Jonas charms the crowd between songs and refers to us as the “beautiful people of Rochester.” Jonas Kullhahhar Quartet have been playing together for thirteen years or so and are widely considered Sweden’s best jazz band. If they lived in the states they would be one of our best jazz bands. They’ve been at this festival three times now and we can’t get enough of them.
The piano, bass and drum rhythm section takes off like a rocket and the band is an exhilarating full tilt for most numbers. But their joyous, fresh, crisp playing is also giving way to slower, moodier, seasoned compositions with plenty of space for gorgeous piano, big bass lines and bare hand drumming. They may have stole the festival again this year. They’re playing again tonight at Max’s.
1 Comment
Interesting, I didn’t find them very compelling at xerox. The piano player was a weak link and the songwriting was formulaic. Perhaps I just saw an off set. It’s more likely that they just didn’t hold up coming right after seeing Tonbruket who blew my mind with their originality and dynamics.