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Intro
On December 6 and 7, 1976, in a small jazz club called Stampen (The Pawn Shop) in Stockholm's Old Town, Swedish sound engineer Gert Palmcrantz recorded a group of leading Scandinavian jazzmen live, trying to get "the tight, harmonious sound of the records of my childhood." Conditions were less than ideal. A full house, a great deal of background noise. No rehearsals. No sound checks. The musicians just started playing with no one knowing what would be next on the agenda until reedman Arne Domnerus called it.
The result has often been hailed as the best live jazz recording ever. Amazingly, for a small country such as Sweden, the record sold more than half a million copies and still sells, at a rate of around 4,000 copies annually. In the past thirty years it has been re-released in all manner of formats and become a cult album for Hi-Fi freaks, especially in South East Asia, where a Hong Kong audio magazine devoted five pages to an analysis of Palmcrantz's achievement.
Now the icing on the cake: a special three-CD 30th anniversary edition of Jazz at the Pawnshop, with hybrid disks that play on ordinary CD, Stereo SACD and Surround SACD systems. It comes with previously unreleased material, a booklet in which a charmingly modest Palmcrantz very amusingly tells just how he did it. Plus a DVD, featuring interviews with Erstrand and Riedel, recorded in Stampen, with English subtitles.
Sound aside, the music is an absolutely glorious mix that seamlessly knits Ellington with Armstrong, melancholic Swedish folk songs with bop, and two takes of African High Life thrown in for good measure. Domnerus is at the very height of his considerable powers on alto saxophone and clarinet. The highlights are a lovely, lyrical version of "Over The Rainbow" and his booting rendition of Parker's "Now's The Time," which follow one another on the second disc. Pianist Bengt Hallberg, usually an extremely delicate and very measured player, was obviously affected by the general ambience, and here and there cuts loose with awesome force. "Bengt went almost crazy on occasions," bassist Riedel recalls on the DVD. Erstrand, one of Europe's best on vibes, played just one night but added a light, airy feel. He rides high on up-tempo numbers like "Limehouse Blues," but also provides subtle underpinning on ballads including "I'm Confessin'" and "Lady Be Good."
The result has often been hailed as the best live jazz recording ever. Amazingly, for a small country such as Sweden, the record sold more than half a million copies and still sells, at a rate of around 4,000 copies annually. In the past thirty years it has been re-released in all manner of formats and become a cult album for Hi-Fi freaks, especially in South East Asia, where a Hong Kong audio magazine devoted five pages to an analysis of Palmcrantz's achievement.
Now the icing on the cake: a special three-CD 30th anniversary edition of Jazz at the Pawnshop, with hybrid disks that play on ordinary CD, Stereo SACD and Surround SACD systems. It comes with previously unreleased material, a booklet in which a charmingly modest Palmcrantz very amusingly tells just how he did it. Plus a DVD, featuring interviews with Erstrand and Riedel, recorded in Stampen, with English subtitles.
Sound aside, the music is an absolutely glorious mix that seamlessly knits Ellington with Armstrong, melancholic Swedish folk songs with bop, and two takes of African High Life thrown in for good measure. Domnerus is at the very height of his considerable powers on alto saxophone and clarinet. The highlights are a lovely, lyrical version of "Over The Rainbow" and his booting rendition of Parker's "Now's The Time," which follow one another on the second disc. Pianist Bengt Hallberg, usually an extremely delicate and very measured player, was obviously affected by the general ambience, and here and there cuts loose with awesome force. "Bengt went almost crazy on occasions," bassist Riedel recalls on the DVD. Erstrand, one of Europe's best on vibes, played just one night but added a light, airy feel. He rides high on up-tempo numbers like "Limehouse Blues," but also provides subtle underpinning on ballads including "I'm Confessin'" and "Lady Be Good."
Tracklist
| 1-01 |
Limehouse Blues
Written-By – Philip Braham |
10:12 |
| 1-02 |
I'm Confessin'
Written-By – Doc Daugherty, Ellis Reynolds |
8:01 |
| 1-03 | High Life | 7:11 |
| 1-04 |
Jeep's Blues
Written-By – Johnny Hodges |
6:57 |
| 1-05 |
Lady Be Good
Written-By – George Gershwin |
9:15 |
| 1-06 |
Take Five
Written-By – Paul Desmond |
6:58 |
| 1-07 |
Everything Happens to Me
Written-By – Matt Dennis |
5:13 |
| 1-08 |
Barbados
Written-By – Charlie Parker |
8:13 |
| 1-09 |
Stuffy
Written-By – Coleman Hawkins |
7:06 |
| 2-01 |
Over the Rainbow
Written-By – Harold Arlen |
7:16 |
| 2-02 |
Now's the Time
Written-By – Charlie Parker |
9:21 |
| 2-03 |
Out of Nowhere
Written-By – John Green |
7:54 |
| 2-04 |
Take the a Train
Written-By – Billy Strayhorn |
9:33 |
| 2-05 |
Here is That Rainy Day
Written-By – Jimmy Van Heusen |
5:31 |
| 2-06 |
Struttin with Some Barbeque
Written-By – Louis Armstrong |
6:42 |
| 2-07 |
Poor Butterfly
Written-By – Raymond Hubbel |
3:55 |
| 2-08 |
Exactly Like You
Written-By – Jimmy Machugh |
6:04 |
| 2-09 |
Jeepers Creepers
Written-By – Harry Warren |
5:07 |
| 2-10 |
How High the Moon
Written-By – Morgan Lewis, Nancy Hamilton |
6:28 |
| 2-11 |
Things Ain't What They Used to Be
Written-By – Mercer Ellington |
8:58 |
| 3-01 |
In a Mellow Tone
Written-By – Duke Ellington, Milton Gabler |
11:16 |
| 3-02 | Gubben Och Källingen | 7:25 |
| 3-03 |
Nancy with the Laughing Face
Written-By – Jimmy Heusen |
6:28 |
| 3-04 |
Struttin' with Some
Written-By – Lillian Armstrong |
12:13 |
| 3-05 |
It Don't Mean a Thing
Written-By – Duke Ellington |
3:11 |
| 3-06 |
Mood Indigo
Written-By – Duke Ellington |
6:06 |
| 3-07 |
Jeep's Blues
Written-By – Duke Ellington |
14:16 |
| 3-08 | High Life (Take 2) | 6:00 |
| DVD | Jazz at the Pawnshop Interview 2006 | 12:26 |
Credits
- Alto Saxophone, Clarinet – Arne Domnérus
- Bass – Georg Riedel
- Design [Graphic] – Esa Tanttu
- Drums – Egil Johansen
- Executive Producer [Anniversary Box] – Jan-Erik Lindqvist, Tryggve Palmqvist
- Liner Notes – Gert Palmcrantz, Jürgen Schildt, Stefan Nävermyr
- Liner Notes, Translated By – Christel Palmcrantz Garrick, Isabel Thomson
- Painting [Cover] – Jonas Englund
- Piano – Bengt Hallberg
- Producer – Jacob Boëthius
- Recorded By – Gert Palmcrantz
- Remastered By – Andrew Lang
- Vibraphone [Vibes] – Lars Erstrand
Notes
Including;
- a 24 page booklet with photos, history of recording and releases.
- a 44 page 2007 Proprius / Prophone / Swedish Society catalogue.
box-info:
The Complete 3 SACD Collection
+ Bonus DVD (Interview 2006)
The legendary audiophile jazz recording
Including 20 minutes of previously unreleased music
This Hybrid Disc is compatible with ALL CD PLAYERS
Surround Sound 4.0
Made in Sweden ℗ & © 1976, 2006 Proprius Music.
Booklet-info:
Venue: The Pawnshop (Stampen) Jazz Club in Stockholm, Sweden.
℗ & © 1976, 2006 Proprius Music, Örebro, Sweden.
Made in EU.
Disc-info:
Disc1: PRSACD 7778
℗ & © 1976, 2005 Proprius Music
Disc2: PRSACD 7079
℗ & © 1976, 2006 Proprius Music
Disc3: PRSACD 7080
℗ & © 1976, 2006 Proprius Music
DVD: PRDV 7778
℗ & © 2006 Proprius Music.
Recorded Live at The Pawnshop (Stampen) Jazz Club in Stockholm, Sweden, 6-7 December 1976
- a 24 page booklet with photos, history of recording and releases.
- a 44 page 2007 Proprius / Prophone / Swedish Society catalogue.
box-info:
The Complete 3 SACD Collection
+ Bonus DVD (Interview 2006)
The legendary audiophile jazz recording
Including 20 minutes of previously unreleased music
This Hybrid Disc is compatible with ALL CD PLAYERS
Surround Sound 4.0
Made in Sweden ℗ & © 1976, 2006 Proprius Music.
Booklet-info:
Venue: The Pawnshop (Stampen) Jazz Club in Stockholm, Sweden.
℗ & © 1976, 2006 Proprius Music, Örebro, Sweden.
Made in EU.
Disc-info:
Disc1: PRSACD 7778
℗ & © 1976, 2005 Proprius Music
Disc2: PRSACD 7079
℗ & © 1976, 2006 Proprius Music
Disc3: PRSACD 7080
℗ & © 1976, 2006 Proprius Music
DVD: PRDV 7778
℗ & © 2006 Proprius Music.
Recorded Live at The Pawnshop (Stampen) Jazz Club in Stockholm, Sweden, 6-7 December 1976