The late Nils Lindberg was a true renaissance man equally at home in classical, jazz and Swedish folk music. The first seven titles here were recorded soon after he had left Stockholm’s Royal College of Music.
The saxes achieve an attractive section sound on Curbits reminiscent of Woody Herman’s Four Brothers voicing. Lars Gullin opens Just A Take with a masterful unaccompanied statement that soon becomes a themeless examination of Yesterdays. The contrapuntal interplay with Rolf Billberg in the coda is worthy of Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond.
Birdland, a blues with a Honeysuckle Rose bridge, should not be confused with Joe Zawinul’s original of the same name. Charlie Ventura wrote it with Gene Roland and it was part of his Bop For The People repertoire. The tenors Allan Lundstrom and Harry Backlund both stretch out inventively revealing the Lester Young influence that was so prevalent at the time.
Gullin is at his most profound on Play For Love (a Lover Man contrafact) and Billberg impresses here with his cerebral Lee Konitz-like approach. Gullin, of course, had his own unique sound and is worthy of inclusion in the panoply of baritone masters along with Harry Carney, Gerry Mulligan, Serge Chaloff, Ronnie Cuber and Ronnie Ross. The only performer who came fairly close to that unique timbre was his son the late Peter Gullin. The latter’s Tenderness on Dragon DRCD222 is well worth tracking down.
Fresh Sound has included four bonus titles which benefit from the presence of the great Åke Persson on trombone. He later became one of the star soloists with the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland big band from 1961 to 1972. The running order on the sleeve note for the first seven titles is not totally accurate. My listing in the discography is correct.
Discography
(1) Curbits; Zodiac; Just A Take; Birdland; Blues For Bill; Play For Love; Brand New: (2) Cotton Tail; Taboo; Blues For Bill; Moonlight In Vermont (46.33)
Lindberg (p, arr) with:
(1) Rolf Billberg (as); Harry Bäcklund, Allan Lundström (ts); Lars Gullin (bar); Sture Nordin (b); Conny Svensson (d). Stockholm, 9, 10 February 1960.
(2) Maffy Falay (t); Åke Persson (tb); Lundstrom (ts); Tosten Wennberg (bar); Nordin (b); Svensson (d). Stockholm, 31 October 1960.
Fresh Sound Records FSR-CD 1148
