Instrumental
International relevance ***/***
The seeds of Wasa Express were already in the ground by 1975, although their debut album wasn't released until 1977. They recorded an LP's worth of material as Klara Express in 1975 in the legendary Decibel studio in Stockholm where myriads of albums have been recorded. If these recordings were made as demos or if they were in fact intended for release I don't know, but they remained locked away for decades before getting a digital-only release.
Klara Express was a very different-sounding band than when turning into Wasa Express, and this incarnation featured EGBA trumpeter Ulf Adåker and trombone player Nils Landgren who both left early on. They were obviously a balancing force in the band, as those Klara Express tapes top everything made after their departure. Instead of the daredevil gymnastics that make Wasa Express such an overbearing band, Klara Express focused on the groove. Åke Eriksson is a drummer well-known for his skills, and here he pulls out every funky trick in the book to great success. The syncopes blare away with precision but also all of the feel it takes to make it swing, groove and funk. It's fusion music alright, but it's in the higher legion of jazz funk, much better than most albums in the same mould. It's a pity these recordings weren't released back in the day, and even greater pity what the loss of Adåker and Landgren did to the band.
”Live at Jarlateatern 1976” is an
early document of Wasa Express, and while it still has remnants from
their early Klara characteristics, they were already heading for their typical style
where it was more important to dazzle and baffle the audience with
instrumental acrobatics than to present something with emotional
substance. And even in those moments where they emphasize the funk
bits left over from the Klara Express days, it sounds dull and
calculated. ”Jarlateatern” isn't quite as terrible as their later
properly released albums, but it's still dead boring and clinical.
None of
these albums have been released physically. Both of them were
originally available for free download from Åke Eriksson's website,
but are now available for streaming on the regular platforms.
Klara Express full album playlist (Spotify)
Live At Jarlateatern full album playlist (Spotify)
No comments:
Post a Comment