Ulf & Eric Wakenius - Father And Son (2017) [Hi-Res]

Since this album is a family matter, it feels natural for both men to show their affection for their native country. They do that in a respectful, Nordic and melancholy way in “Meine schöne Heimat / Vem kan segla förutan vind”, but they also remember the most significant Swedish jazz musician of recent times, Esbjörn Svensson who died so tragically early. Ulf Wakenius was the first musician to do a tribute album (“Love is Real”) in 2008, while the pianistic genius Svensson was still alive. That was an album full of surprise; the ways Wakenius found to bring the e.s.t. compositions so convincingly into the sphere of the guitar were astonishing. The medley of “Dodge The Dodo” and “When God Created The Coffee Break” which Eric and Ulf play as a duet here is stupendous. And it all sounds far easier than it is. As Wakenius has remarked: “to master an acoustic guitar is really to tame a beast, but if you succeed, the rewards are tremendous!” In “Father And Son”, the listener can now also reap those remarkably rich rewards.