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Lars Jansson Trio: Koan
Lars Jansson Trio is something of a permanent fixture on the contemporary Swedish jazz scene. Past members have included bassist
Anders Jormin
bass
Lars Danielsson
bassb.1958
Christian Spering
bass, acousticb.1963
Arild Andersen
bass, acousticb.1945
Radka Toneff
vocalsb.1952
Jan Garbarek
saxophoneb.1947
Red Mitchell
bass1927 - 1992
The current lineup provides a vehicle for Jansson's delicate, melodic playing and thoughtful compositions. All the music on Koan was composed and arranged by Jansson and the songs are dedicated to family, friends, fellow musicians, and also the people of Japan. The album title itself refers to a method of question and answer used by the Japanese Rinzai school as a way of evaluating a Zen Buddhist monk's state of spirituality. Mysticism and tradition are recurring themes in Japanese culture and both are present on many of the thirteen songs on Koan (the number thirteen is not an unlucky number in Japan, in case you were wondering).
The opening track, "Shikantaza," is a wistful outing dedicated to the tricky act of sitting and "just being." The song is anything but sedentary and bounces along with effective solos (largely by Jansson) and explosive drum accompaniment.
Practicing Buddhist and pensive musician Jansson uses jazz as his chosen art form in his search for self-knowledge as he believes jazz is one of the few human activities that successfully combines collective responsibility and individual freedom. On the album, Jansson explores more than his admiration for the Orient and Koan features pieces dedicated to the Nordic countries, such as the warm, harmonic "Iceland," and also his love of the jazz tradition, with "Jamal," which bears more than a passing resemblance to playing style of the great pianist of the same name.
Koan is a rich, multilayered recording and another good example of the quality of Swedish jazz in 2012 as it looks beyond its expansive borders for inspiration yet retains a distinctly clean, warm and daring sound. ">
Track Listing
Shikantaza; Koan 3; El Piloto; A Gentle Heart; Iceland; He Who Sings And Sobs; Too Good To Me; Romantic; Uroboros; Jamal; Koan 2; The Organist; Hippocampus (Woodwinds 5).
Personnel
Lars Jansson
pianoLars Jansson: piano; Thomas Fonnesb?k: bass; Paul Svanberg: drums.
Album information
Title: Koan | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Prophone Records
Tags
Lars Jansson Trio
CD/LP/Track Review
Lars Jansson
James Pearse
Prophone Records
Sweden
Stockholm
Anders Jormin
Lars Danielsson
Christian Spering
Arild Andersen
Radka Toneff
Jan Garbarek
Red Mitchell
Koan
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