Rune Öfwerman & Funky Strings – My Groovy Friends (1969)

And here´s a real funny and at the same time very interesting album from a swedish musician:

Axel Ivar Rune Öfwerman, born 24 December 1932 in Maria Magdalena parish in Stockholm, died 13 December 2013 in Stockholm Cathedral parish, was a Swedish conductor, music arranger and musician (piano). He worked under the pseudonym Gregor Vein.

Öfwerman was the son of department head Iwar Öfwerman and Anna-Lisa Wikander. He began playing jazz at the age of twelve, forming the band Boogie Bop Six in 1948 with Lasse Bagge and Georg Riedel. He formed the Rune Öfwerman Quintet, a school orchestra, which came second in the Orkesterjournal competition in 1950. He won the AT-jazz trio competition with Riedel and guitarist Ove Rolén.

Rune Öfwerman played with Tony Mason’s orchestra (from 1952), with Carl-Henrik Norin (1954-1956), with Hacke Björksten and with the Almstedt-Lind sextet. He has accompanied Siw Malmkvist and Lill-Babs for two summers each. He had a long-term collaboration with Sylvia Vrethammar, whose accompanist and manager he was from 1969 to 1990.

He and Dag Häggqvist founded the Gazell record label in 1957, which became Sonet and was later taken over by Polygram, with Häggqvist and Öfwerman returning with Gazell. He launched Ulf Wakenius and produced records with Zoot Sims and others.

In addition to his work as an accompanist, he made songs such as “Old Spice”, “Stöten” and “Big Bass Boogie” and released four albums of his own.

Öfwerman was married 1957-1970 to Mai Stierna (born 1938), daughter of farmer Birger Stierna and Britt Mark, and 1980-1990 to singer Sylvia Vrethammar (born 1945) and later cohabited until her death with singer Britt Damberg (1937-2019). He is buried at Skogskyrkogården in Stockholm.

Öfwerman is the father of Clarence Öfwerman (born 1957), Staffan Öfwerman (born 1962), Poffi Öfwerman (born 1965) and Nick Öfwerman (born 1971). Sons Clarence and Staffan have enjoyed success as rock musicians and have worked with Roxette. (wikipedia)

And here´s a album by Rune Öfwerman, recorded with his “groovey friends” … and we hear instrumental versions of popular and classic tunes from this period of music ..

… and we hear a real crazy mixture between easy listening music and psych-jazz-sounds…

If you ever looking for rare versions of song like “Proud Mary”, “Hush”, “Hony Tonk Woman”, “Mrs. Robinson”or “Spinning Wheel” … you will find them here !

Personnel:
Rune Öfwerman (piano)
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Arne Gustafsson – Erik Allan Forsberg – Allan Andersson – John Tapper – John Blixt – Allan Ewert – Ture Wolf – Lena Skook

The Labels from the German edition:

Tracklist:
01. Proud Mary (Fogerty) 3.06
02. Aquarius (MacDermot/Rado/Ragni) 2.15
03. Hony Tonk Woman (Jage/Richards) 2.53
04. Mrs. Robinson (Simon) 3.06
05. If I Only Had Time (Fugain) 2.53
06. Spinning Wheel (Thomas) 2.45
07. Hush (South) 2.20
08. Good Morning Starshine (MacDermot/Rado/Ragni) 2.45
09. Eeny Meeny Miney Moe (Geijerstam) 2.20
10. My Groovy Friends (Öfwerman) 4.24

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Sound Directions – The Funky Side Of Life (2005)

The Funky Side of Life is a jazz album released by Madlib’s Jazz project under the alias of Sound Directions. It features Madlib playing different instruments under different aliases as part of a single group. This album was released in 2005 under Stones Throw Records.

“Madlib’s Sound Directions project follows in the footsteps of Yesterdays New Quintet by presenting a small group of jazz players (most, if not all of them, Otis Jackson himself) loosely playing a down-home and funky brand of jazz music perfectly suited for a hip lounge. The Funky Side of Life is heavy on the covers — not standards — and that makes a big difference. (Jackson usually just needs a good riff to cover his vamping style of keyboards, and this roster of tracks services his needs perfectly.)

The lo-fi lurch of nearly all Madlib’s work is in effect here, and besides the rather anonymous atmosphere of the recording, it’s an enjoyable piece of latter-day jazz-funk by rap’s most visionary music-maker.” (by allMusic)

“Upon hearing the four original pieces on the 30-minute long player, Madlib’s compositional force is cemented as nothing short of exceptional. The other seven tracks highlight the Loop Digga’s fortified skill as an arranger and producer, and his mellow, yet tripped out creations are modern masterpieces in their own right. Part of it is that this album sounds like it’s from an alternate reality of the ’70s, which is interesting, considering at least a few of the tracks were first released in the mid to late 90s. There’s something natural and earthy about the sound; it almost has the qualities of an old dollar-bin record with the grooves worn down, but without as much hiss or unintentional noise. Another part of it is just how the album feels as a whole. The tracks flow together seamlessly, and when “On the Hill” finally cuts out, you’ll be so bummed that the album isn’t longer that you just might be inspired to start your own sound direction.” (by Tiny Mix Tapes)

Madlib’s Sound Directions project follows in the footsteps of Yesterdays New Quintet by presenting a small group of jazz players (most, if not all of them, Otis Jackson himself) loosely playing a down-home and funky brand of jazz music perfectly suited for a hip lounge. The Funky Side of Life is heavy on the covers — not standards — and that makes a big difference. (Jackson usually just needs a good riff to cover his vamping style of keyboards, and this roster of tracks services his needs perfectly.) The first non-original comes straight out of left field; “Wanda Vidal,” originally by the extraordinarily gifted Brazilian Marcos Valle, is the perfect type of light and loungey tune that Jackson can run rings around. The rest are nearly as obscure, including Billy Brooks’ “Forty Days” (although A Tribe Called Quest fans will recognize the hook), Oliver Sain’s “On the Hill,” David Axelrod’s “A Divine Image” (with excellent ARP and Hammond work here), and the only famous cover, Cliff Nobles’ instrumental hit “The Horse.” The lo-fi lurch of nearly all Madlib’s work is in effect here, and besides the rather anonymous atmosphere of the recording, it’s an enjoyable piece of latter-day jazz-funk by rap’s most visionary music-maker. (by John Bush )

Personnel:
Morgan Adams, III (keyboards, vocals)
Derek Brooks (bass, synthesizer)
Otis “Madlib” Jackson, Jr. (keyboards, drums, kalimba, vocals, effects)
“Sloppy” Joe Johnson (drums, percission)
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Don Babatunde (drums on 08., 09.)
Malcolm Catto (drums on 07.)
Hoagie Haven (trumpet on 02., 07., 09.,10., flugehorn on 05. + 11.)
D’Wayne Kelly (keyboards, synthesizer on 06.)
Kevin Lightning (saxophone on 01., 05., 07., 09.., flute on 02.)
David Ralicke (trombone on 01., 05., 06., 10., saxophone on 02., 06., 07., 09. + 11.)
Todd Simon (trumpet on 01., 05., 07., 09., 10. + 11., flugelhorn on 02., flute on 10.)
Dan Ubick (guitar on 02.. 05. . 07. + 11.)
Tracy Wannomae (saxophone on 01., 07., 09.. , flute on 02. + 10., bass clarinet on 06. + 11.)

Tracklist:
01. Directions 1.08
02. Dice Game 3.43
03. Wanda Vidal 2.15
04. Fourty Days 5.07
05. Play Car 3.16
06. A Divine Image 2.1
07. The Funky Side Of Life 3.00
08. Theme For Ivory Black 3.32
09. The Horse 2.46
10. One For J.J. / Harlem Clavinet 2.21
11. On The Hill 3.18

Music: Otis “Madlib” Jackson, Jr.

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