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Modern Guitars Magazine
about Strange Man
June 2006
The guitar, bass and drum trio format is the most challenging for the jazz player. The musicians must constantly shift between providing accompaniment and support to soloing when called upon. This particular group is comprised of three excellent players who meld perfectly together.

Drummer Kristofer Johansson is a prominent voice in each selection. His world-class brushwork and rhythmic punctuation is interesting but never overbearing. Bassist Mattias Hjorth is swinging throughout and his tone is rich and full. Both are also excellent soloists. Almost every selection affords them the opportunity to showcase their individual talents. The energy provided by this rhythm section allows Leijonhufvud to weave through the chord changes over a rock solid background.

The material is a mix of original material and standards. Leijonhufvud contributes three tunes which include a ballad titled “Visalo”. His harmonic concept and direction is both pretty and thought provoking. “Solvande Blues” is a shuffle rhythm that’s has a simple and catchy melody line. “Den Blomstertid Nu Kommer” begins with an out of time guitar solo. The rhyhm section joins in and provides just the right amount of color to this airy modern ballad.

Standard include the Jerome Kern classic “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.” This ballad is the opening track, and moves into double-time solos featuring Johansson and Hjorth. The next tune is the funky Eddie Harris composition “Cold Duck Time.” Leijonhufvud is able to create a Kenny Burrell type sound and approach that is bluesy hard driving at the same time. Johansson opens up “What Is This Thing Called Love” with some terrific brushwork. The melody is punctuated in a unique way which is both creative and effective in its resentation. “What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life” has the rhythm section doubling the time behind a somewhat free presentation of the melody.

The project finishes out with two standards. In the Antonio Carlos Jobim favorite “Dindi,” Leijonhufvud plays the verse and the group develops the melody in a slow bossa nova feel. There are some unexpected harmonic twists that work well. The closer is a swinging “But Not For Me” by George Gershwin.

This Swedish trio provides high quality music. It is a cross between a modern and traditional approach and should please listeners of both genres. All three players are technically adept and use their skills purely to compliment one another. Lovestreet Records and producer Lotta Segergren are to be commended for their support of jazz guitar in Sweden.

Vince Lewis
Read the review at www.modernguitars.com

OMM About Strange Man
May 2006
Enjoy!

Nicht zuletzt durch seine Trio- und Quartett-Arbeit mit dem deutschen Ausnahmetrompeter Till Brönner ist der schwedische Gitarrist Johan Leijonhufvud hierzulande schon lange kein Unbekannter mehr. Mit seinem neuen Album "Strange Man" beim jungen Malmöer Label Love Street Records, das sich vor allem dem zeitgenössischen schwedischen Jazz verschrieben hat, untermauert er seinen hohen Rang und belegt eindrucksvoll den berechtigten Anspruch, in die Riege von Gitarristen der Größe eines Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass oder Wes Montgomery einzutreten.

Daß der skandinavische Jazz längst eine Klasse für sich darstellt, muß kaum betont werden, und daß es ausgezeichnete Gitarristen in dieser Szene gibt, belegt schon seit Jahren der Däne Ulf Wakenius. Nun macht Johan Leijonhufvud mit Eleganz und Verve nachhaltig auf sich aufmerksam. Die zehn ausgesuchten Titel zeigen die ganze Palette von Lounge-Jazz über Swing, Bop und Latin bis zur jazzig aufgepepten Folklore. Und sie zeigen die Bandbreite dieses Ausnahme-Gitarristen aus Schweden. Dem klassischen langsamen Opener "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" folgt eines der aufregendsten Stücke der modernen Jazz-Geschichte, viel zu selten rezipiert, deshalb hier umso wertvoller: "Cold Duck Time" von Eddie Harris. Leijonhufvud spielt es mit angemessen unterkühltem Temperament, eine Perle (unter vielen) dieses Albums.

In "What Is This Thing Called Love?" swingen Johan und sein Bassist Mattias Hjorth inspiriert miteinander, im "Solvände Blues", den Leijonhufvud leidenschaftsvoll in einer schlaflosen Mittsommernacht komponiert haben könnte, spielen sie sich den Ball kongenial zu. Immer dezent und unverzichtbar als rhythmische Basis im Hintergrund Kristofer Johansson am Schlagzeug. Die Umsetzung der schwedischen Frühlingsweise "Den Blomstertid Nu Kommer" gelingt dem Trio besonders schön und ist mit Antonio Carlos Jobims zärtlich-seelenvollem "Dindi" sowie dem schon oben genannten "Cold Duck Time" eines der Sahnehäubchen dieser hervorragenden CD. "Enjoy!" ruft dem Hörer ein Schriftzug auf der Innenseite des Digipack entgegen. Eine Aufforderung, der man sich bei "Strange Man" nicht entziehen möchte. Ein köstliches Album, das vorbehaltlos empfohlen werden kann.
Frank Becker
Read the review at www.omm.de

Un tipo strano
May 2006
Four out of five

È da un bel pò che il chitarrista Johan Leijonhufvud è attivo per i paesi del Nordeuropa, dalla Svezia alla Germania dove adesso risiede, sia in sala d´incisione che nei club e festival di questi paesi. Con Strange Man, un classico trio insieme al contrabbassista Mattias Hjorth ed il batterista Kristofer Johanson si può dire che ha raggiunto una maturità espressiva cui può solo seguire il successo internazionale.

Il suo trio è una formazione compatta che ha studiato i classici del genere e che affronta con disinvoltura ballads come il brano d´apertura, il blues, "Dindi" di Jobim - con un arrangiamento di ottimo livello - e con "Den blomstertid nu kommer" fa un brano alla Pat Metheny che trova bene il suo spazio all´interno del disco.

Il loro è un mainstream sincero e di alto tasso tecnico, basato sulla padronanaza assoluta dello strumento, scioltezza di fraseggio e swing in eccesso, oltre ad una passione enorme per quello che fanno che fa sì che non si scivoli mai nell´anonimità, sia per la classe esecutiva che l´autenticità di accenti che riversano nella loro musica.

Il loro è un esempio di come sia possibile suonare ad alto livello, senza pretenziosità, con rispetto di una tradizione che va da Charlie Christian in poi integrandovi pure Pat Metheny, anche lui negli ultimi anni in tour per il mondo con la formula del trio.

Leijonhufvud si trova a suo agio sia sui tempi veloci del bop che su quelli delle ballad, sul blues e sui tempi di samba apparendo sempre convincente e capace di guidare il trio con forte personalità, grazie al suo virtuosismo, mai fine a sé stesso, bensì integrato nelle strutture che utilizzano

Cosimo Parisi
Read the review at www.musicboom.it

Smålandsposten about Strange Man
April 2006
Four out of five

With this record, Växjö-born Johan Leijonhufvud definitely takes the step in among this country's very best guitarists. Moreover, this is a record that will be launched internationally.

I have previously been a bit ambivalent towards Johan's sometimes too daring harmonics, but here he shows that he masters the whole harmonic spectrum. This is best revealed in evergreens. Here are compositions by old owls like Kern, Porter and Gershwin, but also Michel Legrand, Carlos Jobim and Eddie Harris have contributed material.

Johan has written three songs himself. So the width of the material is remarkable. Johan shows here that he is very flexible. In slow numbers he plays simple but effectively, in quicker tempos his ideas flow in a fluid stream. His guitar playing has certainly become both soulful and engaging.

His fellow musicians on the record are Mattias Hjorth on bass, and Kristofer Johansson on drums, the latter also from Växjö. Both get ample soloing space, both are absolutely worth hearing.

Stig Jonasson
Translation Annika Westman