Johan Borgstr

Johan Borgstr: Smile and Be Serious

by AAJ Staff
March 1, 2001

The potential of improvisation to achieve surprise makes it a vehicle for freshness in the right hands. However, when jazz musicians tread down old paths without stepping out, they betray this potential. Unfortunately, Johan Borgström's septet does just this on Smile and Be Serious. While the music on this disc is a mixed bag of straight-ahead swing, funky numbers, and occasional pensive moments, it fails to stir up any dust.

To put it harshly, the principle of theme and variation ...