Håkan Broström Quartet featuring Joey Calderazzo: “Refraction”

(Art of Life AL1041-2)

Digital Downloads | About the Music | Selected Quotations

Håkan Broström: alto and soprano saxophones Joey Calderazzo: piano Daniel Fredriksson: drums Martin Sjöstedt: acoustic bass CD $14.99 Free Worldwide Shipping To purchase this CD using PayPal, please click the "Add To Cart" button below.

Catwalk (Listen to MP3 sample) Nothing Personal (Listen to MP3 sample) Do I Know You? (Listen to MP3 sample) The Oracle (Listen to MP3 sample) See Saw (Listen to MP3 sample) Blues for Mr. Brent (Listen to MP3 sample) Intervals (Listen to MP3 sample) Love Signs (Listen to MP3 sample) Blues for McCoy (Listen to MP3 sample)

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About the Music {top}

Art of Life Records is pleased to present alto/soprano saxophonist and composer Håkan Broström's recording debut for Art of Life Records. Joining Håkan on "Refraction" are pianist Joey Calderazzo (Branford Marsalis), drummer Daniel Fredriksson and acoustic bassist Martin Sjöstedt. The album features a version of the song "Nothing Personal" written by pianist Don Grolnick which originally appeared on saxophonist Michael Brecker's self-titled recording debut in addition to a version of the song "See Saw" written by pianist Richie Beirach. Pianist Joey Calderazzo contributes two original compositions, "Catwalk" and "The Oracle", in addition to two songs from bassist Martin Sjöstedt and three songs from saxophonist Håkan Broström. "Refraction" was recorded and mixed by Göran Stegborn on February 27, 2008 at Sami Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. 24-bit digital mastering by Paul G. Kohler at Art of Life Studios in Ridgeland, South Carolina in May 2010.

Håkan Broström started out on piano in his small Swedish home-town before, at the age of 15, he got ahold of a tenor saxophone in order to join a local blues band. Ever since then he has been playing saxophones of all sizes but early on he made the alto and the soprano his main instruments. While still a teenager he became a student at the College of Music in Malmö where one of his teachers was Helge Albin, alto saxophonist, composer and leader of the Tolvan Big Band. At this time Håkan co-founded the quintet Equinox which also featured tenor saxophonist Tomas Franck. After settling in Stockholm in 1984 Håkan soon established himself as one of the foremost saxophonists on the scene fronting his own combos and playing with the groups of trombonist Eje Thelin, trumpeter Gustavo Bergalli, guitarist Ulf Wakenius and others. He was also a member of the Swedish Radio Jazz Group, the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra and other big bands and he also played blues and reggae music with singer Peps Persson. In 1993 Håkan joined the ranks of the Norrbotten Big Band fronted by American trumpeter Tim Hagans. Besides leading the saxophone section on alto and soprano he is a heavily featured soloist and he also contributes arrangements and compositions. Over the years many well-known Swedish Jazz musicians have joined the groups led by Håkan Broström mainly playing music from his pen. Together with saxophonist Johan Hörlén, Håkan also fronts a quintet, Birdsongs, who plays music associated with Charlie Parker and the Bebop era.

Selected Quotations {top}

Straight-ahead mainstream modern Jazz by a European saxophonist who can take the stand with anyone. Brostrom is deservedly a prominent player in his native Sweden, and his fellow countrymen, drummer Fredriksson and bassist Sjostedt, both bring extensive high-level experience to the occasion. But the member of his quartet best known to American audiences is pianist Calderazzo, who joined Michael Brecker's band in 1987 and has been earning a stellar reputation ever since, most recently with Branford Marsalis. They offer three original tunes by the leader, two by the bassist, two by the pianist, and one each by Richie Beirach and Don Grolnick, the latters Nothing Personal having appeared on a Michael Brecker album shortly before Calderazzo joined his band. Calderazzo's two charts, Catwalk and The Oracle, one a medium groove Hard Bop track, and the other a triple-meter modal tune, both demonstrate Brostrom's and the pianist's impressive Post-Bop chops, including Joey's mastery of modal improvising.. By contrast, Beirach's exquisite See Saw features warm, tuneful solos by both men. If Mr. Brent was expecting a Blues in Sjostedt's Blues for Mr. Brent, he had to be disappointed because it isn't one (to these ears, at least), although it does swing mightily. On the other hand, Brostrom's Blues for McCoy more than does justice to the venerable 12-bar form. On the up-tunes, the rhythm section puts the beat in just the right spot for the soloists to lock securely into an irresistible swing.
David Franklin - Cadence Magazine

On his sixth outing as a leader, Swedish alto/soprano saxophonist Håkan Broström joins countrymen Daniel Fredriksson on drums and Martin Sjöstedt on acoustic bass, along with longtime Branford Marsalis Quartet pianist Joey Calderazzo. The band lays down a relaxed shuffle-swing groove on Calderazzos Catwalk, then wails on a rendition of Don Grolnicks Nothing Personal. Broström contributes the lilting jazz waltz Do I Know You? and the all-out burner Blues for McCoy, the latter showcasing Calderazzos formidable chops. Bassist Sjöstedt offers the lovely ballad Intervals and he walks authoritatively on his laidback Blues for Mr. Brent. A potent soloist, Broström turns in several heated improvisations here, while the stellar rhythm tandem of Fredriksson and Sjöstedt keeps the momentum going throughout this superbly swinging affair.
Jamie Cosnowsky - Jazz Times Magazine