Arne Domnérus Sextet - The Arne Domnérus Sextet in Concert with Bengt Hallberg & Rolf Ericson (Live) (1994/2020)

Any jazz record that starts out with a bluesed-out bass solo by Georg Reidel as this one does and nonchalantly slips into Duke Ellington's "Things ain't What They Used to Be" has got my vote. This vault recording of Arne Domnérus' Stockholm sextet is primarily Ellingtonian in flavor, but its raw immediacy and rich color palette make it more than just a neo-trad set. For one, the way Reidel is used is positively original, opening several tunes solo, establishing a rootsy blues feel, and then bringing in the band, piano first (Hallberg). It's Hallberg who shines on Ellington's "Isfahan," with Hallberg taking the melodic line and fusing it to an inverted harmonic pattern in counterpoint. He stretches his chords, making for the resonance of numerous pitches. When the band enters on the last half, it's in staggered harmony, flutes first, then saxes playing an easy swing blues throughout. Another strange arrangement is Monk's "Well You Needn't" being commenced by a trumpet, with the alto and tenor playing a half measure behind in a striated harmony. The piano is used only for color, strangely enough, and Domnérus' solo carries the thing shimmying and sweating into "You've Changed." The cover on this set looks as square as all get out, but the music inside is a savvy, hip, and down in the groove.