Lars on the Golden Circle

Lars Gullin appeared on the stage of the legendary Stockholm jazz club "Gyllene Cirkeln", the Golden Circle, for several periods during the 1960s. Here is a list of his gigs with references to the published music. There are more unissued music on the known tape sources, and there might by other gem to discover!
Lars Gullin also sat in with Bill Evans (during 3 nights in 1965, a few tunes exist on tape) and with Lee Konitz (1969).

1962
28 May - 2 June: Brew Moore - Lars Gullin
Moore ts, Henno Tooming p, Torbjörn Hultcrantz b, Jan Carlsson dr

Photos by  Nils Edström. Gullin and Moore were seldom able to perform
together, but one of them usually appeared on stage. The same pattern was
repeated during a tour led  by Radio Sweden's producer Inge Dahl. 


2 - 13 July: Lars Gullin
Tooming p, Kurt Lindgren b, Carlsson dr
(LG sat in a few nights with Jamila Sulieman the week before. Same rhytm section)

1963
24 - 29 June: Lars Gullin
Nils Lindberg p, Sture Nordin b, Rupert Clemendore dr.

Photo: Nils Edström.







1964
3 - 15 February: Rolf Billberg - Lars Gullin
Billberg as, Gunnar Svensson p, Nordin b, Carlsson dr.
Rolf Billberg; Altosuprem: Anagram ANACD 7, Lars Gullin: ANACD 10

3 September: Harry Bäcklund - Lars Gullin
Bäcklund ts, Lars Sjösten p, Björn Alke b, Bo Skoglund dr.

7 - 19 December: Lars Gullin with strings
(as above + strings)
Lars Gullin på Gyllene Cirkeln (EMI 7C062, LG-1)

1965
30 January: Lars Gullin
Bäcklund ts, Staffan Abeleen p, Alke b, Skoglund dr.
Lars Gullin på Gyllene Cirkeln (EMI 7C062, LG-1)

14 - 17 April: Lars Gullin
(Abeleen, Alke, Skoglund)

16 - 29 May: Harry Bäcklund - Lars Gullin
(Bäcklund, Sjösten, Alke, Carlsson)

17 - 18 December: Lars Gullin
(Bäcklund, Sjösten, Alke, Skoglund)

A decade in chronological order!

The Spanish label Fresh Sounds has released two boxes with "complete 1951-1960 studio recordings, master takes", totally 8 cd:s, titled "Portrait of the legendary baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin featuring Sweden's top jazzmen.".

http://www.freshsoundrecords.com/lars-gullin-albums/6365-portrait-of-the-legendary-baritone-saxophonist-two-4-cd-box-set-offer-complete-1951-1960-studio-recordings-master-takes.html?search_query=Gullin&results=16

Lars on Youtube

A few movie/video moments with Lars Gullin have been uploaded on Yotube.
Here is All the tings you are with Chet Baker in Italy November 8,1959:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv6UM1-atfI

From the concert at Moderna museet in Stockholm: Stella by Starlight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RnBZt3jaVw
and Milestones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnLYkmKU5ms

Plus Nils Linbergs Symfoni nr 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmLEN-VVSiQ

More tracks on Membran

Another 10 CD box, European Jazz; New Sounds From The Old Continent, contains two of Gullin's tracks: Lotus Corniculatus and Half Nelson. In addition the entire "Sax Appeal" session with Curbits, Play for love, Birdland, Zodiac and Just a take. Plus Blues for Bill and Nils Lindberg's group recordings (sans Lars) from October 1960.
The box also gives us Franco Cerri's Flavio's Blues (with Lars, Flavio Ambrosetti and George Gruntz).
Listen to the Blues and Just one of those things (the latter without Lars) on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQR9VoxtGnU
Apart from that, the box offers a nice mix of wellknown and forgotten singers as Cleo Laine, Alice Babs, Rita Reys (who sings jazz in Dutch), Inge Brandenburg, Lita Roza and Jula de Palma.
Plus groups led by Krysztof Komeda, Bobby Jaspar, Jutta Hipp, Tubby Hayes, Bernard Pfeiffer, Sacha Distel, Basso-Valdambrini and Martial Solal and Dizzy Reece.

Don't Get Scared vocalesed on YouTube

Jon Hendricks wrote the lyrics to Getz' and Gullin's solos on Don't Get Scared and has recorded it a number of times with Annie Ross and King Pleasure. You can hear them on YouTube along with a more recent take with Kurt Elling and Jon Hendricks:

There is also a much differnt, more modern recording of the tune by Errick Johnson .

Flamingo Spotting

The two Getz–Gullin duets from 1951, Flamingo and Don't Get Scared, keep reappearing. The other day I saw a 10 CD box from Membran (232755) titled Stan Getz: Master of the Sax. It also includes the six quartet tunes Getz recorded the day before and eight tunes recorded in Stockholm in December 1955. All with Bengt Hallberg. Plus Getz' sessions with Silver, Brookmeyer, Hampton, JJ Johnson, Gillespie, Oscar P and Mulligan.

Sax Appeal reissued

Berlin-based Sonorama Records has reissued the rare 1960 Sax Appeal; The Swedish Modern Jazz Group both in vinyl and CD formats. Nils Lindberg's session (with Gullin, Billberg, Bäcklund and Lundström on saxes) was issued in small quantities on Swedish Barben and Telestar labels and in Britain on the Tempo label – plus a Swedish issue on phono tape by Europafilm that is exceptionelly rare.
The CD contains four bonus tracks from another Lindberg session, alas without Gullin. You can order them from Sonorama (link above) when they get their e-shop opened. The CD is €14, the LP €16. You can also shop on ebay.de. The prices at cdon.se are 199 and 179 SEK.
A simpler and cheaper way is to buy the Dragon CD Nils Linberg: Sax Appeal and Trisection (DRCD220) for 99 SEK at Ginza.

Universal fills the gaps

The classic album Fine Together – The Artistry of Lars Gullin from 1958 was reissued on a CD by Universal in 2004 along with tracks from additional sessions, recorded by Sonet and Philips. Now, Universal has published a double CD album – Lars Gullin; Good Day to You –with the same content as the previous plus some unissued alternative takes plus the entire album Lars Gullin With Strings from 1980 ( the live session from 1964).
Great recordings from 1957–58, the years before the 1959 Italian exile plus the legendary homecoming concert at the Museum of Modern Art 1964. An indispensable compilation, well executed by veteran producer Jan Bruér.