Again and Again

Often cited as early explorers in what we now call world music, Swedish ensemble Spjärnsvallet first formed in the early 70s, when drummer Bengt Berger, who had studied music in India and was on his way to Ghana, met tenor saxophonist Christer Bothén, who had learned music in Mali and was on his way to Morocco for a collaboration with Don Cherry in New York. This was the starting point for their own group with bassist Nikke Ström and multi-instrumentalist Kjell Westling, and they released their debut album in 1975.

The bulk of this new CD comprises some material that was either not released then or shortened to fit the LP format, supplemented by a new 15-minute track, ‘Again’, recorded in remembrance of the late Westling. Does it stand the test of time? Not always. Given the provenance, it's strange that some of the older, shorter tracks sound like half-formed ideas that might have been better forgotten altogether. Others, like ‘The Jungle’, are pretty much par-for-the-course jazz-rock squalls, even if they are more fully-formed. Most impressive is the lengthy tribute ‘Again’, in which the remaining trio improvise, to hypnotic effect, around a couple of the tunes they used to play 40 years ago.