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All About jazz
2 May 2006
Drummer Per-Arne Tollbom says that this CD was recorded on a single day on which the band was burning hot, and that’s why it was called Stampede. He also goes on to reveal that there were no overdubs, just pure energy.

Melody presages adventure on Stampede. Once the former has made its presence felt, the players take off, exploding an array of ideas that rivet attention. They can fly into the stratosphere of free jazz or lay out a torrid bop turn. And for good measure, there are also elements of rock, flowing like molten lava from the guitar of Torben Waldorff. Their sensibilities also make for a smooth transition from one form to another within the same tune.

Tollbom wrote all the tunes save for “Inner Urge,” a Joe Henderson composition. They do the latter justice, but the original compositions provide the framework. They scoot into bop with “Dedication,” where the buildup comes in on the horns and the drums. Trumpeter Mårten Lundgren gets into gear first. He plays fast, essaying a slew of ideas, but his control of the idiom is never in doubt. And if the tune makes an impression, credit Tollbom, who shows that he can craft time and meter with flair, and bassist Mattias Hjort, who helps keep the rhythm crackling.

Tollbom and Waldorff share an intuitive rapport on “Transylvania,” an engaging conversation stirred by bop idioms with a fiery, intense turn from Mattias Carlsson on tenor saxophone, who keeps interest at peak with some free blowing. Speaking of free, they turn that route over and about on “Etch-A-Sketch.” And what a tune it is! Tollbom’s drumming has a driving impetus but also structure. Waldorff takes the piece into a spin with distortion, feedback and heavy licks; Lundgren and Carlsson add trenchant bop to make it a volatile ride. All of these things make listening to the Offshore Quintet a distinct pleasure.

Jerry D'Souza
Read the review at www.allaboutjazz.com

MusicBoom - Alla carica! 4/5
April 2006
Il batterista Pa Tollbom è uno dei migliori del suo paese, la Svezia, con uno stile possente e dinamico, come quello dei suoi colleghi americani Billy Cobham e Steve Gadd. Il suo gruppo Offshore è insieme da una decina d´anni, prima un sestetto ed adesso in formato ridotto, un quintetto che suona con energia e drive una musica con le basi nei gruppi di Miles Davis e Wayne Shorter, ma solo le basi, in quanto la chitarra distorta di Torben Waldorff è una presenza che dà al gruppo un sapore di contemporaneità.

A completare il gruppo ci sono Mattias Hjorth al contrabbasso, Maarten Lundgren alla tromba e Mattias Carlson al sax tenore. Tra brani dal sapore modale e altri più marcatamente boppistici la loro musica ha una carica molto forte, seppur con preoccupazioni formali che fanno sì che la loro proposta sia di alto livello, sicuramente maturi per la scena internazionale.

Bel sound di gruppo, compattezza ed esecuzioni che sono fatte con la massima cura. Vanno al massimo, come diceva una volta Vasco Rossi, ma non sono mai scomposti, frutto di una decina d´anni di musica in comune. Tuttavia l´entusiasmo non è andato via, anzi, adesso sono una band sul serio, fra le migliori in Europa, che nelle esibizioni live dà il meglio di sé stessa.

Cosimo Parisi
Read the review at www.musicboom.it

Daring and confident
Nov 2005
One of this country’s foremost drummers is based in Malmö, Per-Arne Tollbom. This is the closest we can get to the bombastic, yet technical drum style that distinguishes Billy Cobham, Steve Gadd and Dave Weckl. Here Tollbom presents himself with his own carefully chosen group of Malmö musicians - Mårten Lundgren, trumpet, Mattias Carlson, tenor, Torben Waldorff, guitar, Mattias Hjort, bass, who are exploring his seven original compositions.

It is both daring and confident, they really “draw their bow… ”

Typically enough, this is about a rhythmically touching pressure, where everything unimportant has been eliminated and all accents have been nailed to the point. It is constantly burning in the basic features from the imprints of neobop. A somewhat worn style, but when it’s being used by such talented musicians, there are no signs of wear and tear. Their grip is never lost, balance and logics are maintained through all hands. The sound is big and saturated, and especially Mattias Carlson’s hilariously technical tenor playing makes the hair of one’s neck stand up in surprises by controlled inhibitions, and he has previously displayed his joy of playing during his participation in Kristianstad’s XL Big Band.

This is a group with warmth and credibility that should have good hopes of becoming the exclamation mark of the summer at many jazz festivals.

Christer Nilsson
Translated by Annika Westman


Dynamic and smooth
Nov 2005
Four stars out of five
With the exception of Joe Henderson’s modern classic Inner Urge, all the music is written by Tollbom. It is nice melodies which could be regarded as a contemporary update of music from the ‘60s, with Miles Davis’ Quintet featuring Wayne Shorter as some kind of center. Thus Leprechaun is related to one of Shorter’s compositions from this period (maybe Nefertiti?). But Torben Waldorff’s personal guitar style helps breaking up a quintet sound which would have been more predictable if the group would have featured a piano instead.

The music is based on very dynamic and powerful playing by the musical director himself. Mattias Hjort’s rhythmically confident bass playing also contributes to the stable, yet smooth basic structure, which the other musicians are running both inside and against. Everything has been recorded directly, without any “studio tricks”, which gives the music and the solos a large amount of freshness. There might be some insecurity in some of the ensemble parts, but that may be something that we have to put up with in order to hear that fine directness in the musical attack.

Sax player Mattias Carlson, who received due attention for his debut last year, plays with great confidence here, too. Mårten Lundgren’s trumpet has a warm, human tone, and his soloing is inventive. Waldorff’s playing is one part classical jazz guitar and two parts more contemporary rock influences, with a dramatic growl when needed.

Jan Strand
Translated by Annika Westman


Fiery now-bop from Malmö.
16 Nov 2005
One day in the studio gave this record where a gang of smart and vitamin-enriched soloists struggle for space.

Hip contrasts are created when trumpet player Mårten Lundgren's clean bebop style runs into Torben Waldorff's distorted guitarwork and tenor player Mattias Carlson, who stylewise is living somewhere between these two, grabs a bite.

Wildest of the tracks is "Etch-A-Sketch", where Waldorff's dynamic style of comping, alternating between single notes, whole phrases and chords, comes out in full bloom. But the band can also play it cool which it displays in the neat waltz "Partille".

Big daddy for it all is band leader Pa Tollbom who next to Mattias Hjort's heavy bass notes pushes forth a massive drive, sharpened with plenty of extra beats and accents.

Alexander Agrell

Translated by Annika Westman