Critic's Review
Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
This was Ken Colyer's final recording. By 1986 he no longer had his own regular group and his health was gradually declining (he would pass away less than two years later) but, when he was invited to play a jazz festival in Stockholm, the English trad trumpeter got along well musically and personally with the members of The Classic Jazz Band. A few months later he returned to Stockholm and privately taped one of their joint concerts. The balance of the instruments is a bit off with the horns generally low in the mix but the music is quite listenable. Ken Colyer's sparse lead (mostly short notes) leaves a lot of space in the ensembles and, although clarinetist Goran Erikson and trombonist Jens Lindgren are fine, the most impressive voice is actually drummer Cacka Ekhe whose colorful percussive sounds recall Baby Dodds. The pianoless sextet performs a variety of old standards and even if the music is not flawless and is occasionally rather aimless, New Orleans jazz fans should appreciate this historically significant music.
