JazzWax

Margareta Bengtson and Nils Lindberg

Back in November, I posted about the Real Group, an a cappella vocal ensemble from Sweden. Well, the other day, I stumbled across an album by the group's former soprano, Margareta Bengtson. The album is As We Are (Prophone) led by Swedish pianist and arranger Nils Lindberg. Several years ago, I interviewed Nils here. Margareta is an astonishing singer with tremendous tone and power.

Recorded in 2008, As We Are features Bengtson backed by a terrific band: Nils Lindberg (arranger, composer, conductor), Jan Allan (tp), Hans Akesson and Hakan Brostrom (as), Anders Paulsson (s, ts), Joakim Milder (ts), Alberto Pinton (bs), Nils Lindberg (p), Jan Adefelt (b) and Bengt Stark (d).

The album's tracks include Remember, B.B. Blues, As You Are (which Nils wrote with bassist Red Mitchell), Springtime (a saxophone instrumental), I Remember Karelia, Santa Barbara, Skylark, Tingsmarschen (a folk song), Tomorrow, Dry Martini, Blues for Bill (an instrumental), Shall I Compare Thee and Epilogue (an instrumental).

So if you're a singer shopping for songs off the beaten path, a number of these should be considered. 

Bengtson grew up in a family of musicians in Tyresö Municipality, south of Stockholm. As a child, she sang and played paino, later taking up the harp, which became her main instrument at Stockholm's Royal College of Music. She joined the Real Group in 1984, and in 1997 she was awarded first prize as best female soloist by the Choral A Cappella Society of America.

She has been a guest on other artists' CDs and for several years she worked closely with Nils Lindberg. In 2008, Nils recorded As We Are, a CD of songs he has written or co-written. At the end of 2006, Bengtson left the Real Group to become a soloist. She made a critically acclaimed jazz CD called I'm Old Fashioned. More CDs followed.

I'm not sure what Bengtson is doing these days. Her site hasn't been updated in some time. Perhaps one of my Swedish readers can enlighten us.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Nils Lindberg and Matareta Bengtson's As You Are (Prophone) here.

JazzWax clips: Here's As You Are, with Nils on piano...

The song also was recorded in Färingsö, Sweden, in August 2014, with Nils on piano, Olle Lindberg, his son, on bass, and Agnes Lindberg, Olle's wife, on the vocal. Here's As You Are...

How great an arranger is Nils? Dig his Springtime and incredible reed writing...

Beegie Adair: 1937-2022

Beegie Adair, who was one of the busiest unbusy studio and lounge pianists in Nashville who recorded more than 100 albums, died on January 23. She was 84.

Unbusy, because Beegie (born Bobbe Gorin Long) played simply with a straight-ahead style, adding a dash of jazz along the way. While not widely known outside of Nashville studio circles and among those who fancy the cocktail-piano sound, Beegie preferred playing the standards people liked to hear with a modicum of flourish and pinache. Instead of twisting a song in knots, she let the melody surface fully, dressing it up with just enough swing and improvisation to show off the song's lyrical figure.

During her 65-year career, Beegie contributed to the recordings of Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Clifton Davis, Henry Mancini, Joe Williams, Chet Atkins, Lucille Ball, Steve Allen, Dinah Shore, Boots Randolph, Hank Garland, Mama Cass Elliott, Peggy Lee and many others.

She and her husband, Billy Adair, also started a jingle company to write music for commercials. In 1982, Beegie and saxophonist Denis Solee formed the Adair-Solee Quartet, which evolved into the Be-Bop Co-Op, a jazz sextet. She made her first album under her own name, Escape to New York, with bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Gregory Hutchinson.

Here are my favorite Beegie Adair clips:

Here's Will You Be Mine with Monica Ramey on the vocal. Dig Beegie's fills and solo...

Here's Beegie accompanying Ramey on Make Someone Happy. Terrific accompaniment chops...

Here's Beegie and Ramey on This Could Be the Start of Something Big...

Here's Beegie on the Beatles' If I Fell...

Here's Misty...

Here's Come Fly With Me...

Here's That Sunday, That Summer...

Here's Autumn in New York...

Here's Miles Davis's Freddie Freeloader...

And here's Young and Foolish...

Bonus: Here's Beegie and Ray Stevens (Everything Is Beautiful, 1970) on That's My Desire...

Barbara, Tom and Roy

In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed Wesley Schultz of the Lumineers on the band's new single, Where We Are, for my "Anatomy of a Song" column (go here). An amazing story of how a new song's lyrics were influenced by a car crash 11 years ago that just missed seriously injuring or killing Wesley and his girlfriend (now wife) Brandy. Photo above of Wesley and Brandy, an hour after the accident, at a salvage yard in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Here's the song...

Also in the WSJ, I interviewed Barbara Eden (above) for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Barbara starred in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. Here's Barbara in action...

Video podcast. I spent quality time yesterday via Zoom with Tom Semioli and David C. Gross, esteemed hosts of Notes From an Artist, to talk about my new book, Rock Concert. Once it's posted, I'll share the interview with you.

Here's more of you reading my latest book, Rock Concert: An Oral History...

In London, above, composer-pianist Simon Wallace at the piano. His latest album with wife and vocalist Sarah Moule is Stormy Emotions (33 Jazz), featuring songs Simon wrote with Fran Landesman. For more on Simon and Sarah's relationship with the late lyricist, go here.

In Denton, Texas, Paul Roark, above, hipped one of the Vinyl Lounge's DJs (also above) to Rock Concert. The place looks like fun! As the Denton Record Chronicle noted—"New, switched-on Vinyl Lounge: It’s ‘Austin Powers' meets Tommy Bradford’s van."

Passion or obsession? Tom Fine sent along a link to a wonderful documentary on members of the Audiophile Club of Athens in Greece who are seriously into their high-end stereo rigs. Here it is...

Antonio Carlos Jobim radio. Mark your calendar: On Tuesday, WKCR-FM in New York will play the composer's music for 24 hours (ET) in celebration of his birthday. You can listen from anywhere in the world by going here.  

Roy Eldridge. Next Sunday, January 30, WKCR-FM in New York will play the music of Roy Eldridge for 24 hours (ET) to celebrate the trumpeter's birthday. You can listen from anywhere in the world by going here.  

And finally, here's Bloodstone singing Natural High in 1973...