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Various: Magic Moments 4: Jazz Is Cool

By Bruce Lindsay
August 29, 2010
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Germany's ACT Music is an innovative and adventurous label with an international roster that includes some genuinely cutting-edge musicians including

Vijay Iyer

piano
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Vijay Iyer and

" data-original-title="" title="">Dan Berglund's Tonbruket. Magic Moments 4: Jazz Is Cool is the fourth in ACT's sampler series and a great place to begin exploring the music it has to offer.

The majority of the tracks here come from Northern European artists and demonstrate the range of talent that is emanating from that relatively small part of the world. The

Esbjorn Svensson

piano
1964 - 2008

" data-original-title="" title="">Esbjorn Svensson Trio (e.s.t.) is one of the best known of these acts and its contribution here, "Spam-Boo-Limbo," is hugely enjoyable. So, too, are the contributions of trombonist

Nils Landgren

trombone
b.1956

" data-original-title="" title="">Nils Landgren—his solo on the Chris Gall Trio's "Blues Panic" is fiery and swinging at the same time, in stark contrast to his vocal on his version of

Sting

bass, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Sting's "Fragile," performed with the NDR Big Band, which is tender and beautiful.

Tonbruket contributes "The Wind and the Leaves," a lovely folk-inspired tune led by Johan Lindstr?m's gentle guitar and Martin Hederos' accordion. The Jan Lundgren Trio may have echoes of e.s.t. in its approach, but the band is no mere copyist—"Yo Vivo Enamorao" features superb playing from bassist Mattias Svensson and drummer Zoltan Csorsz Jr., as well as from pianist Lundgren.

There are some less successful tracks, however. Ida Sand's "Brutal Truth" is a generic blues, while

Wolfgang Haffner

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Wolfgang Haffner and Sebastian Studnitzky's "Azul" is bland nu-jazz.

Youn Sun Nah

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Youn Sun Nah's version of

Tom Waits

piano and vocals
b.1949

" data-original-title="" title="">Tom Waits' classic "Jockey Full of Bourbon" features gritty and atmospheric guitar from

Ulf Wakenius

guitar
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Ulf Wakenius, but the singer is unconvincing.

Such disappointments are few, though, and interspersed between plenty of terrific music. The more left-field of ACT's acts are a revelation. Swedish quintet Oddjob, with the help of pedal steel guitar from Tonbruket's Lindstr?m, add a spooky new dimension to the Spaghetti Western theme "Hang 'Em High." The C��line Bonacina Trio deliver the funky ZigZag Blues led by Bonacina's amazingly fluid baritone sax. Swedish vocalist Josefine Cronholm performs the most intriguing song in the set: the mysterious and laid back "Silver White Man."

Beautifully packaged and designed, Magic Moments 4: Jazz Is Cool ably demonstrates the breadth of jazz talent to be found on ACT Music. Iyer and e.s.t. may be the big names, but there are plenty of others here who are creating some fine and inventive music.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Azul; Sir Revival; Brutal Truth; Blues Panic; We Were Indians; Spam-Boo-Limbo; Fragile; Yo Vivo Enamorao; Hang 'Em High; Silver White Man; The Madonna; Jockey Full of Bourbon; Galang (Trio Riot Version); ZigZag Blues; Si Ay Perdut Mon Sabre; The Wind and the Leaves; There Must Be An Angel; Nach Hause.

Personnel

Wolfgang Haffner and Sebastian Studnitzky; Roberto Di Gioia's Marsmobil; Ida Sand and Lars Danielsson; Chris Gall Trio with Nils Landgren; Solveig Slettahjell Slow Motion Quintet; Esbj?rn Svensson Trio; Landgren, Sendecki, Danielsson and the NDR Big Band; Jan Lundgren Trio; Oddjob; Josefine Cronholm and Factum e.s.t.; Danielsson, Mo?d?er, Eick, Harland; Youn Sun Nah and Ulf Wakenius; Vijay Iyer Trio; C��line Bonacina Trio; Knut R?ssler, Johannes Vogt; Dan Berglun's Tonbruket; Jessica Piln?s, Dan Berglund, Wolfgang Haffner; McJazz.

Album information

Title: Magic Moments 4: Jazz Is Cool | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: ACT Music

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