Credits:

Tommy Crona Jazz Trio

Description:

Opus 3 Records is known for releasing albums that most strongly reflect the owner's taste, even among Sweden's many unique labels. One such album is the trio album by Swedish pianist Tommy Crona. The owner, Jan-Erik Persson, has this to say about the album: "Tommy Crona has a very strong taste for music. Tommy Crona is a very, very talented and outstanding pianist. Believe it or not, this is Tommy's debut album. Tommy has put together a band with the best drummer and bassist in Sweden. Yes, you can tell by the music." Tommy Krona was introduced to music through pop music such as The Who and The Animals. When he started playing classical piano, he liked Bartok and Chopin, and when he started listening to blues and jazz, Herbie Hancock's piano "got him," he says. The Royal College of Music in Stockholm, which he was considering attending, did not have a jazz department at the time, as it does now, so he chose instead to play jazz as a pianist in various bands.He then went into the car business, and when he retired two years ago, he decided to return to a life of music. He enjoys playing sessions at church and in jazz clubs. One of Tommy's favorite pianists was Chick Corea, whose innovative use of the elictic piano, which he discovered in the early 1970s with the album "Return to Forever," drew him to tour Sweden and attend concerts abroad. Two of Chick Corea's works are performed on this album, entitled "Reminiscence," with Hans Backenroth on bass and Jesper Kviberg on drums. Mirror Mirror," a "jazz waltz" that brings to mind a mirror house in an amusement park, and "Bud Powell," his tribute to a wonderful pianist.The program continues with standard numbers by Jimmy Van Heusen, Thelonious Monk, Peter Bernstein, and others, and concludes with "Visa fran Utanmyra" (Song of Utanmyra), a folk song from the Dalarna region that has become widely known thanks to Jan Juhansson's arrangement. Tommy himself played an arrangement in three-quarter time with different harmonies.

Tracklisting:

1.It Could Happen to You
2.Mirror Mirror
3.Pannonica
4.Love Is a Many Splendored Thing
5.Stablemates
6.Bud Powell
7.To Wisdom the Price
8.Lullaby of the Leaves
9.Simple as That
10.Voyage
11.Ugly Beauty
12.Visa fran Utanmyra