Fredrik Kronkvist – KRONICLES, release date November 7, 2018
Fredrik Kronkvist releases his 15th album with the stellar musicians Orrin Evans on piano, Martin Sjöstedt on bass and Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums.
Available on Double-Vinyl, CD, iTunes and all Digital Platforms.
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Fredrik Kronkvist AFRO-CUBAN SUPREME, release date October 6, 2017
The award winning alto saxophonist Fredrik Kronkvist presents a diverse mix of Afro-Cuban rhythms and Coltrane-influenced jazz, inspired by Dizzy Gillespie’s idea of uniting people, music and rhythms. From legendary songs like A Night in Tunisia, Afro Blue and Manteca in eventful new arrangements to exciting original compositions with adventurous approaches to timeless jazz and latin tunes.
FREDRIK KRONKVIST – alto, soprano & tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, flute,
alto flute, shekere, vocals.
MIRIAM AÏDA – vocals on Afro Blue, Naima, Yemaya & Eternal Light.
MARTIN SJÖSTEDT – piano, rhodes, vocals.
JOHNNY ÅMAN – bass, vocals.
ELIEL LAZO – congas, batà, shekeré, chimes, caxixi, cow bell, udu, shaker,
vocals, lead vocals on Tierra Africana part I & II.
JASON MARSALIS – drums, vibes, marimba, vocals.
1. INTRO – TIERRA AFRICANA part I (Eliel Lazo, Fredrik Kronkvist)
2. A LOVE SUPREME – ACKNOWLEDGEMENT(John Coltrane)
3. A NIGHT IN TUNISIA (Dizzy Gillespie)
4. CARAVAN (Juan Tizol)
5. INTERLUDE #1 (Eliel Lazo)
6. AFRO BLUE (Mongo Santamaria)
7. SATELLITE (John Coltrane)
8. MANTECA ( Dizzy Gillespie, Chano Pozo, Gil Fuller)
9. INTERLUDE #2 (Fredrik Kronkvist, Martin Sjöstedt)
10. NAIMA (John Coltrane)
11. INTERLUDE #3 (Martin Sjöstedt)
12. GILLESPIANA (Lalo Schifrin)
13. BE-BOP (Dizzy Gillespie)
14. TIERRA AFRICANA part II (Eliel Lazo, Fredrik Kronkvist)
15. ON GREEN DOLPHIN STREET (Bronislaw Kaper)
16. INTERLUDE #4 (Martin Sjöstedt)
17. YEMAYA (Fredrik Kronkvist)
18. INTERLUDE #5 (Fredrik Kronkvist)
19. ETERNAL LIGHT (Miriam Aïda, Fredrik Kronkvist)
20. OUTRO – ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (John Coltrane)
total time: 79.00 min
Detailed information about the arrangements (for those of you who asked for it):
A LOVE SUPREME – ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 15/4
We start with the characteristic bass line from A Love Supreme and the arrangement is in 15/4 divided in 6+6+3. The piano however suggests another rhythmic layer beneath that is 3+3+3+3+3, which makes a layer of 5. On the solos we switch between the feel in 15/4 and the layer of 5 also adding the dotted quarter note feel in 10. When we bring in the theme after the sax solo we shift totally to the layer in 5 with a triplet feel added and then back to 15 but in half time feel making it 7,5.
A NIGHT IN TUNISIA 5/4 with 3 over 5
The arrangement of A Night in Tunisia is in 5/4 with a triplet feel, grouping the total 15 triplets over a 5/4 bar in groups of five triplets makes a layer of 3 against 5 that is the main rhythmic theme for this arrangement. The bridge is still in 5/4 but changes to a groove based on the clave in 5. On the drum interlude after the last soloist we change the feel to 2 over 5 and 4 over 5.
CARAVAN 9/4 with 9 over 6
The arrangement of Caravan is based on the two layers of a long clave in 9/4 and a layer of 6 dotted quarter notes beneath that. The bridge is in 4/4 with a re-harmonization of the chords. Eliel does a conga solo in the layer of 6 and the drum solo is over the bass line in 9. The last bridge switches to the dotted quarter note tempo but in 4/4 before going back to the original 9/4 tempo feel with a transition of 3/4 were the quarter note triplets in the slower tempo will equal the quarter notes in the original tempo feel.
AFRO BLUE
This is first and most a re-harmonization of the whole song changing and adding new chords to the original chords. The rhythmic idea on top of that is to go into different variations of the bass line but keep the same melodic idea while transforming seamless from 3/4 to 12/8 to 21/8 between verses, the soprano solo in 12/8 playing with the layer of 3 over 4 beats, 3/4 when the vocals comes back after the soprano solo and in the end a vamp in 7/4 before finishing as it started in 3/4.
SATELLITE
This arrangement adds a rhythmic pattern with kicks from the 12/8 clave to the development from the jazz standard How High the Moon, with Charlie Parker’s Be-Bop based version Ornithology to John Coltrane’s Satellite with the unique Coltrane Changes.
MANTECA 11/4 and 7/4
On Manteca, the bass line never plays the beat one in this clave-based arrangement in 11/4. The bass line start on 2 and, and lands on beat 11 on this classic bass vamp translated into 11/4. The bridge has a clave feel in 7/4 and after the drum solo by Jason Marsalis we play the whole bridge harmonically a half step up before going back to the bass ostinato.
NAIMA 5/4 This arrangement is in 5/4 going to bridge in a dotted quarter note tempo against the original tempo in 4/4 with a eight note triplet feel, and the going back to 5/4 thru the quarter triplet, all glued together by the bass line that has the same characteristic of the figure but feels different in the two different tempos and meters.
GILLESPIANA 12/8
This tune in 12/8 is written by Lalo Schifrin for Dizzy Gillespie while Lalo was playing in Dizzy’s band. You can sense on this tune that Lalo would later go on and write the soundtrack to Mission Impossible and establish himself as a great composer.
BE-BOP
Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker traded ideas and expanded the melodic possibilities on this kind of tunes and we decided to continue in that vain by having the piano and alto saxophone and later the drums and the congas trade ideas while improvising on this high tempo version.
ON GREEN DOPLHIN STREET 13/4
This arrangement is built on a clave in 13/4 which is divided in 7+6 beats.
YEMAYA in 7/4 and 5 over 7
This is a song in 7/4 based on the clave that you find for instance on master drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts’ tune The Impaler. It’s a minor blues with some different chords and voicings in the piano figure. Yemaya is the name of the Goddess of the Ocean from the Yoruba and Afro-Caribbean traditional religions. When we sing to her we change to 5 over 7 and 5/4 and the going back to 7/4 we do the opposite with 7 over 5.
ETERNAL LIGHT rubato and 12/8
This tune is inspired by the work of John Coltrane and maybe even more by the great tenor player Pharoa Sanders. It starts out rubato without any tempo and goes into a 12/8 groove with the swing feel present. Here you also hear Eliel Lazo playing the Bata drums as you do on the song Tierra Africana part I and II, that you find as the intro of the album and as an interlude.
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Fredrik Kronkvist – ON THE MOVE feat. Martin Sjöstedt, Ameen Saleem & Gregory Hutchinson (march 2017)
Alto saxophone star and Swedish Grammy-nominee Fredrik Kronkvist continues his musical journey with a fantastic new international group with Martin Sjöstedt, Ameen Saleem and Gregory Hutchinson. Urban swing, dramatic ballads, Coltrane-influenced jazz, rhythms and harmonies from around the world provide an exciting and soulful –experience with improvised music created in the heat of the moment.
Fredrik Kronkvist – alto sax
Martin Sjöstedt – piano
Ameen Saleem – bass
Gregory Hutchinson – drums
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Fredrik Kronkvist MONK VIBES feat. Jason Marsalis, Reuben Rogers & Gregory Hutchinson. (2015)
Alto saxophonist Fredrik Kronkvist releases album with Thelonious Monk’s music along with three American superstars.
When Kronkvist releases his new album MONK VIBES he continues cooperate with some of the hottest names on the jazz scene with Jason Marsalis on vibraphone, Reuben Rogers on bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums. This time they dedicate themselves to interpret the genius composer Thelonious Monk’s music and spirit. The unusual constellation with alto saxophone, vibraphone, bass and drums create a different, challenging sound without the piano and gives the group wide open spaces for colorful improvisations. MONK VIBES reflects Thelonious multidimensional universe where simplicity and complexity come together in a beautiful, danceable and contrasting music.The album contains wild conversations, humor, calypso beat, odd time signatures, blues, beautiful ballads and a tonal language that sounds as skewed as obvious.
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FREDRIK KRONKVIST – REFLECTING TIME (2014)
Fredrik Kronkvist – alto saxophone
Aaron Goldberg – piano
Reuben Rogers – bass
Gregory Hutchinson – drums
Following the success of the album New York Elements with this international supergroup comes the follow up with exuberant joy and interactions in the seven original compositions and a new arrangement of a timeless classic.
Fredrik Kronkvist delivers this lively, communicative, urban jazz mixed with blues saturated Nordic sounds in cooperation with some of the world’s most sought after jazz musicians from the New York scene.
The last album New York Elements entered the list Album of the Year 2012 in the prestigious Downbeat Magazine and received top reviews in for example Jazz Times & Jazz Special. The first record was recorded in New York and this album was recorded in Copenhagen after a tour in Sweden and Denmark. Fully charged with energy from the audience at Fasching in Stockholm, Palladium in Malmö, Montmartre in Copenhagen and other places, the band went into the studio and recorded in one day the new album Reflecting Time.
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FREDRIK KRONKVIST – BROOKLYN PLAYGROUND (2013)
Fredrik and his quartet entered the studio in Brooklyn after a successful concert at the Scandinavian House on Manhattan and laid down some of the groups most inspired takes.
Fredrik Kronkvist – alto saxophone, Martin Sjöstedt – piano
Petter Eldh – bass, Snorre Kirk – drums
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FREDRIK KRONKVIST
with Aaron Goldberg, Reuben Rogers and Gregory Hutchinson
NEW YORK ELEMENTS
DOWN BEAT **** 4/5
Made the list of BEST RECORDINGS 2012 selected by DOWN BEAT JAZZ MAGAZINE
“the right amount of kick and swagger to suggest an element of danger as well as surprise and musical cohesion”. DOWN BEAT
“His pungent alto sails with rhythmic assuredness and fire” JazzTimes
New York Elements – vibrant jazz recorded in New York by the swedish saxophonist and composer Fredrik Kronkvist with some of todays most interesting musicians.
Kronkvist’s original music is inspired by the urban, artistic melting pot found in New York and the recording reflects the intensity and diversity of the city that never sleeps.
Jazz with high-level communication, with elements of Afro-Cuban, funk, soul, ballads, Brasilian and Scandinavian with grooves that attract the atoms in the body to swing.
The playfulness in the collective improvisations creates music with action and interaction.
Fredrik Kronkvist is one of Sweden’s greatest jazz musicians with eleven albums released as artistic band leader. Kronkvists saxophone playing and his compositions have received great international attention and he has done concerts at major international jazz festivals, most recently as specially invited to the Oslo Jazz Festival’s 25th anniversary. Fredrik has worked in many different international configurations with musicians from the United States, Chile, Spain, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Brazil and Others and with names like Jason Marsalis, Antonio Sanchez and Marcus Strickland to name a few.
Pianist Aaron Goldberg, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Gregory Hutchinson are some of the world’s finest jazz musicians. Together they are a unique and sought-after rhythm section that played with many of the greatest legends in the world of jazz such as Joe Henderson, Betty Carter, Charles Lloyd and Freddie Hubbard.
Also constantly in interaction with the most prominent stars of today’s jazz scene, such as Joshua Redman, Miguel Zenon, Mark Turner and Kurt Rosenwinkel.
Fredrik Kronkvist – alto saxophone
Aaron Goldberg – piano
Reuben Rogers – bass
Gregory Hutchinson – drums
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Releasedate Scandinavia 10 feb 2011
Release world, iTunes, Amazon etc march 2011
“From the ever flowing music of Fredrik’s colourful imagination this powerful group delivers fast burn-out swing, organic fusion, oriental moods, soulful elements, blues and freer stuff in a rare sextet format.
Fredrik Kronkvist Sextet is an international constellation with some of Europe’s finest jazz musicians from Malmö, Stockholm, Berlin, Copenhagen and Barcelona.
The three horn players Fredrik Kronkvist, Jonas Kullhammar and Raynald Colom are considered as the vanguard of the Europe’s jazz scene and really take their playing to the sky on this versatile album. The rhythm section backs up the frontline and keeps the listeners on their toes by delivering fresh ideas for musical communication.”
Fredrik Kronkvist – alto & soprano saxophone
Jonas Kullhammar – tenor saxophone
Raynald Colom – trumpet
Martin Sjöstedt – piano
Petter Eldh – bass
Snorre Kirk – Drums
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Fredrik Kronkvist Quartet – Constant Continuum
Releasedate Sweden 23 april 2010
Fredrik Kronkvist – alto & soprano saxophone
Martin Sjöstedt – piano
Petter Eldh – bass
Snorre Kirk – drums
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Scan-Am Quartet feat. Fredrik Kronkvist, Soren Moller, Morten Ramsboel, Jason Marsalis
Releasedate Feb 2010
Fredrik Kronkvist – alto & soprano saxophone
Soren Moller – piano
Morten Ramsboel – bass
Jason Marsalis – drums
Buy it here:
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Urban Elements – New Dimensions
Releasedate 2008
Sebastian Jordan – trumpet
Fredrik Kronkvist – alto & soprano saxophone, flute
Martin Sjöstedt – piano
René Sandoval – bass
Felix Lecaros – drums
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Fredrik Kronkvist Quartet – Ignition
Releasedate 2007
Fredrik Kronkvist – alto saxophone
Kasper Villaume – piano
Martin Sjöstedt – bass
Daniel Fredriksson – drums
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Fredrik Kronkvist Trio – In The Raw
Releasedate 2006
Fredrik Kronkvist – alto saxophone
Daniel Franck – bass
Daniel Fredriksson – drums
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Fredrik Kronkvist Quartet – Maintain!
Releasedate 2005
Fredrik Kronkvist – alto saxophone
Daniel Tilling – piano
Martin Sjöstedt – bass
Daniel Fredriksson – drums
guests: Sal Dibba & Måns Block – percussion
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Fredrik Kronkvist Quartet – Altitude
Releasedate 2003
Fredrik Kronkvist – alto saxophone
Daniel Tilling – piano
Martin Sjöstedt – bass
Daniel Fredriksson – drums
Buy it here:
Fredrik Kronkvist 