Swingin' the Blues 1957-58

When one thinks of Swedish jazz of the 1950's, it is of cool-toned bebop. This CD reissue is therefore a bit of a surprise for it extensively features the Benny Goodman-influenced clarinetist Ove Lind in a quartet that he co-led with bassist Gunnar Almstedt. With the talented pianist Bengt Hallberg and drummer Sture Kallin completing the group, the quartet performs swing standards along with a few obscurities and tunes that in general were associated with BG; Lind really recaptured the King Of Swing's sound. In addition to the 12 quartet numbers and one ("Jammin' The Blues") that adds guitarist Rolf Berg, there are six selections from a 1958 sextet with Lind, Almstedt, trumpeter Jan Allan, tenor-saxophonist Bjarne Nerem, pianist Rune Ofwerman and drummer Ulf Carlsson and five previously unreleased numbers from a live session with Lind, Almstedt, trumpeter Arnold Johansson, Nereme, Hallberg, Berg and drummer Anders Burman. Despite the lack of name recognition in the U.S. for many of the players, their musicianship is quite high and the music can easily be recommended to swing collectors who think they have everything.