One of the towering figures of American music, Cherry was part of the revolutionary free-bop quartet led by Coleman, an ensemble that helped shift the conversation about jazz from chord changes and swing to freedom and energy. By the late '60s, the pocket-cornet player was living in Sweden, with his wife Karlsson, playing with Swedish musicians from all backgrounds, seeking out exciting partners in a somewhat hippie-like atmosphere. It was in this milieu, in the summers of '71 and '72 that Cherry recorded the tracks for his legendary double LP, Organic Music Society, which was released on Caprice and is now reissued for the first time on CD. The sessions that comprise Organic Music Society are varied and represent several directions in Cherry's oeuvre.
Caprice presents the highly anticipated re-release of Rena Rama's live album from the Stockholm jazz club Fasching in 1975. Formed in 1971, Swedish jazz band Rena Rama was noted for mixing jazz, unusual time signatures, and African and Asian folk themes. It's original lineup included Lennart Aberg, Bobo Stenson, Palle Danielsson, and Bengt Berger. Stenson and Aberg had previously worked with Red Mitchell, and Danielsson with Steve Kuhn. Berger had previously studied percussion in India. Stenson had already recorded his first trio LP. This production features Leroy Lowe on drums.
Swedish Jazz History- a series of album compilations released by Caprice Records- chronicles jazz in Sweden with representative recordings up until the 1970s. Volume 11 is a comprehensive set of four albums with a total of 62 tracks, including some unissued items. It presents a vast selection of music by artists such as Alice Babs, Monica Dominique, Nannie Porres, Monica Zetterlund, Lars Gullin, Georg Riedel, Bernt Rosengren, The Swedish Radio Jazz Group, and more. Many sources of studio and live recordings are used from different locations in Sweden. This album reflects Swedish jazz of the 1970s, characterized by internationalization and intercultural influences. Foreign Sweden-based artists like Red Mitchell, Maffy Falay and Okay Temiz worked with Swedish musicians. For instance, with its Turkish influences, the Sevda group was a forerunner in what would later develop into the World Music genre. The 1970s was a musically rich decade where older jazz coexisted with new, freely improvised forms, influenced by both American and European avant-garde artists. Different kinds of Fusion, mixing jazz with other styles and expressions, became popular, such as Jazz Rock/ Jazz Funk.
When Swedish composer Wilhelm Peterson-Berger's secret compartment was opened in connection to his 150th birthday in 2017, several unknown and forgotten recordings were discovered. These were of P.B. himself as narrator, pianist and conductor, as well as contemporary recordings of two complete acts of his opera Arnljot from the Royal Swedish Opera, and several shellac discs with his favorite singers. This release aims to bring those recordings into the light. Esteemed during his lifetime but relegated to the tertiary ranks of music figures thereafter, Wilhelm Peterson-Berger was a significant Swedish composer and critic in the early decades of the twentieth century. He studied organ and composition at the Stockholm Conservatory (1886-1889), then traveled to Dresden for further instruction in composition and orchestration. As a composer, he was a Romantic nationalist. He wrote many large works - his quasi-Wagnerian Arnljot is considered to be the Swedish national opera, and his third symphony and violin concerto are still highly regarded in his homeland - but Peterson-Berger is best remembered for his miniatures, particularly the piano pieces Frösöblomster, and perhaps the song collection Swedish Lyrics.
A record with Swedish folk music – played on a bagpipe from Dalecarlia! + This was unheard of when these recordings were made during 1982/83. + The bagpipe being an instrument with Swedish traditions is a rather unknown fact for most people today. + On this album Per Gudmundson plays on a type of bagpipe that could still be heard at the beginning of the last century. + The specific instrument on this album is based on two older bagpipes from the Western part of Dalecarlia and is a result of a collaboration between Per and the instrument builder Leif Eriksson. + Here we can hear the bagpipe alone, but also together with vocals (Agneta Stolpe) and other folk instruments like the violin, the lira, the zither and the harmonica. + All played by well-known Swedish folk musicians like Magnus and Ola Bäckström, Jan Winter and Erik and Ingrid Ingels. + The bagpipe is used in a more contemporary context, inspired by modern Swedish folk music. + Extra tracks are added on this release.
