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  • Beches Brew

    CE13

    Artist: Bengt Berger

    Label: Country & Eastern

    NOMINATED FOR A SWEDISH GRAMMY!
    Thomas Gustafsson, soprano and tenor saxophones (slightly to the right)
    Lindha Kallerdahl, voice
    Jonas Knutsson, soprano- alto and baritone saxophones (slightly to the left), percussion
    Max Schultz, guitar, banjo, bass and voice
    Mats Öberg, keyboard, harmonica and voice
    Bengt Berger, drums and percussion
    Sigge Krantz, sound, bass on 7, background vocals on 5

    Music, like most things, is not a question of style but of  individuality and personal connection. I don’t want to listen to "jazz”, I want to hear John Coltrane. I don’t want to listen to ”classical music”, I want to hear Stravinsky. Not ”indian” but T.R. Mahalingam; Not ”operetta” but Offenbach. Not ”musical”....

    When I listen to the music on this album it’s very clear that it is ”self sufficient”, that I’ve done it completely without thinking at all about expectations, my own or anyone else’s. So here I am with an album that  only can be labeled as ”Bengt Berger” or ”Other Music”. It’s my music, but it is not MY music. The music itself has decided what I want it to be. Ten minute pieces are followed by themes of less than a minute, a lullabye by free form, afro by slapstick, long modal hypnotics by narrative or poetic texts by Niklas Rådström or Torkel Rasmusson; and by the way, I didn’t intend anything in particular with it, it just turned out out that way.

    For many years I’ve had the great privilege of having my music interpreted and evolved in the company of Thomas...