Öppet Ett: Nisse Sandström Group

In Sweden in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, had a very rich period of music, everything from free jazz to world music. What’s odd is that not many of these groups got to be released on record, despite all the ongoing live gigs. Fortunately, some of the recordings were saved and it is some of these recordings that Caprice, in collaboration with musician Mats Gustafsson and Roger Bergner of the Center for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research, have been researching in hope of presenting long unheard music anew!

Nisse Sandström Group, photo: Ture Westberg.

Many experiments and ambitious attempts to fashion musical fusions were never released; it was often felt – in line with the ideological spirit of the age – that releasing music on a profit-driven records labels constituted a commercial gesture. The music was essentially free – for the people, by the people, to the people. Thus, an extremely small amount of creative music was released in the form of audio recordings during this period. The recordings were mothballed, filed away in archives. This was, for music, an extremely important period in which many ideas and experiments were initiated and completed, but never followed up on, and deepened. This era is still a blind spot on the international music map, says Mats Gustafsson.

There is no better way to open this series of albums than with the Nisse Sandström Group, says Mats Gustafsson, They blazed a trail leading to radical, hitherto-unknown openings and perspectives in a context in which psychedelic rock, free jazz and the classical art music of the day could meet.

Mats Gustafsson: Nisse Sandström Group was active for many years and succeeded in forging a collective approach to playing, in which each member was free at every moment – but what was common to the group was that the ensemble was top priority, super-ordinate to soloist contributions. Evocative, open, radical. It feels like pure magic to listen, more than a half century later, to this wonderful, free and creative collective music.

Finally a quote from musician and producer Jim O’Rourke, who has listened to the album:
Someone quadruple booked the same session, because the music on this record is at the crossroads where FMP, Faust, The Insect Trust, and Catherine Ribiero met, but we know that road was never built. Nisse Sandström must have found the blueprints for the future, because he built that road.

See below an interesting panel discussion between the musicians Mats Gustafsson and Erik Dahlbäck, as well as Roger Bergner from the Centre for Swedish Folk Music & Jazz Research, in connection with the album release of ÖPPET ETT: Nisse Sandström Group:

Track A1 recorded at UNM, Historiska museet, Stockholm, 9 February, 1966.
Track A2 recorded by Sveriges Radio on December 1965, and broadcasted as part of the radio programme Jazzforum on 15 January 1966.
Track B1 recorded at Dans In, Gröna Lund, Stockholm by Sveriges Radio
on 24 July, 1967, and brodcasted on 30 August, 1967.

Mastering: Lupo
Liner Notes by Mats Gustafsson
Interview with Nisse Sandström and Erik Dahlbäck by Roger Bergner
Cover and back photo: Ture Westberg
Art Direction: Jonas André
Series Curator: Mats Gustafsson
Executive Producer: Marie Wisén