Deborah Brown, Lundgren soon found himself
visiting the USA (several times since the mid-1990s) and recording six
albums for sale in Japan (where he also performed with Domnérus).
…..Of course, this excellent curriculum vitae would mean little in
the present project if Lundgren was not able to hold his own, for his
playing is extremely exposed with no rhythm-section and just one
wind-instrument…..This is much more a partnership of equals, in musical
terms if not longevity, and it is a crucial bonus that Lundgren is able
to bring so much variety to his performance.
