Instrumental
International relevance: **
Putte Wickman was a technically skilled clarinet player but best known for swing and flatulent bop jazz – a traditionalist not known for forward thinking. So ”Happy New Year!” isn't an album you'd easily associate with him. True that about half of it is dull and close to what you might expect from him, but the remainder is of a more contemporary design. It's actually pretty open-minded even for fusion jazz. The title track is straight-up funky and the undisputed highlight of the album. Free thinker Bobo Stenson appears on electric piano on some cuts, while piano giant Staffan Abeleen appears on the remaining tracks.
While not an essential disc, it's still
interesting to hear Wickman had more to offer than just stale
musealia.
Full album playlist
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