Jazz |
If you closely follow the German label ACT, you probably know the pianist, composer, and arranger Jan Lundgren. At 20, he continued his studies at the renowned Malmö Academy of Music. According to a frequently told story, he was accepted on the condition that he also take the position of pianist in the famous Monday Night Big Band. He played with all the best-known jazz musicians in Sweden, from his mentor Arne Domnerus to Putte Wickman and Bernt Rosengren. But he also regularly traveled to the United States from the beginning (and still does today) to work with legends such as Benny Golson and Johnny Griffin. Thanks to his exceptional technique and classical training, Lundgren quickly acquired an encyclopedic knowledge of the American jazz piano tradition and quickly mastered all styles, from early to modern jazz. All this served as raw material to create his own music, as soon became apparent.
Here is a brief story to give you a clear picture of this artist in a few lines that I have extracted from his biography. Regarding Yamandu Costa, Jan Lundgren states: “Yamandu Costa, the guitar is a natural extension of his body and soul,” observed a critic. Costa has six Latin Grammy nominations and one win, and he plays with elegance, harmonic fluidity, and deep knowledge of Latin American music in a range of contexts from solo performances to work with symphony orchestras. Jan Lundgren has made a major contribution to European jazz over the past two decades, notably through his role in the Mare Nostrum trio with Paolo Fresu and Richard Galliano. As Dave Gelly wrote in The Observer (UK), what the members of Mare Nostrum have in common is “a flair for melody and a similar lightness of touch, making their combined sound both delicate and irresistible.” These are the virtues that Costa and Lundgren bring to their new joint venture.
On this album, we find various works in a culture elegantly shared between the two artists, who do everything to craft melodic lines with great charm, with the first track “Para Aprender A Amor,” which was also sung by the French jazz singer Claude Nougaro at the time. The rest features titles from both artists, from Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, Evert Taube, and we are amused to see the titles given by Jan Lundgren to some of his compositions (Galliano, Fresu, A. Legrand…). Undeniably, these are lovely tributes to the musicians with whom he has shared various projects or stages.
I love the apparent simplicity of this album, making it an album for everyone that does not require special knowledge of jazz or Brazilian music. Nonetheless, musicians or specialists will notice the complexity of the arrangement writing, a sign of very high-level artists. It is, therefore, an album that everyone will appreciate. The variety of style, rhythm, and mood of “Inner Spirits” as a whole is addictive. The winning combination of empathy, mutual respect, and stunning musicality of Jan Lundgren and Yamandu Costa has produced a magnificent set that is certainly poised to earn its place among the greatest piano-guitar recordings.
It is probably not the most expressive album of the summer, but one of the most poetic, an “Indispensable,” by our standards.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, July 28th 2024
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