Firehouse

Live at Glenn Miller Cafe

Label: Ayler Country: Sweden

"Some recordings are made for the public and some like this are for professional and advanced musicians. Ken Smith (a professional brass and reed player round town) told me how new doors had been opened for him musically after I had given him a recording like this. In the liner notes is mentioned about elements of rock and jazz being brought together on this CD ... and that is right ... advanced rock and jazz players and music teachers would find this CD of great interest.

John Lindblom-bandleader and guitarist plays everything you can possibly play on the guitar...wide power chords, harmonics, triplets,bent notes, hammering on the strings, and diffrent scales (not too far away from the free jazz influenced metal bands "Metallica and Pantera"). This would inspire any guitarist who wants to ascend to greater heights of skill and knowledge.

Kjell Norderson is a drummer with a light touch who is very musical. Many pop bands round town are let down by bad drummers who drown out the rest of the band and then fill the room with boom crash bang!!!!! The audience then tends to leave the venue to make room for it. If you have plans to become a great drummer ... this is one of the men to inspire you ... with his light improvising touch over the whole range of the kit .. playing a lot but not loud .. supporting the other musicians and playing just the right thing at the right time.

Magnus Broo the trumpeter draws his influences from all over jazz...from Louis Armstrong thru Dizzy Gilllespie to Lester Bowie .. something you see a bit more often these days.

Fredrik Ljungkvist tenor sax and clarinet . .plays hard speed metal like runs ala Ayler on his instruments .. yes this is right ... much metal and hard rock is influenced by out free jazz.

This musician has learnt from the great Ornette Coleman and has turned what he has learnt into something wonderful. John Berthling on acoustic upright bass (very unusual for a jazz-rock fusion session)-but it works out well keeping everything together down the bottom).

With all these good musicians coming together to play, something spiritual comes out here ... Broo and Ljungkvist enlarge the golden spirit of Coleman ... helped by the other musicians ..t. hey open a portal to a golden world ... a spiritual world of freedom ... a far better place ... It is for those moments I enjoy reviewing music."-Geoffrey Totton, International Music Forum