THE ANNUAL MEETING 2010

This year we were back in the premises of the Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research in central Stockholm. On March 27th around 40 SBJS´ members had gathered to listen to Bo Lindström, together with Dan Vernhettes author of the outstanding book Travelling Blues - the Life and Music of Tommy Ladnier. Bo made a most interesting analyze of Tommy Ladnier's musical style compared to King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Bunk Johnson, Joe Smith and Bix Beiderbecke. Who influenced who is? One of Bo's conclusions was that both Bunk and Tommy have a typical "Louisiana style" in common. Another Louisiana player that might have influenced Tommy - or the other way around - although we haven't any recorded documentation is Buddy Petit Bo remarked. Bo's presentation should be given at every musical school in Sweden a lady participant of the meeting said and I surely agree.

Christer Fellers told us that he is working on a Bunk web site and Håkan Håkansson informed about the documentation of the music and history of the Imperial Band, the number one New Orleans style band of the 1960s in Stockholm with Lars Edegran and Orange Kellin as two of the members. You can have a look at the documentation on Christers home page  www.fellers.st where you also can see the present status of Christer's Bunk site.

(www.bunkjohnson.st  will be activated soon / c.fellers)

Jan Lorentzon's Jazz Quiz was harder than ever starting with questions ranging from New Orleans to London to quote the title of Ken Colyer's Decca LP from 1953 as Ken was one of the correct answers. But Jan went further than that in the international geography of jazz and even had questions on recordings from Hamburg - George Lewis with Swedish musicians in May 1960 - as well as from our beloved hometown Stockholm. To give you an idea of how hard it was I can tell that yours truly won a bottle of wine with just one (1) point out of six in the second part of the Quiz.

Jens Lindgren, soon to be retired curator of the Jazz Research Department of the Centre, told the story of Kustbandet from the start in 1962 to the early 1980s. Kustbandet, which means the Band from the Coast or the Edge of the Archipelago, is still going strong and has toured all over the world including New Orleans at a couple of times with Jens as a trombone player, singer and bandleader. The latest tour was a successful one in South America this spring. We certainly are looking forward to hear Jens tell the rest of the Kustbandet Story.

The part of the evening in the premises of the Centre was as always concluded with live New Orleans music. On the stage - or actually the floor - we heard our members Christer Fellers (tp), Arne Högsander (cl), Tom Pauli (tb), Lars Tidholm (p), Håkan Rosenqvist (bjo), Nils "Cannon Ball" Rehman (sb) and Per Oldaeus (dr). These Joymakers certainly know their New Orleans Jazz! This year we didn't serve any food of our own since the Society's eminent Chef Sven Gustafsson was occupied with the wedding of his youngest son. So after the live music around half of the participants of the meeting went to a nearby Thai restaurant to enjoy a delicious buffé and continue to talk about classic jazz in general and Bunk in special.

 P-O Karlström

Photo. Sonja Svensson

This year we held our meeting in the premises of the Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research

at Norrtullsgatam in Stockholm.

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