| Jazz |
If you are not familiar with his name, we can tell you that Olof has already been noticed following several albums and tours which include the Fredrik Kronkvist Quintet, the Bohuslän Big Band with Maria Schneider, and most recently on ‘Ett Göteborgsporträtt’ with the brilliant saxophonist Axel Mardsjö, when he was awarded the Royal Swedish Academy of Music’s guitar scholarship by the Albin Hagström Memorial Fund in 2023.
No doubt, dear Olof, you have more than fulfilled your mission with your first record. A unique, powerful, intellectual style, masterfully highlighted both by the quality of your musical writing and arrangements, and by your choice of musicians. Together with a trio featuring some of Sweden’s top musicians – Magnus Hjorth (piano), Simon Petersson (bass) and Adam Ross (drums) – Olof presents his own compositions with dreamy themes using the colours of the 90s New York scene and today’s vibrant Nordic jazz scene.
Your work can be appreciated as a contemporary painting that belongs in a museum and accessible to a very wide audience. Throughout this album, one reflects not only about the music but also beyond, how it is received, and how we can find our place within it. This is the very essence of jazz – a proposition, an intellectual awakening, something that comes from deep within, a necessity that drives us to create and continually question ourselves. The beauty of your compositions also lies in form, when one transcends conventional aesthetics to offer something new. There’s a touch of genius here that not everyone may follow, but no matter – art is not up for debate, you either get it or miss it.
Olof’s guitar playing builds a decisive bridge between tradition and modernity: the significant mark of any jazz approach since its origins, and the signature of an authentic explorer. The accompanying trio is up to the challenge proposed by Olof’s compositions and the three musicians are absolutely breathtaking. The bass-drum rhythm duo is the pillar of the album, allowing the guitar and the piano to provoke each other, combine, intertwine to better bring out the sparks created from their exchanges. Olof Wullt shifts the lines and then returns to more classic forms. There’s no need to try to compare his style – he stands entirely on his own.
Of course, there’s no question here – this album is a “must-have” (“Indispensable”), allowing us to view the music world a bit differently, to feel the vibrations produced by these artists, plunging us into a jazzy form that has just the right touch of intellect, and we love it!
Frankie Pfeiffer
Editor in chief – PARIS-MOVE
PARIS-MOVE, November 11th 2024
Follow PARIS-MOVE on X
::::::::::::::::::::::::::