This is a double punch knockout! Recorded around the same time as trumpeter Mongezi Feza's albums with Johnny Dyani and Okay Temiz, this is miles above them all. (It should be said that Temiz is present here as well, but in a much more appropriate context.) The secret weapon here is Bernt Rosengren's quartet who really goes for it, and his band is a much better match to Feza.
Double CD ”Free Jam” was recorded during two shows in mid and late November 1972, and the title explains it all: this is collective improvisations. A dangerous game if you can't find the flow, but these five gentlemen sure do. They touch on multiple jazz styles, or more like referencing them, because it's all free jazz in the best sense of the word. Powerful, energetic, symbiotic, osmotic. It's so exhilarating when it happens and this is an exhilarating release.
The sound quality isn't top notch, it's
a slightly distant audience recording from a somewhat echoey venue,
but the force of the music still comes through with crystalline
focus. If you're used to listening to free jazz it shouldn't be much
of a problem, as many obscure free jazz albums aren't any hi-fi
experiences anyway. And this is one of the finest examples of the
style recorded and released in Sweden.
Selective album playlist (Bandcamp)
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