High Life

오늘은 혹시 나처럼 나른한 일요일을 즐기고 계시는 분을 위해

웬만한 오디오 매니아라면 한장은 가지고 있을 음반 하나 소개하겠음.

Proprius 사에서 나온 'Jazz at the Pawnshop' 이라는 음반으로

스웨덴 스톡홀름의 구시가지에 있는 싸구려 선술집에서 있은 째즈 연주를

기존스튜디오 녹음방식이 아닌 새로운 방식으로 녹음했댔는 데

자세한 내용은 워낙 오래 전에 들은 거라 기억이 잘 안남.

근데 그 음질이 매우 뛰어날 뿐만 아니라 

담배연기 자욱한 선술집 현장분위기를 생생하게 전하고 있어

재즈에 대한 인식이 별로 없는 사람들도 그 매력을 한껏 느낄 수 있음.

그 음반에 수록된 곡중 'High Life'

일단 한번 들어 보시면서 (음악 들을 땐 헤드폰으로 들으시는 게 좋음.)

1. High Life.mp3

좀 더 자세한 내용을 알고 싶으신 분은 아래 Chris Mosey의 소개문을 읽어 보시앞.

(분위기상 원문 그대로 올려두겠음.)

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Arne Domnerus: Jazz at the Pawnshop - 30th Anniversary Edition (2007)

By 

CHRIS MOSEY, 

Published: October 30, 2007

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."

You hear the chink of glasses, the chime of the bell to acknowledge a tip, the burr of conversation. It all fits; that intimate club atmosphere that sparks jazz at its best. You feel as though you're there. Which is Palmcrantz's triumph, and why Jazz at the Pawnshop is likely to continue to fascinate both jazz and audio fans for a good many years to come.

Track Listing: CD1: Limehouse Blues; I'm Confessin'; High Life; Jeep's Blues; Lady Be Good; Take Five; Everything Happens To Me; Barbados; Stuffy. CD2: Over The Rainbow; Now's The Time; Out Of Nowhere; Take The A Train; Here Is That Rainy Day; Struttin' With Some Barbecue; Poor Butterfly; Exactly Like You; Jeepers Creepers; How High The Moon; Things Ain't What They Used To Be. CD3: In a Mellow Tone; Gubben och Kallingen; Nancy With The Laughing Face; Struttin' With Some Barbecue (alternative take); It Don't Mean A Thing; Mood Indigo; Jeep's Blues (alternative take); High Life (alternative take).

Personnel: Arne Domnerus: alto saxophone, clarinet; Bengt Hallberg: piano; Lars Erstrand: vibes, marimba; Georg Riedel: bass; Egil Johansen: drums.

Record Label: Proprius
Style: Straight-ahead/Mainstream