Swedish alto saxophonist Fredrik Kronkvist grew up in a household immersed in the sounds of bebop: His father, Rolf, was a jazz musician who played with Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt and Kenny Dorham. For this swinging date, his first in the Big Apple, Kronkvist recruited esteemed New Yorkers Aaron Goldberg on piano, Reuben Rogers on bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums. His pungent alto sails with rhythmic assuredness and fire on potent originals like the boppish “Connected Souls,” the modernist modal burner “Woody’s World” (for Woody Shaw) and the urgent Elvin Jones tribute “Earthtones.” And Kronkvist reveals a talent for ballads on the hauntingly beautiful “Piece of Time” and “Divine.” There’s also a challenging new arrangement of Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints” with pianist Goldberg stretching on a superb solo.
Originally PublishedFredrik Kronkvist: New York Elements
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