Gentle Thoughts New CD from Lovestreet Records - Loving Swedish Jazz Per Sjödin Trio Per Sjödin - Guitar Kjeld Lauritsen - Hammond B3 Organ Zoltan Csörsz Jr - Drums Per Sjödin about Gentle Thoughts Balsam for your soul It is no coincidence that some of the finest jazz music through history has been made with the classic organ trio line-up - guitar, Hammond B3 and drums. I'm especially thinking of groups such as the Jimmy Smith Trio with Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery with Melvin Rhyme or George Benson with "Captain" Jack McDuff. The reason why this line-up became popular is that these instruments sound incredibly good together. The spacy sound of the organ provides a space for the guitar which is often hard to get from, for example, a piano. As a guitar player you can comp the organ solo without the sounds clashing, and both can even comp simultaneously without problems. In my region, jazz organists who also play bass with their feet and left hand are rare, but I have had the privilege to meet one in Copenhagen. Kjeld Lauritsen, who is basically a self-taught blues musician, plays straight from the heart, with his driving bass and his rhythmic comp. Along with the groovy swing from drum virtuoso Zoltan Csörsz, these two form a fantastic team that it is wonderful to play with. The new CD "Gentle Thoughts" was recorded live during two days in June 2004 in the concert room "Lagret" at Kulturkompaniet in Malmö. I preferred to record live, where all musicians stand in the same room, to get a dirtier sound and a feeling of how it can sound in the actual playing situation at a gig. Most of the songs on the record are my own, but we also play a few standards that I like very much. On half of the songs, I have expanded the trio into a quintet. Trumpet player Mårten Lundgren and tenor saxophonist Magnus Lindgren, featured on four of the record's eight tracks, really made the music according to the intentions I had when I wrote it. My words are inadequate when it comes to these two. Their musicianship is fantastic. Music is for me like balsam for the soul and I am looking forward to the continuation of my trio work in the future. Hope to see you! Per Sjödin About Per Sjödin - Guitar Per was born 1971 in Växjö. His interest for jazz developed during his years at musical college in Växjö. He then continued his formal musical education, first at Fridhems Folkhögskola in Svalöv and then at the Music Conservatory in Malmö. Per has lived in Malmö since 1994 and has lately been increasingly active on the Swedish and especially the southern Swedish jazz scene, both in his own groups and as a sideman in different projects and groups. Among Per's most important musical role models you will find names such as Wes Montgomery, Charlie Parker, Kenny Burell, Jim Hall, Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans and John Coltrane.