Many musicians are given some sort of epithet, often by a label in order to boost record sales. Some of these become so successful as to be synonymous with the person ('the Godfather of Soul' and 'the King of Rock'n'Roll' spring to mind), while others, such as 'the King of Pop', achieve nothing more than a slightly desperate third-coat-of-glue stick-damn-you-stick feeling.
'The Genius' for Ray Charles falls somewhere in between these, but the interesting difference here is that while it is pretty much impossible for someone to be the godfather of a genre of music, or indeed for an American to be royalty, in mr Charles' case the label was undoubtedly perfectly accurate.
I never got to see him in concert (although last year I was hired to tour Australia behind Frank Rondell, probably the world's finest Ray Charles singalike), but there are a few other musicians who fall into the same category, and tonight it was my undiluted pleasure to take in a performance by one of them: Jean 'Toots' Thielemans at Berwaldhallen, Stockholm.
Mr Thielemans is the unrivalled champion of the jazz chromatic harmonica. The first recording I know for a fact I heard him on was Swedish jazz vocalist Monica Zetterlund's Monica Z, released some time in the '80s, but of course I'd heard his most famous composition before then: Bluesette, in Sweden also known as Min Bedårande Sommarvals, in which guise (with lyrics by T Danielsson) it is a gentle sendup of the Swedish folky summer-inspired songs, often waltzes, by composers like Evert Taube, Olle Adolphson and Carl Anton.
As a side note, a chromatic harmonica is one which allows you to play any note in its range, as opposed to, say, a blues harmonica, which is tuned to a certain key. This is why people like Blues Traveler's John Popper walk on stage wearing a vest full of the things, you need different instruments for different keys - unless of course you opt for the chromatic one.
There aren't that many jazz harmonicists, which is a little surprising to me considering that the instrument's range of expression is very wide, almost up there with the sax and certainly past anything you can do with a trumpet (unless you use mutes, and everybody knows mutes are cheating). Just one of those things, I guess.
Anyway. Tonight's performance.
Berwaldhallen is the home arena for the Swedish Radio orchestras. Completed in '79 it has wonderful acoustics and I was in a decent seat but not the best. There were quite a few sound issues on stage and the musicians kept calling out for changes to their foldbacks. The front-of-house sound, to me, was great in the second set, but a bit mushy in the mid-range in the first.
Mr Thielemans played only the second set. The first saw a range of Swedish jazz soloists flow past, doing a few numbers each: Andreas Öberg (guitar), Vivan Buzcek (vocals, also the MC for the evening), Ulf Wakenius (world-renowned guitar virtuoso) and Gunhild Carling (trombone, vocals). Backing both sets was the Claes Crona trio with mr Crona on piano, Jörgen Smeby on bass and on the kit Petur 'Island' Östlund (of whom it was once said he's the only drummer in Sweden who plays without a klicker - he damn well is a klicker, all by himself).
None of these performances were bad by anybody's standards, but if I have to pick one negative it'll have to be ms Buzcek's scatting, which sounded to me like a vocalist who's been taught to scat - not like someone trying to imitate a (range of) instruments, which to me is what scat should be.
Ms Carling provided me with a first in her rendition of Caravan: I have never, to my knowledge, heard jazz recorder before. I've certainly never seen it. Different, playful, fun, and surprising in that from where I was sitting it looked (and sounded) like a plastic recorder rather than a wood one. I could be wrong. I haven't played recorder since the third grade (except for one drunken night in 2004, but what goes on tour stays on tour).
Mr Wakenius played a... Is it a homage to someone who's alive and a tribute to someone who's dead? Let's say it is. He played a homage to mr Thielemans and a tribute to his long-time band leader Oscar Peterson (in whose Quartet mr Wakenius played from 1997 until mr Peterson's death just a few weeks ago).
And so on to the stage walks mr 'Toots' Thielemans. He looks like a frail old man, and just weeks shy of his 86th birthday perhaps he is. But his control of his instrument is as masterful as ever it was.
The whole thing was very relaxed, very laid back, and there was quite a bit of mid-song arranging going on, with mr Thielemans waving messrs Crona, Smeby and Östlund on and off as his fancy took him. You might say that's poor preparation, I say if there's no spontaneity on stage you might as well chuck on a CD.
The set list included Bluesette (of course), The Days of Wine and Roses, I Loves You Porgy and Summertime (which mr Wakenius had also played earlier, in a very different style), and the audience was even invited to sing along to Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Vem Kan Segla Förutan Vind.
Mr Thielemans has worked extensively in Sweden on and off since the early sixties, when he was engaged by the review writers / performers Hasse & Tage (Alfredsson and Danielsson, respectively). In fact, mr Thielemans told us, it was mr Danielsson who suggested he change Bluesette's title from Bluette.
In between songs we were regaled with anecdotes (in Swedish, no less) from over 50 year's performing, mostly from his times in Sweden. There were several apologies for using time talking which could have been spent playing, but mr Thielemans, let me tell you that nobody minded. It is obvious that Sweden has a special place in your heart, and we, in turn, have nothing but love for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment