Okay Temiz Trio - 1975 - Turkish-Folk-Jazz

Okay Temiz Trio

1975

Turkish-Folk-Jazz

01. Taksim 3:07

02. a. Introduction 1:449

    b. Batum 10:55

    c. Ulah-Balkan 5:10

03. Döktür 7:50

04. Kürt Havasi 0:45

05. Madimak 0:28

06. Üsküdar 1:37

07. Anadol Havasi 3:30

08. Trabzon Karsilamasi 2:50

09. Laz Havasi 1:15

Bass – Björn Alke

Clarinet – Saffet ündeger

Drums, Percussion – Okay Temiz

A2.b is traditional Turkish folk material collected by Maffy Falay. The rest of the titles except A1 and A2.a are traditional Turkish folk material collected by Okay Temiz.

A1 recorded March 6th, 1974 at Lützengatan 12, Stockholm. The rest is recorded March 25th, 1974 at "Guldhatten", Stockholm, Sweden.

Track B7 "Laz Havasi" not appearing on side B center label.

Okay Temiz studied percussion and graduated from Ankara Classical Music Conservatory. His interest in music came early as he grew up listening to his mother, Naciye Temiz, play Turkish classical music on oud. He became a professional musician in 1955.

Equipped with the knowledge of Western and Middle Eastern rhythms, he left Turkey for the first time in 1960s. Performing with a Turkish band (Ulvi Temel’s orchestra) and Okay Sextet, he toured Europe during 1967-68 and came to Sweden in 1967, returning in 1969 to join the Don Cherry Trio. Okay was with Don Cherry and Dyani for a year; forming the Don Cherry Trio. Before joining Dyani for Music for Xaba, he was with Sevda until the summer of 1972. He rejoined Sevda a year later.

Since 1967, Temiz established several groups: Sevda, Music for Xaba (Africa Combination), Oriental Wind, Okay Temiz Ensemble, and Magnetic Band (Tziganes). He has played at over 3000 concerts and have been a part of over 250 festivals. He has appeared on numerous TV and radio stations in Turkey and abroad. His discography includes over 40 recordings.

Temiz has been experimenting with folk jazz tradition around the world since 1967, at times working with avant-garde musicians in search of multi-cultural synthesis. His work expanded in Europe and he gained international recognition especially after Oriental Wind albums. Temiz blends traditional Turkish folk melodies with improvisonal art sometimes conveniently labeled as jazz. Temiz’s music combines African, Indian, South American rhythms together with Turkish rhythms, creating a unique sound. Originally a jazz drummer, Temiz also uses non-western instruments from all over the world. His collection includes instruments such as quicca, berimbau, talking drums and kalimba. In fact, he has even built instruments to play with. At times, his music also included latest technological equipments such as synthesizers.

Temiz has been living in Scandinavian countries since 1967. After a long residence in Sweden, he moved to Finland in 1993.

Don Cherry , Okay Temiz , Johnny Dyani - 2023 - Live In Paris 1971

Don Cherry , Okay Temiz , Johnny Dyani - 2023 - Live In Paris 1971 (The ORTF Recordings)

01. Okay's (Okay Temiz's) Tune 15:41

02. Dollar's (Dollar Brand's) Tune 14:49

Don Cherry: Trumpet

Okay Temiz: Drums

Johnny Dyani: Bass

A stunning lost set from Don Cherry – a live performance that marks his bold shift to global-inspired sounds in the 70s – served up here with a pair of musicians who are perfect for the project! The music is based on themes in Turkish music, and Cherry's trumpet interacts in all these amazing ways with the bass of Johnny Dyani and drums of Okay Temiz – both players who are very bold here, as is Cherry – without some of the looser, more laidback qualities of later projects of this nature – almost as if Don is bringing forward some of his bolder free jazz elements from the end of the 60s, while still dipping his foot into the world of global inspirations! The lean sound of the group is amazing – and Cherry also plays piano as well – on two long tracks.

Don Cherry - 1970 - Live in Ankara

Don Cherry 

1970

Live in Ankara

01. Gandalf's Travels 5:10

02. Ornette's Concept 2:20

03. Ornette's Tune 2:35

04. St. John & The Dragon 2:02

06. Efeler 2:31

07. Anadolu Havasi 3:02

08. The Discovery Of Bhupala 3:25

09. Water Boy 1:32

10. Yaz Geldi 3:00

11. Tamzara 1:03

12. Kara Deniz 1:12

13. Köcekce 1:11

14. Man On The Moon 2:56

15. The Creator Has A Masterplan 5:13

16. Two Flutes 2:50

Arranged By, Collected By – Maffy Falay (tracks: A5, A6, B2 to B5)

Bass – Selçuk Sun

Drums, Percussion – Okay Temiz

Percussion, Tenor Saxophone – Irfan Sümer

Trumpet, Zurna [Trumpet-zürna], Piano, Vocals, Flute – Don Cherry

Excellent stuff – and one of Don Cherry's first global jazz experiments on record! The set is a super-hip concert performance recorded at the US Embassy in Turkey, featuring a band of eastern-flavored players that includes Okay Temiz on percussion, Selcuk Sun on bass, and Irfan Sumer on tenor. Tracks are shorter and a bit tighter than some of Cherry's other work from the early 70s – but they also have a strong amount of world influences, and the record is perhaps one of his greatest achievements at cross-breeding musical cultures.

Recorded in November 1969 at the US Embassy, Live In Ankara saw the adventurous jazz trumpeter Don Cherry performing with saxophonist Irfan Sümer, bassist Selçuk Sun, and drummer Okay Temiz, with arrangements by trumpeter Maffy Falay, who had introduced Cherry to Temiz in Stockholm. Mostly comprised of Cherry originals and adaptations of Turkish folk songs, there are one-off takes of compositions by Ornette Coleman and Pharoah Sanders as well, the sparse musical ensemble giving Cherry ample room for soloing as they drift between the sounds of tradition and experimentation. A must for all Don Cherry fans.

Don Cherry - 1974 - Blue Lake

Don Cherry

1974

Blue Lake

01. Blue Lake 4:55

02. Dollar And Okay's Tunes 31:51

03. East 26:42

Bass – Jonny Diani

Drums – Okay Tamiz

Trumpet, Flute, Piano, Vocals – Don Cherry

Music from a 1971 concert in Paris with South African bassist Johnny Dyani and Turkish drummer Okay Temiz joining Cherry (a couple of other pieces from the concert can be found on another Cherry album, Orient). It is a pleasant album but fails to stick in the mind. The first track - Blue Lake - features Cherry playing flute: it claims to draw on Native American influences but also sounds hauntingly Oriental - but whether it draws on genuine traditions or just replicates a certain mood (one a bit like David Carradine playing the flute in the old TV series Kung Fu) I can't decide. The other two tracks are longer, both over 25 minutes and are also pleasant, likable, drawing in many influences, traditions, but they just seem to float along like a bottle thrown into the sea, drifting with the currents - all very gentle and peaceful but lacks any great dynamism.

Don Cherry is one of music's great adventurers. Always ready to stretch himself, he has seemed more concerned with growing as an artist and expanding his horizons than with getting a big paycheck. This live set, Blue Lake, is a worthy introduction to his solo work. The first part of the set begins with Cherry on a Native American flute. His simple song is as moving and spare as a New Mexico mesa. Next, he and his band move into their interpretation of some Dollar Brand tunes. First, they lay the melodies out straight and give the audience a window into this neglected composer's mind. Then it's time for their ferocious, free-wheeling, Ornette Colemanesque take on the same tunes. The last brace of tunes finds Cherry mostly singing á la Sam Rivers. Like Rivers' voicings, one forgets that this is a man, and hears only another instrument. Just when the tension rises to almost unbearable levels, Cherry breaks loose with some forceful, controlled soloing. The tone is muscular, and the ideas as sure and stringent as bitter salt. Cherry's journey as a musician has been that of a consummate artist. His remarkable career deserves stricter attention from fans and critics alike. Hopefully, the reissue of this set will start the ball rolling.

Don Cherry - 1973 - Orient

Don Cherry

1973

Orient

01. Orient 25:14

02. Eagle Eye 6:50

03. Togetherness 18:33

04. Si Ta Ra Ma 19:19

Bass – Johnny Diani (tracks: 2, 3)

Drums – Okay Tamiz (tracks: 2, 3)

Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Accordion – Han Bennink (tracks: 1, 4)

Tambura – Mocqui (tracks: 1, 4)

Trumpet [Pocket], Flute, Piano, Vocals – Don Cherry

Recording live: Orient / Si Ta Ra Ma: Carpentras (France) August 11 1971.

Eagle Eye / Togetherness: Paris April 22 1971

Don Cherry, who passed away in 1995 at age 59, was a world musician long before the term became fashionable. Two recent early '70s reissues - Orient and Blue Lake (both previously Japan-only releases), help to solidify Cherry as not only one of the greatest (pocket) trumpeters/cornetists that jazz has known, but also one of its most well-rounded musicians.

His global approach and experimentations on Orient (1971), two live dates with separate trios, is supplemented through one half by Dutch percussionist Han Bennink and East Indian tamboura accompaniment. Bennink keeps things constantly moving as Cherry's nomadic musical-self transitions between pocket trumpet, flutes, piano and chanting on the first and last tracks ("Orient" and "Si Ta Ra Ma"). The title piece gets underway with tom-tom drum crescendos spilling over Cherry's Alice Coltrane-like arpeggio runs on piano and humming chants, before segueing dramatically into the leader's frenetic brass playing and Bennink's polyrhythmic percussive displays. After a few minutes the pace changes again with more wooden sounding drums—as well as gongs, bells, chimes, and "small" instruments (as memorably utilized by the Art Ensemble of Chicago).

The other half of Orient features the legendary South African bassist Johnny Dyani and percussionist Okay Temiz. Dyani's plucked and arco bass opening to the first movement of "Eagle Eye"—accompanied by a wistful clay flute, wind-like chimes, and sensitive drum tapping—resonates with the magic that often inspires bassist William Parker these days. The second allegro movement is much more rhythmic and borders on an outpouring of emotion. The third movement then settles the rhythm into gear with a meditative and melodic humming chant offered to the crowd by Cherry. Both trios feature masterful improvisational interplay by what would seem greater than a mere threesome; the experience is captured exquisitely.

The ever-evolving Cherry was a true music master whose example was an anomaly for record labels and music stores. It can never be stressed enough that Cherry, to borrow Ellington's catch phrase, was most definitely "beyond category," making the world a much smaller place.

I had heard a lot about how great this album was and i was happy to finally find a copy and have the chance to wrap my ears around it. since I've bought this cd, it has spent considerable amount of time in my stereo. recorded in France on August 1971, Don cherry is joined by wild man percussionist Hans Bennink. they both put on quite a spectacle on this magical night. there is a strange and magical chemistry evident on these recordings among all the players. i was under the impression that this was going to be a free-jazz skronkathon, but most of the music flows quite smoothly with a lot of Caribbean influence and cool percussion and simple melodic piano lines. Don Cherry tries to sing on a lot of these numbers and at first i hated it. but it grew on me. there is a certain childlike quality about it that is appealing. hmmm..an acquired taste, i think. the sound here is on an average bootleg quality. but I'm not too picky about those sort of things, because that murky sound just adds to the unique feeling of "Orient." there is a lot of different styles being played around with here and it takes some time to appreciate everything that was going on. but once you get adjusted to these factors, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised. i know that i did.

Don Cherry - 1973 - Organic Music Society

Don Cherry

1973

Organic Music Society

01. North Brazilian Ceremonial Hymn 12:25
02. Elixir 6:08
03. Manusha Raga Kamboji 2:19
04. Relativity Suite Part1 6:52
05. Relativity Suite Part2 11:59
06. Terry's Tune 1:56
07. Hope 10:08
08. The Creator Has A Master Plan 6:28
09. Sidhartha 1:59
10. Utopia & Visions 6:33
11. Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro 2:33
12. Terry's Tune 5:10
13. Resa 5:41

Documentary recordings made 1971-1972
Only the recordings from August 14th, 1972 (Elixir-Relativity Suite) were made in a recording studio. The rest of the material consists of documentation recordings made on portable machines, some of them carried out under awkward acoustic conditions.

Track 1 recorded in Copenhagen July 28th, 1972 at 6 a.m.
Tracks 2-5 recorded at studio Decibel, Stockholm August 14th, 1972.
Tracks 6-10 recorded at Moderna Museet, Stockholm July 4th, 1971.
Tracks 11-12 recorded in Bollnäs June 23rd, 1971. These tracks feature a local youth orchestra.
Track 13 recorded in Oskarshamn August 3rd, 1972. Featured are the voices of the teachers at the summer course in Oskarshamn.

Tracks 1, 11, 12 and 13 are mono, the rest in stereo.
Comes with 2-sided 12" sized info-sheet.

Don Cherry, vocal, percussion, harmonium, flute, trumpet, piano

Naná Vasconcelos, vocals, berimbau
Noki, vocals, tambura
Helen Eggert, vocals, tambura
Steen Claesson, vocals
Roger Burk, vocals
Christer Bothén, guitar, piano
Bengt Berger, drums tablas
Maffy Falay, trumpet
Tommy Goldman, flute
Tommy Koverhult, flute
Tage Sivén, bass
Okay Temiz, drums

This is not a jazz album. This is the music of ritual. Any resemblance it has to jazz is purely coincidental and passing. This is the sound of utopia, of equality, of the universal egalitarian dream, of the earth, the water, and the life force in all its various guises. Many jazz heads from the late 1960s and early ’70s tried to commune with this earth spirit — Sun Ra, Pharaoh Sanders, Alice Coltrane, Phil Cohran, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago come immediately to mind — but none of them ever fully escaped the aerial plane. Sun Ra was more concerned with space; Pharaoh Sanders and Alice Coltrane worked in the realm of the eternal soul; Cohran and the Art Ensemble directly transmogrified the African diaspora. On this album, however, Don Cherry wants to create a sound untethered to trivialities like place, nation or time. It is the sound of breath, community, sociality, and, most fundamentally, of people. There is little concern for audio fidelity or virtuosity. All that matters is the moment of expression, the moment of creation, and the communal space the music reveals.

This is an album full of people. There is no set “band” to speak of. Musicians appear and disappear seemingly at will, by happenstance, depending on where Cherry happened to be playing and recording on that particular day. The only constant is Cherry and his mystical vision. And this Don Cherry, living in Sweden in ’71 and ’72, is very different from the Don Cherry of the 1960s. He only occasionally pulls out his trumpet, spending most of the album singing, chanting, exhorting his fellow travelers, and playing a variety of instruments from around the world. His manifesto is the two-part “Relativity Suite,” in which he improvises a pan-religious chant over an irresistible bass line on the doson n’goni with occasional interjections from other instruments. His tale wanders between gods (Jesus, Buddha, and Krishna, principally), creeds, and languages as simple means toward a larger end, an “organic music society.” The bass line becomes a mantra, the tuned log drum and bells are moments of revelation, and Cherry’s voice is the guide. It reminds me, obliquely, of the obsessive universalism of Stockhausen’s “Stimmung.” And when Cherry sends the bass line away with a whistle call, I can’t help but feel a little empty and disappointed. A similar feeling occurs at the end of “North Brazilian Ceremonial Hymn,” the extended prayer that opens the record, propelled forward by Nana Vasconcelos’ incredible, inventive berimbau playing. When his trumpet does appear, it’s in striking contrast to the album’s otherwise tantric feel; its slashing lines come from a different world, a different way of existing.

This is an album of education in practice. Cherry spent the summer of 1971 teaching at a youth music camp normally devoted to the study of classical music. Somewhere along the line, he brought a tape recorder along and recorded a swinging version of Dollar Brand’s “Bra Joe from Kilimanjaro” and a Terry Riley song titled, simply, “Terry’s Tune.” The fifty-odd piece band lays down Brand’s swinging bass line and Riley’s melancholy melody while Cherry (on trumpet and piano) and drummer Okay Temiz unleash some serious free jazz squalls. And the album closes with a group of elementary school teachers singing an Indian-inflected tune complete with tabla, tambura and harmonium. The informality of these recordings is the goal. The professional musicians merely provide a musical frame for the amateurs, with the critical moment coming when the amateurs break free of their own personal frames and join together for a joyous, communal utterance.

This is an album of specific places. The liner notes take pains to point out that “North Brazilian Ceremonial Hymn” was recorded at 6 a.m. in Copenhagen, and that most of side three was recorded in a geodesic dome outside the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm. While these aren’t field recordings by any stretch, they are imbued with the character of their locations, be it the sleepy spirituality of “North Brazilian Ceremonial Hymn,” the looping pan-tonal feel of the “domesessions,” or the spontaneity of the educational recordings. Only a fraction of the album was actually recorded in the studio, and the higher fidelity of those recordings feels almost like a betrayal.

This is an album of hippie-dippie spirituality. However, it is simultaneously more earnest and more sincere than most hippie excesses of the period. Perhaps this is because Cherry’s vision never feels fully naïve, regardless of his quasi-mystical incantations. Cherry’s gutsiness also goes a long way; it takes serious brass to release an album that spends so much time on such minuscule material. None of the songs I’ve singled out so far have grand musical visions. Their existence as music is almost completely incidental and arbitrary. They are, fundamentally, ritual and ritualized sociality. I will admit to not always being convinced by it, but I do get completely and wonderfully lost in so much of this record. This is, somehow or other, the real thing.

This music is what we can properly call “world music”: unbounded, melting world-wide elements and played by world-wide musicians using world-wide instruments. African pace, South American ceremonial hymns and Asian religiousness spirituality merge in an unique and peaceful feeling.

As the title announces, the music is totally organic, coming out from the earth guts.

Cherry’s trumpet appears sporadically; the music is mainly supported by vocalizations, percussions, flutes, piano, harmonium, tambura and exotic instruments. We can hardly call this jazz music. Even the recording process is amateurish: only four tracks were recorded in a studio; all the others were registered by portable equipment.

 

As Cherry says, here “we flow with the time”. Brilliant!

Bernt Rosengren - 1974 - Notes From Underground

Bernt Rosengren

1974

Notes From Underground

101. Theme from piano concerto no.2 in c-minor, op.18 [07:04]

102. In The Ocean [03:16]

103. Meyhane [03:13]

104. Gerda [07:27]

105. Fly Me To The Sun [05:14]

106. Gluck [06:16]

107. Some Changes I [08:59]

201. Some Changes II [09:22]

202. Iana Has Been Suprised In The Night [03:17]

203. Hakim Hanim [03:06]

204. Some Changes V [05:49]

205. Markitta Blues [03:44]

206. Splash [08:14]

207. Psalm [02:49]

208. Markitta Blues [00:55]

209. Some Changes VI [05:11]

Recorded 17-18 and 24-25 September, 1973, at EMI Studios, Stockholm, Sweden.

Track A1 from the original album has been deleted from the cd release for copyright reasons.

Maffy Falay,tp,darbuka(1/3)

Bernt Rosengren,ts,p(1/2 + 2/8),fl(2/2),taragot(2/3)

Tommy Koverhult,ts,fl(1/2),ss(1/4)

Bobo Stenson,p (1/1,4,5,7 + 2/1,4,5,7,9)

Torbjörn Hultcrantz,b,perc(2/2)

Leif Wennerström,dr,perc(2/2)

Okay Temiz,perc (1/1,2,4,5 + 2/1,3,4,5,7,9)

Bengt Berger,mridagam(1/1),tabla(1/4,5,7 + 2/1,4)

Salih Baysal,voc,v (1/3 + 2/3)

Bertil Strandberg,tb (1/4,5,7 + 2/1,4,5,7,9)

Gunnar Bergsten,bs (1/4,5,7 + 2/1,4,5,7,9)

Björn Alke,b (1/4,7 + 2/1,4,5,7,9)

Great LP that lives up to the hype. A spiritually charged session with all the players at the top of their game. Bobo Stenson and Okay Temiz really amaze me.

Okay Temiz & Johnny Dyani - 1976 - Witchdoctor's Son

Okay Temiz & Johnny Dyani

1976

Witchdoctor's Son

01. Gece [The Night] 3:38

02. Yesil Fener [I'm A Green Lamp] 5:37

03. Sark Gezintileri [Orient Trip] 4:06

04. Karadeniz Dalgari [Black Sea Waves] 2:03

05. Doktur [Play For Me] 4:06

06. Elhamdulillah Marimba [Marimba] 6:09

07. Hepimiz Icin [It's For You All] 3:49

08. Ben Muslumanim [I'm Muslim Man] 4:36

09. Moriva [Moriva] 7:30

Bass, Piano, Vocals – Johnny Dyani

Clarinet, Violin – Saffet Gundeger

Drums, Percussion – Okay Temiz

Electric Bass – Oğuz Durukan

Saxophone – Gunnar Bergsten

One of the hippest albums we've ever heard from bassist Johnny Dyani – and that's saying a lot, given his tremendous records of the 70s! The album's different than the album that Johnny recorded with fellow Blue Notes members on the Steeplechase label – and instead, the group here is led by percussionist Okay Temiz, and mixes Johnny's round, bold lines on acoustic bass with additional electric bass, plus clarinet and saxes too! The tunes are heavily rhythmic – still jazz, but with very strong global currents too – an even rootsier vibe than most jazz of the South African scene from whence Dyani came – in a mode that really seems to set him free. Johnny also plays a bit of piano, too – and the tracks are a mix of Dyani originals, plus Temiz arrangements of traditional Turkish tunes.

The recording captures a complex, funky and musically together exploration of folk themes, jazz messages and popular directions. After many years together discovering both South African and Turkish sources, Temiz and Dyani were intimately versed in each other’s traditions. Side one features material arranged by Temiz, and the second has material arranged and composed by Dyani – including a stunning arrangement of Don Cherry’s Elhamdulilhah Marimba with Dyani on piano and voice.

‘The visionary Turkish percussionist and the great South African bassist were introduced by Don Cherry in 1969, when Dyani moved to Sweden after the break-up of The Blue Notes. They worked together regularly over the next decade, starting out with Cherry in the Eternal Ethnic Music trio.

“Another world,” recalls Temiz. “At that time I was trying to learn as a big band jazz drummer, and when I met Don Cherry, I said, forget it. We played another kind of music. Indian music, Turkish music, Bulgarian, Chinese, you know… All kinds of music.” “Every musician,” Dyani said later, “should realize and acknowledge that folk music is the backbone of every music.”

Recorded in Istanbul in 1976; originally released in an edition of one thousand copies only, on the Turkish label Yonca. The first side features Turkish material arranged by Temiz; the second, SA-oriented music put together by Dyani, opening with a stunning interpretation of Cherry’s Marimba

Mystical grooves, deep forest psychedelic sounds, and freaky, wild, joyful sunny dances all happen here in less than 45 minutes. That review is actually quite ironic because the production is fine and, especially, because these rythyms and beats are very tight (well, it's Okay Temiz). I was shocked at first when reading that "some musicians sound behind the beat". Just listen to "Yesil Fener". That's some savage 9/8 madness in the greatest Turkish tradition.

Get this one. It's... spiritually enhancing, to say the least.

Lennart Åberg - 1977 - Partial Solar Eclipse

Lennart Åberg

1977

Partial Solar Eclipse

01. Partial Solar Eclipse I 8:12

02. Partial Solar Eclipse II 6:04

03. Partial Solar Eclipse III 6:45

04. Partial Solar Eclipse IV 9:44

05. Partial Solar Eclipse V 4:24

06. Partial Solar Eclipse VI 6:52

Bertil Lövgren trumpet, fluegelhorn

Ulf Adåker trumpet, fluegelhorn

Jan Kohlin trumpet, fluegelhorn

Håken Nyquist french horn, trombone, fluegelhorn

Stephen Franckevich trumpet (VI)

Lars Olofsson trombone

Sven Larsson bass trombone, tuba

Jörgen Johansson trombone (VI)

Lennart Åberg soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone

Ulf Andersson alto saxophone, piccolo, flute

Tommy Koverhult soprano flute, tenor flute

Erik Nilsson baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, flute

Bobo Stenson piano, electric piano

Harald Svensson synthesizer (I, IV)

Jan Tolf electric guitar (I, II, III, VI)

Palle Danielsson bass (I-V)

Stefan Brolund Fender bass (I, II, VI)

Jon Christensen drums

Leroy Lowe drums

Okay Temiz percussion (I, II, III)

Recorded September 5-9, 1977 at Metronome Studios, Stockholm

Swedish saxophonist Lennart Åberg assembles a force to be reckoned with for this out-of-print JAPO release. Fronting a 20-piece ensemble that includes early appearances by pianist Bobo Stenson, bassist Palle Danielsson, and drummer Jon Christensen, Partial Solar Eclipse plays out in a six-part suite of epic proportions. The trumpet-led swell of Part I gives way to a groovy bass line amid big band brilliance infused with Brazilian percussion (courtesy of Okay Temiz). A soaring solo from Åberg flirts with the clouds even as it transcends them in fiery sunset. The twinned bass action from Stefan Brolund and Danielsson impels the spirit toward Stenson’s winding finish. Out of these dense beginnings comes a mosaic of hues and textures. From the flanged ground line and backing horns of Part II, which sound like a warped version of “Baby, You’re a Rich Man,” to the oozing finality of Part VI, the album as a whole bursts with a jazz that squeals, “I made it!” Jan Tolf’s guitar work is the conclusive highlight, along with the florid and soulful tenor work of Åberg himself. Between the two we find the Motown edge of Part III, with its radiant flute and oceanic pianism, and the killer baritone work in Part IV of Erik Nilsson, who also unleashes a fabulous bass clarinet solo over the chalky backdrop of Part V.

This is an album that foregrounds itself by foiling the otherworldliness of all that came before. In so doing, it offers the glare of its namesake without the need for glasses. It’s an intense thrill ride, to be sure, but one that offers choice rewards even (if not especially) for those not tall enough to enter.

Lars Gullin - 1974 - Bluesport

Lars Gullin

1974 

Bluesport

01. Pontus 6:11

02. Mazurka 7:42

03. Bluesport 6:57

04. Omericano 11:36

05. Holy Grail 4:23

06. Motorcykeln 5:24

Alto Saxophone – Lennart Jansson

Baritone Saxophone, Piano – Lars Gullin

Bass – Björn Alke

Congas – Ahmadu Jarr

Drums – Fredrik Norén, Rune Carlsson

Electric Bass – Jan Bergman

Electric Guitar – Amedeo Nicoletti

Flugelhorn, Trumpet – Maffy Falay

Flute – Gunnar Lindqvist

Percussion – Okay Temiz

Piano – Lars Sjösten

Producer – Gunnar Lindqvist

Sopranino Saxophone – Lennart Åberg

Tenor Saxophone – Bernt Rosengren

Trombone – Bertil Strandberg

Recorded at EMI Studios, Stockholm, Sweden, September 8 (A1, A3) and 9 , 1974.

One of the top baritone saxophonists of all time and a giant of European jazz, Lars Gullin would be better known today if he had visited the U.S. often and if excessive drug use had not cut short his career. Early on he learned to play bugle, clarinet, and piano, and was actually a professional altoist until switching to baritone when he was 21. Sounding somewhere between Gerry Mulligan and Serge Chaloff, Gullin played in local big bands in the late '40s and was in Arne Domnerus' sextet (1951-1953), but is best known for his own small-group recordings. He played with such touring Americans as Lee Konitz (a major influence), James Moody, Clifford Brown, Zoot Sims, and Chet Baker, and recorded frequently during 1951-1960, with "Danny's Dream" being his most famous composition. Gullin also recorded a bit during 1964-1965, but made only one later session (1973). Despite a lot of accomplishments in the 1950s, he did not live up to his enormous potential. Gullin can be heard at his best on five Dragon CDs released as The Great Lars Gullin, Vols. 1-5.

Bernt Rosengren Big Band - 1977 - First Moves

Bernt Rosengren Big Band

1977

First Moves

01. Manhattan Reflections

02. You've Changed

03. My Song Is Blue

04. Felicidade

05. First Moves

06. Det Finns (So Many Things)

07. Beat Me Again

08. Meaning Of The Blues

09. Give Me Peace

Gunnar Bergsten, baritone saxophone

Torbjörn Hultcrantz, bass

Lars Bagge, bassoon, horn

Lennart Jansson, clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano, alto and baritone saxophone

Johnny Martinez, congas

René Martinez, congas

Sabu Martinez, congas

Lars Färnlöf, cornet, flugelhorn

Leif Wennerström, drums

Bernt Rosengren, flute, alto and tenor saxophone

Tommy Koverhult, English horn, soprano and tenor saxophone

Okay Temiz, percussion

Claes-Göran Fagerstedt, piano

Bobo Stenson, piano, electric piano

Anders Lindskog, tenor saxophone

Jan Jansson, trombone

Janus Miezek, trombone

Lars Olofsson, trombone

Lennart Löfgren, trombone

Sven Larsson, bass trombone

Björn Borg, trumpet

Bertil Lövgren, trumpet, flugelhorn

Maffy Falay, trumpet, flugelhorn

Nannie Porres, vocals

Bennie Svensson, vocals

Recorded April 12-15, 1977, at EMI Studios, Stockholm, Sweden.

Rosengren first played professionally at age 19, as a member of the Jazz Club 57, and two years later in 1959, he played in the Newport Jazz Band. Roman Polanski's film score composer Krzysztof Komeda used Rosengren in the performance of his jazz score for Polanski's film Knife in the Water (1962). Rosengren recorded a string of highly regarded albums in the 1960s and 1970s, including Stockholm Dues (1965), Improvisations (1969), and Notes from Underground (1974).

Rosengren played in a sextet led by George Russell in the 1960s in Europe. Later in the decade, he moved from hard bop into post-bop experimentation, playing with Don Cherry; in the 1970s, as a member of Sevda led by trumpeter Muvaffak "Maffy" Falay, he began working with elements of Turkish and Middle Eastern music. He also formed his own big band in the 1970s.

In the 1980s, Rosengren worked frequently with American jazz musicians such as Doug Raney, George Russell, Don Cherry and Horace Parlan. He recorded an album of songs from Porgy & Bess in 1996.

Chris Mosey, a jazz critic from All About Jazz, said in his review of Rosengren's album I'm Flying (2009): "All in all, I'm Flying is a worthy Golden Record." Jack Bowers, also writing for All About Jazz, wrote in his review of the same album: "Rosengren, for his part, is a model of elegance and consistency, inspiring his companions without stealing their thunder. Together they comprise a tight-knit and consistently engaging foursome. Besides blowing superbly, Rosengren wrote seven of the album's twelve selections. – Rosengren rides their talents like an Indy car driver, and the result is an exemplary team effort that is as stylish as it is rewarding

Johnny Dyani, Mongezi Feza, Okay Temiz - 1988 - Rejoice

Johnny Dyani, Mongezi Feza, Okay Temiz 

1988

Rejoice

01. Mad High 11:03

02. Makaya Makaya 11:07

03. Pukwana 9:02

04. Imbomgolo 12:07

Bass, Vocals – Johnny Dyani

Drums [Turkish], Percussion – Okay Temiz

Trumpet, Vocals – Mongezi Feza

Recorded at the Filial of the Museum of Modern Art, Stockholm, Sweden, October 21st 1972

The life of Johnny “Mbizo” Dyani (1945-1986), bassist with the legendary South African jazz troupe the Blue Notes, is celebrated by the reissue of two recordings dating from his period living in Sweden. “Rejoice”, culled from a live concert with trumpeter Mongezi Feza and drummer Okay Temiz, and the studio recording “Together” featuring Dyani’s group Witchdoctor’s Son, were issued posthumously, the latter in 1987, “Rejoice”a year later; both are treasured collectors’ pieces in their original vinyl formats.

REJOICE is a trio album with Dyani's compatriot Mongezi Feza and Turkish percussionist Okay Temiz, recorded at the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm in October 1972, during a Swedish tour. Sadly by the time the album was actually released in 1988 only one member of the group remained, Feza having died in 1975 aged 30 and Dyani in 1986 aged 39. Both musicians had left South Africa as members of the Blue Notes group, settling in London never to return to their apartheid homeland. TOGETHER was also recorded in Stockholm, where Dyani was by then living, in Dec 1979 / Jan 1980. The group was put together specially with Dyani's old cohort Dudu Pukwana invited over from London to play. 'The music is very special. Transcending the boundaries of nations and cultures, Mbizo s enthusiasm spread and inspired the sessions with his intense passion. A passion which revelled in a nostalgia for the myths and melodies of Marabi and Kwela. Mbizo s life was music, he gave his life for music. These sessions are Mbizo's own testimony to the spirit of hope for the future, for a better world. It is a statement so filled with vitality and with the joy of rediscovered roots that it will stand as a signpost to the whole of his life and work.'

Dyani, Temiz, Feza - 1980 - Music For Xaba Volume Two

Dyani, Temiz, Feza

1980

Music For Xaba Volume Two

01. Mad High 13:00

02. Mighty Blues 8:10

03. Dear Africa 6:50

04. Makaya Makaya Makaya 9:05

05. Witchdoctor's Son 4:55

Bass, Piano, Vocals – Johnny Dyani

Drums, Percussion – Okay Temiz

Trumpet, Percussion – Mongezi Feza

Recorded at Theater Nine, Stockholm, Sweden on November 2nd, 1972.

Mongezi Feza began playing the trumpet very early, and by his teens was already playing professionally in groups, taking part in the very popular jazz competitions. Chris McGregor spotted him there and invited him to join the Blue Notes; with them he fled the country in 1964, playing first at the Antibes Jazz Festival and then in Zurich, London, and Copenhagen. Feza was a member of the ensembles McGregor led and played with Dudu Pukwana in his groups Assagai and Spear in the early '70s. In Flute Music (Caroline 1975), he plays flute and percussion on four original compositions, including the beautiful "Sondela." He was heard on Keith Tippett's huge Centipede (Septober Energy, RCA 1971); with avant-rock's Robert Wyatt (Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard, Virgin 1975), and in Henry Cow with Fred Frith (Desperate Straights and In Praise of Learning, Virgin 1974). In 1972, Johnny Dyani invited Feza to join the trio Xaba, with Turkish percussionist Okay Temiz. Feza recorded one of his last sessions (Diamond Express, Freedom 1977) with Dudu Pukwana. He passed away in 1975, from a combination of nervous disorder and untreated pneumonia; his friends and colleagues believed that his complaints were not taken seriously enough at the London hospital. Explosive yet lyrical, Feza was enamored of the style of Clifford Brown and Booker Little. His free improvisations, infused with the influence of kwela rhythms and African melodies, are a marvel of invention. With his premature death, the European jazz scene lost one of its most original voices and a person loved by audiences and colleagues alike.

Dyani, Temiz, Feza - 1973 - Music for Xaba

Dyani, Temiz, Feza

1973 

Music for Xaba

01. Idyongwana 9:30

02. Feelings 12:45

03. Traditional South African Songs 9:10

04. Görans Söder 11:30

Bass, Piano, Vocals – Johnny Dyani

Drums, Percussion – Okay Temiz

Trumpet, Percussion – Mongezi Feza

Recorded at Theatre Nine, Stockholm, Sweden, November 2nd, 1972.

A small contribution to the south African thread running through these pages, and by way of a response to a request, here's Music for xaba a great fusion of free jazz , tribal psychedelia and those unforgettable township melodies.

All these players had strong associations with Don Cherry.. and these sessions have a marked resemblance to many of his projects...(long may he be remembered).

To those who are familiar with Cherry and the many classics in the free ethno tribal trance out sub genre, but don't know this..its well worth checking out.

Tony Scott - 1973 - Manteca

Tony Scott

1973

Manteca

01. Manteca 9:45

02. 'Round Midnight 6:00

03. Lemon Drop 2:40

04. Billie's Bounce 7:20

05. Lover Man 5:00

06. One For Topsy 6:55

Tony Scott, clarinet, baryton, vocal

Kjell Öhman, organ

Rune Öfwerman, piano

Sture Nordin, bass

Ed Thigpen, drums

Okay Temiz, percussion

Sabu Martinez, congas

Jan Schaffer, electric guitar

Tony Scott (born Anthony Joseph Sciacca June 17, 1921 - March 28, 2007) was an American jazz clarinetist and arranger known for an interest in folk music around the world. For most of his career he was held in some esteem in New Age music circles because of his decades-long involvement in music linked to Asian cultures and to meditation.

Born in Morristown, New Jersey, Scott attended Juilliard School from 1940 to 1942. In the 1950s he worked with Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday. He also had a young Bill Evans as a side-man. In the late 1950s he won on four occasions the Down Beat critics poll for clarinetist in 1955, 1957, 1958 and 1959 He was known for a more "cool" style than Buddy DeFranco.

Despite this he remained relatively little-known as the clarinet had been in eclipse in jazz since the emergence of bebop. In 1959 he left New York City, where he had been based, and abandoned the United States for a time. In the 1960s he toured South, East, and Southeast Asia. This led to his playing in a Hindu temple, spending time in Japan, and releasing Music for Zen Meditation in 1964 for Verve Records. In 1960 a Down Beat poll for Japan saw readers there name him best clarinetist[6] while the United States preferred Buddy DeFranco. More recently he did a Japanese special on Buddhism and Jazz, although he continued to work with American jazz musicians and played at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965.

In 1967 he put out his first album in eight years entitled Tony Scott: Homage To Lord Krishna. In the years following that he worked in Germany, Africa, and at times in South America.

He settled in Italy in the 1970s, working with Italian jazz musicians such as Franco D'Andrea and Romano Mussolini. He also played the part of a Sicilian-American Mafia boss in Glauber Rocha's film Claro (1975). In later years he began showing an interest in Electronica and in 2002 his Hare Krishna was remixed by King Britt as a contribution to Verve Remixed.

In 2010, a documentary film by the Italian director Franco Maresco about the life of Tony Scott was released titled Io sono Tony Scott, ovvero come l'Italia fece fuori il più grande clarinettista del jazz (English: I am Tony Scott. The Story of How Italy Got Rid of the Greatest Jazz Clarinetist).

Nils Sandström - 1972 - The Painter

Nils Sandström

1972

The Painter

01. I Remember Clifford 10:35

02. Manteca 6:42

03. Django 5:08

04. Cantaloupe Island 9:10

05. Woody'N You 4:20

06. Stella By Starlight 8:30

Recorded June 5, 1972 (track B1)

Recorded June 6, 1972 (tracks A1, A2, A3 & B2)

Recorded June 12, 1972 (track B3)

Nils Sandström: tenor saxophone

Björn Alke: bass

Leroy Lowe: drums

Claes-Göran Fagerstedt: piano

Lalle Svensson: trumpet

Gunnar Röjarn Nyberg: bells

Bengt Berger: cowbell

Ahmadu Jarr: congas, vocals

Akay Temiz: darbuka

Okay Temiz: talking drum

Stig Söderqvist: cornet

Robert Malmberg: piano

Nils Göran ( Nisse ) Sandström , born March 13, 1942 in Katrineholm , died September 8, 2021 in Skedevi district in Östergötland, was a Swedish jazz musician .

In 1958 , Sandström won the soloist class in TV jazz . In 1972 he received the Golden Disc award from Orkesterjournalen for his album The Painter . Among the musicians Sandström has played with are Monica Zetterlund and Red Mitchell. Until his death, he had a guaranteed income of at least five price base amounts per year from the Swedish state through the state income guarantee for artists . [

Sandström appeared every week in the half-hour long program Jazz with Nisse Sandström in P4 Östergötland .

He was married the first time to the administrator Gull-britt Sandström, the second time to the translator Inger Sandström and the third time to the folk high school teacher and textile artist Kerstin Hedman Sandström.

Sevda - 1974 - Live At Fregatten

Sevda

1974

Live At Fregatten

01. Taksim 10:15

02. Kaynasma 4:33

03. Ya Mustafa 5:42

04. Oyun Havasi 1:45

05. Köcekce 3:28

06. Veresiye Vere Vere 1:04

07. Nerede Bulmali 1:38

08. Balkan 7:17

09. Arabamin Atlari 1:38

10. Yesil Fener 1:13

11. Karsilama 1:15

12. Announcement 1:35

Bass – Björn Alke

Drums – Okay Temiz

Darbuka – Peter Smoliansky

Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Tommy Koverhult

Tenor Saxophone, Tárogató – Bernt Rosengren

Trumpet, Piano – Maffy Falay

Violin – Salih Baysal

Recorded at the Fregatten restaurant, Stockholm, during Stockholm Jazz Festival, August 1973.

Title as "Live At Fregatten" on cover, but as "Sevda At Fregatten" on back, spine and label.

l Sevda albums are recorded live, this one at Stockholm Jazz Festival in August 1973. Like their previous albums it opens with a taksim (an improvisation) by the wonderful violinist Salih Baysal, and then all hell breaks lose again. ”Live at Fregatten” has an altered line-up, with Björn Alke on bass instead of Ove Gustavsson, and Tommy Koverhult replacing Gunnar Bergsten on sax. Maybe that changed the musical chemistry of the band, as the album again has a different feel than Sevda's previous albums. Actually, this is very much Okay Temiz's album – he pushes the music ahead of him like a powered up high speed bulldozer, drumming away like a raging madman. I can almost see the faces of the other members while they're playing – ”man, Okay's really on tonight!”. ”Live at Fregatten” is every bit as essential as the ”Jazz i Sverige '72” and ”Live at Jazzhus Montmartre”, another a masterpiece from an almost unrivalled band. It should have been a great inclusion in the Caprice box set, but ”Live at Fregatten” was an original Sonet release.

Sevda - 1972 - Live at Jazzhus Montmartre featuring Salih Baysal

Sevda 

1972

Live at Jazzhus Montmartre featuring Salih Baysal

01. Taksim 9:45

02. Misket 6:40

03. Ya Mustafa 4:55

04. Çifte Telli 3:15

05. Köçekce 4:15

06. Oyun Havasi 1:40

07. Çadirimin Üstüne 1:45

08. Karsilama 2:15

09. Çadirimin Üstüne (Da Capo) 4:20

10. Naciye 2:00

11. Kürt Ali 4:40

Baritone Saxophone – Gunnar Bergsten

Bass – Ove Gustavsson

Drums, Darbuka – Okay Temiz

Trumpet, Piano, Darbuka – Maffy Falay

Violin – Salih Baysal

Turkish folk material.

Recorded March 23rd, 1972 at Jazzhus Montmartre, Copenhagen.

Free Jazz with turkish flavours! The beginning violin tone is quite jarring to me but when the music evolves and the rest of the band joins in the violin fits right in. The band joins towards the end of the first side and the group continues to play in full force to the end of the second side. I really liked the jam'ish and very rhytmical presentation. Okay Temiz really holds down the grooves, as usual. Even though the track listing says otherwise the whole album feels like a single tune, just changing periodically. Definitely worth a listen, definitely a unique view of free jazz.

Recorded on legendary Copenhagen jazz ground a mere week after ”Live i Sverige '72” and released in the same year, this is like a companion volume to the previous album. ”Live at Jazzhus Montmartre” captures Sevda in an even more expressive mood; the music is rawer and with an even greater Turkish emphasis. The playing is so intense it's almost dangerous – when at their most frenzied, I almost want to duck not to get hit in the head from the debris and splinters flying off the music. An incredible album.

From Jazz I Sverige ’72, Maffy Falay took a stripped-down version of Sevda and Salih Baysal across Europe, stopping over in Copenhagen, at Jazzhus Montmartre (1972) to record this live performance. Although there is a quintet, what sticks in the mind is the high and lonesome wail of Baysal’s violin. Falay had curated a myriad Turkish folk tunes and he opens the book on them here, virtually handing the floor to Baysal to play all of them virtually by himself; or at least that’s how the listener will remember the album to be – so imposing a presence is the violinist’s. Also, quite unbeknownst to many, the drummer Okay Temiz was extending his footprint into the nascent “World Music” planet. Sitting behind a very unusual looking drums-set made from beaten copper, clad in a variety of patterned shirts, Temiz brings a delicate balance between the music he played with Don Cherry rhythms and his deeper Turkish sensibility to this recording. “Ya Mustafa” is, perhaps, the most memorable song on this recording.

Sevda - 1972 - Jazz I Sverige '72

Sevda

1972

Jazz I Sverige '72

01. Taksim 2:35

02. Hicaz Dolap 2:50

03. Tamzara 11:40

04. Batum 5:25

05. Karadeniz 5:20

06. Makadonya 8:30

07. Çifte Telli 8:05

08. Karsilama 3:40

Baritone Saxophone, Flute – Gunnar Bergsten

Bass – Ove Gustavsson

Drums, Darbuka – Okay Temiz

Darbuka – Akay Temiz

Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Bernt Rosengren

Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Piano, Flute – Maffy Falay

Violin – Salih Baysal

Recorded at TV-2, Swedish Radio, Stockholm March 15th, 1972.

Sevda is a unique fusion of Turkish music and Swedish jazz, which grooves naturally in exotic time signatures (like 7/8 and 9/4), blending textures, rhythms and swinging improvisations into an exciting whole. It was recorded live at a TV studio, and at the time nobody had any idea it would be issued as a record. On drums is the great Okay Temiz, who also played with Don Cherry for some time (as well as did Maffy Falay)

One of my all time favourite bands operating on the progg/jazz scene, led by Turkish trumpeter Maffy Falay and featuring fellow countryman and drummer Okay Temiz, Fläsket Brinner saxophonist Gunnar Bergsten, and jazz pianist Bernt Rosengren to name a few of Sevda's original members.

Sevda was a very powerful unit, strikingly vital, organic, dynamic – everything you could ask for from a top notch jazz outfit. The Turkish harmonies enrich the music immensely, creating a tension field that is almost unique to Sevda (almost, because Okay Temiz's albums under the Oriental Wind banner were rather similar to Sevda).

If, as Whitney Balliett once suggested that “The French are old hands at introducing other cultures to themselves” and indeed to Europe (as Edmund Wilson said of Hippolyte Taine’s 1872 book Histoire de la Littérature Anglaise) then the Swedes are most certainly responsible for what is now the World Music phenomenon. To be exact, it was Don Cherry who first coined the term “World Music” to describe the music he had begun to play in the 1970’s. The iconic Swedish drummer Bengt Berger clearly remembers that. And even if – as has been rightfully posited in Jan Bruér’s excellent booklet notes in this collector’s edition of Sevda – the expression may have been used by others, it was certainly Cherry’s music that sparked the fire that has been raging ever since and has now enveloped the rest of the world as well.

Bengt Berger should know. He was in that seminal band led by Don Cherry. Berger went on to lead a band of his own not long after touring Europe with Cherry in the 1970’s. The band he led was called Rena Rama and the music if the music on their eponymously titled album is any indication, then the Swedes not only caught onto Cherry’s ideas very early but also introduced “World Music” not only to Europe, but back to the Indian subcontinent where they played more than once between the album’s release in 1973 and the mid-1980’s. In fact it was in 1984 (or 1986) that Don Cherry got up from within the audience, his fingers wrapped around his pocket trumpet, and ascended the music stage at Bombay’s Brabourne stadium to play with his old Swedish friends again.

This first fabulous live album by Sevda, does not include any of the music made by Don Cherry, or Bengt Berger or Rena Rama. Moreover, Moki Cherry, the Swedish artist, set designer and musician wife of Don Cherry isn’t included either. But there’s a stronger, Swedish connection for “World Music” of the day. However, it is this all-things-Swedish catalyst that probably hastened the chain reaction that exploded into World Music, whose thunder and lightning has been echoing all over the globe from the late 1960’s. This time Turkey has been drawn into the vortex only to emerge in the viscerally exciting music by the multi-instrumentalist Maffy Falay and Sevda.

Like Don Cherry’s own album for Caprice Records, Organic Music Society (made inside the Bucky Tent in Stockholm, Sevda was playing the Swedish music festival circuit from the end of the 1960’s. Maffy Falay had brought in his horns and reeds and was sitting in on piano, Bernt Rosengren and Gunnar Bergsten augmented the woodwinds section and Ove Gustafsson is on bass. Falay, who was already playing with fellow Turks Okay and Akay Temiz on drums and darbuka, brought in the Turkish violinist Salih Baysal to accentuate the “folksy” sound of the group. The move proved pivotal and Sevda was no longer a curiosity but one of the most popular bands on the music festival circuit in Sweden. Caprice jumped in and the producers made these tapes at Jazz | Sverige ’72. It’s as if Time is standing still, or at least the speed at which the earth is revolving on its axis has been halved. “Taksim”, a solo violin piece performed by Baysal throws the switch. The music that follows is absolutely transcendental especially the maddeningly beautiful “Makadonya”.

Björn J:son Lindh - 1978 - Bike Voyage II

Björn J:son Lindh

1978

Bike Voyage II

01. Introduction (0:33)

02. Helicopter Music (3:19)

03. Billathi Askara (5:14)

04. A Day at the Surface (5:32)

05. Loch Ensslin (2:05)

06. Ah Q (2:11)

07. Bike Voyage II (2:28)

08. Hotel and Drumsticks (5:04)

09. Boathouse Club (4:20)

10. Colwyn Bay (5:32)

11. Angela's Kite (1:14)

- Lennart Aberg / flute, sax (soprano), sax (tenor)

- Jan Bandel / violin

- Stefan Brolund / bass

- Jon Christensen / drums

- Nagi el Habashi / cello

- Malando Gassama / drums

- Björn J:son Lindh / flute, primary artist

- Peter Robinson / keyboards

- Janne Schaffer / guitar

- Peter Sundell / percussion

- Okay Temiz / percussion

- Georg Jojje Wadenius / bass

Recorded at Metronome Studio, Stockholm, June 19th-22nd, 1978.

Vynil LP Sonet SLP-2619 in 1978, later issues released under the name "A Day At The Surface"

After signing with Sonet, J:son Lindh appeared with this album which is marginally better than ”Raggie”, largely thanks to a couple of tracks with a pronounced Oriental feel like the traditional ”Billathi Askara”, enhanced by Egyptian Nagi al-?abaši fervent cello playing, and ”Ah Q” with a guest appearance from Okay Temiz on tablas. But it's ”A Day at the Surface”, ”Hotel and Drumsticks”, ”Colwyn Way”, and ”Boathouse Club” (the latter with an absolutely horrendous synth part) that define the album as just another bloodless fusion album, as stone dead as the granite bust on the cover. Released as ”A Day at the Surface” in the UK.