reviews

"SCHLACHTPLATTE"
moserobie MMPCD 024

>...Has the vibraphone ever been treated this aggressively before? For those who might find vibes too mellow in nature, Stahl provokes wonderment as he hits brutally, retaining some reverberant decay but keeping a brittle front-edge to his notes. Milder blows more heatedly than his usual...Kornstad is a bad influence on Milder, a noisy neighbour kidnapping his timid family...This is breathtaking music: force, detail, control and abandon are all ramming against each other with an exactly equal strength.
Martin Longley, Jazz Review (UK) Nov 2004


>More new, unabashed Swedish jazz. It has a cheeky attitude and it is packaged in such a good-looking and "non-jazzy" manner that you cannot possibly be ashamed to leave it lying around for all to see. The vibraphone player Mattias Ståhl is in charge, and by his side is the brilliant saxophone player Joakim Milder as well as an extremely flexible rythm section. Ståhl sweeps away all prejudices about the vibraphone as a geeky ting-a-ling instrument; this is intelligent and sexy freeform jazz that scratches the loudspeaker diaphragms. There is a nervous energy, barely kept in check, and loads of surprises. There are also, in fact, melodies that really stick in the mind.
Lennart Persson, Expressen (SWE) Aug -04

> Rumour has it that Ståhls Blå was one of the really great sensations at the Vancouver Festival in Canada this year. It doesn't surprise me. After having listened to their second CD I am more convinced than ever that this group is one of the freshest and most innovative among the huge amount of young jazz from Scandinavia.
Tor Hammerø, www.puls.no (NOR) Aug -04

> The vibraphone player Mattias Ståhl has a devilish feeling for his instrument... when Håkon Kornstad comes in as well during a couple of songs it really takes off...intensity and power and their opposites calmness and air.
Fredrik Eriksson, Groove (SWE) Sept -04

> With "Schlachtplatte" they confirm their position as one of Nordic jazz's strongest acts. Their music is powerful and lithe and there are bits and pieces from Omette Coleman's world at the same time as it quivers with personal expression and contagious excitement. Ståhl's vibraphone gives the music a strong profile, and the sound of Håkon Kornstad's saxophone is full of life and spreads energy all around.5/6
Arild R. Andersen, Aftenposten (NOR) Aug -04

> ...cheeky playing...most often it swings infernally...I would like to here more from these inspired musicians.
Sven Boija, OJ (SWE) Sept -04

> ...Ståhl writes good songs, and "Schlachtplatte" is modern jazz of the very best make.
Roald Helgheim, Dagsavisen (NOR) Aug -04

LIVE REVIEWS:

Toronto Jazz Festival 2004
> Swedish vibraphonist Mattias Stahl plays with all the mystery and urgency of early Bobby Hutcherson, and writes brisk, hairpin-turn compositions that owe much to Ornette Coleman. This was perhaps my favorite concert of the festival, and Stronen in particular was a real discovery, a maverick creator and cross-breeder of drum patterns. His one extended solo was virtually a composition in itself, a far cry from most drum solos space-filling pyrotechnics.
Nate Dorward, Cadence (US) No. 8 - August 2004

  Jazz City Festival, Edmonton 2004
> Favourite gigs: William Parker, O.N.J., Stahls Bla, Lew Tabackin, Wibutee, Spirit Music Sextet, Effendi JazzLab.
Roger Levesque,  The Edmonton Journal (CA) July -04

Henry's Jazz Cellar, Edinburgh 2002
> ...their music has its own robust yet sensitive personality. Stahl's understanding with Milder is uncanny, producing superglued unison passages and fascinating dialogues, and Stronen's drumming, including a solo so musical you could have hummed it, adds idiosyncratic style and percussive flair to a group that's making utterly fresh, attractive, intelligent and wryly playful music.
Rob Adams, The Herald (UK) July -02

"STÅHLS BLÅ"
Dragon DRCD 361

> ...this album has had me off my feet every time I've played it: forty minutes of intelligence, energy, spirit, and extraordinary musicality - it's like reconstructing Ornette's 1959 group with all the advances of technique and knowledge of the last 40 years. No 9 in the critics poll "Best Jazz albums of 2001" JazzReview (UK)

> Mattias Ståhl is the wunderkind of the vibes, and on the debut offering from his band, Ståhls blå, he shows that he is a strong group leader. The rhytm section maintains a flexibility enabling moods and tempos to shift with extraordinary facility. **** --four stars-- Downbeat Magazine (US)

> Featured in "best CD:s of 2002"!!!**** --four stars-- Downbeat Magazine (US)

> They're an interesting brew of personalities: the patient, occasionally blustering Milder, the unpredictable Ståhl, and a rhytm section that can play flat out as easily as it does simple, limber swinging...this is a terrific band. ***(*) The Penguine Guide to Jazz on CD

> Atmosphere, humor, drama: swedish jazz in excellent shape. **** -- four stars Cuadernos de Jazz (SPAIN)

> ...the cd sounds a little bit like if Archie Shepp played the vibes. GROOVE (Sweden)

> Music for losing your foothold to
This is easy music because there is nothing you need to compare it with. And difficult if you don't like living without a foothold. Ingemar Glanzelius, Dagens Nyheter (Sweden)

> Ståhls Blå is a big bright focal-point this autumn. Dagsavisen (Norway)

> Simultaneously beautiful and challenging. Måns Wallgren, Dagens Nyheter (Sweden)

> Mattias Ståhl is without doubt the star of the year in Swedish jazz! The group sound is attractive and the musicians often succeed in creating a form of dialogue which feels spontaneous and rich in content. Göteborgsposten (Sweden)

> Pure energy, unpredictable and furious musical energy. What we hear is actually beautifully melodic but also particularly energetic, youthful and daring. Lillbrandsdalen Dølingen (Norway)

> .....a completely personal profile as a vibraphone player.......their collective propulsion is very well held together, well thought out and free of obstacles........the mood is soft, chamber music in character. Norrbottenskuriren (Sweden)

> Ståhls Blå represents a tough, demanding form of expression. We are talking about individuals with considerable doses of personality in everything they do, at the same time with a solid foundation and sense of group unity. PULS (Norway)

> ...it sounded like when the TV broke down. Eskilstuna-Kuriren (Sweden)

> Ståhls Blå demonstrated an impressive sense of group unity...Ståhl should be regarded as one of the most talented young musicians in Swedish jazz today.....a particularly individual profile. The common denominator of the group is the communication among the musicians and the interaction between the different instruments. Ståhls Blå is an exciting acquaintance, a group which succeeds in creating communicative jazz within the framework of an open structure. Folket, Eskilstuna (Sweden)

--------< translation - Dave Castle, Anna Gransten>--------------------

...om "SCHLACHTPLATTE":
> Mer ny, tacksamt oblyg svensk jazz.
Uppkäftig i attityden och så snyggt, "ojazzigt" paketerad att man inte behöver skämmas för att ha skivan framme. Vibrafonisten Mattias Ståhl leder och kring sig har han briljante saxofonisten Joakim Milder och en ytterst följsam rytmsektion. Själv röjer han undan alla fördomar om vibrafonen som ett mesigt plinke-plonk-instrument; det här är intelligent och sexig friformjazz som river i högtalarmembranen. Med nervig, knappt tyglad energi, massor av överraskningar och, faktiskt, melodier som biter sig fast.
Lennart Persson, Expressen Aug -04

> …uppkäftigt spel…svänger oftast infernaliskt…vill höra mer av dessa inspirerade musiker.
Sven Boija, OJ, Sept -04

> Vibrafonisten Mattias Ståhl har en djävulsk känsla för sitt instrument…på några låtar hoppar även Håkon Kornstad in, och då jävlar…intensitet, kraft och dess motpoler lugn och luft.
Fredrik Eriksson, Groove, Sept -04

> Ryktene forteller at Ståhls Blå var en av de virkelig store sensasjonene ved den kanadiske Vancouver-festivalen i år. Det forundrer meg ikke. Etter dette andre CD-møtet er jeg mer overbevist enn noensinne om at dette kollektivet er noe av det friskeste og mest innovative som finnes i det enorme tilfanget av ung jazz fra Skandinavia.
Tor Hammerø, www.puls.no Aug -04

> Med "Schlachtplatte" befester de stillingen som et av nordisk jazz' sterkeste kort. Musikken er kraftfull og smidig og inneholder små blaff fra Ornette Colemans verden, samtidig som den strutter av personlige ytringer og smittsom spilleglede. Ståhls vibrafon gir musikken sterk profil, og Håkon Kornstads saksofontone har en livsvilje som sprer energi. 5/6
Arild R. Andersen, Aftenposten (NOR) Aug -04

> Det finns en övertygande intigritet och målmedvetenhet...av högsta internationella klass.
Göran Olsson,www. jazzlife.se Aug -04

> ...Ståhl skriv bra låtar, og «Schlachtplatte» er moderne jazz av beste merke.
Roald Helgheim, Dagsavisen (NOR) Aug -04

om "STÅHLS BLÅ":

> Musik att tappa fotfästet till
Detta är lätt musik, för det finns inget man behöver jämföra med. Och svår, om man inte gillar att leva utan fotfäste. Ingemar Glanzelius, Dagens Nyheter (Sweden)

> Jag trodde alltid att vibrafon bara gick att spela som Milt Jackson gjorde i Modern Jazz Quartet men Mattias Ståhls sätt att spela och leda sin grupp är betydligt mer experimentellt, fritt och fräckt. Betydligt mer Ornette Coleman i förhållningssättet än MJQ. Betydligt roligare och mer respektlöst. Ståhls Blå dundrar väldigt energiskt och oförutsägbart...
Mats Olsson, Feber/Expressen (Sweden)

> Ståhls Blå er eit stort lyspunkt denne hausten. Dagsavisen (Norway)

> Vackert och utmanande i förening.
Måns Wallgren, Dagens Nyheter (Sweden)

> Mattias Ståhl är otvivelaktigt årets stjärnskott i svensk jazz! Klangen är tilltalande och musikerna lyckas ofta få en dialogform som känns spontan och innehållsrik, Göteborgsposten (Sweden)

> Rett og slett energi, uforutsigbar, utfordrende og voldsom musikalsk energi. Det vi hører er faktisk forbausende melodiøst, men altså i særdeleshet energisk, ungt, djervt, for å bruke et litt høytidelig ord. Lillbrandsdalen Dølingen (Norway)

> ...en alldeles egen profil som vibrafonspelare... ...deras gemensamma framfart är väldigt väl sammanhållen, genomtänkt och hinderfri. ...tilltalet är mjukt, kammarmusikaliskt. Norrbottenskuriren (Sweden)

> Ståhls Blå representerer et tøft, krevende og ekspressivt uttrykk med stor fallhøyde. Her snakker vi om folk med solide doser personlighet i det de foretar seg, samtidig som de har en meget rotfesta felles retningssans. PULS (Norway)

> ...det lät som när teven pajat, Eskilstuna-kuriren (Sweden)

> Ståhls Blå visade prov på imponerande samspelhet....Ståhl får anses vara en av de absolut mest begåvade unga musikerna i dagens Svenska Jazzliv...uppvisar en påtaglig egen profil. Gruppens gemensamma nämnare är samspelet mellan musikanterna och interaktionen mellan de olika instrumenten. ---- Ståhls Blå är en spännande bekantskap, som lyckas skapa kommunikativ jazz inom ramen för en öppen struktur. Folket, Eskilstuna (Sweden)