Palle Danielsson,
Paal Nilssen-Love,
Recorded in concert at Glenn Miller Café,
Stockholm, Sweden, August 25 & 26, 2004.
Although his original influence was Art Pepper, Swedish altoist Lars-Göran Ulander plays free jazz. His tone is distinctive (sounding a little like Eric Dolphy, although he does not play the giant interval jumps), his ideas are stimulating, and he interacts well with bassist Palle Danielsson and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love on these generally intense free improvisations. While Charles Mingus' "What Love" and Ulander's "J.C. Drops" initially utilize some structure, they also become long jams for the trio. It is a measure of the three musicians' skills that the five lengthy performances stay consistently interesting and creative without becoming a vamp or adopting a recognizable melody. Ulander, who has recorded since 1963 but had not led a record date before this one, deserves to be much better known.
allmusic.com
