David Pastor trio featuring Anna Pauline & Mattias Nilsson at Barcelona Jamboree Sala 3

David Pastor Trio featuring Anna Pauline & Mattias Nilsson
Jamboree Sala 3
Barcelona, Spain
Pur Jazz
March 4, 2025

If David Pastor had been born, say, in Sedalia, Missouri, instead of in Sedaví, in the Spanish Valencia province, his professional career and its media impact would probably have been quite different from what they are. Or, put another way, what a difference a birthplace makes. And it is not that the sensational trumpeter and composer complains, nor do we believe he needs to: the European office of his record label (the American Dot Time Records) lavishes him with all the facilities for his diverse eclectic recordings, and his concert schedule is overflowing with activity in the coming months, with a well-founded tribute to the genius of Dizzy Gillespie as his main ongoing project. But undoubtedly his technical mastery and overflowing inventiveness call for greater projection and recognition than he already enjoys in the Iberian Peninsula and part of Europe, especially in the Mediterranean arc.

Jamboree's Sala 3, a wonderful space inaugurated in 2022 and annexed to the various existing rooms of the emblematic Barcelona venue, was the place that hosted the performance of a formation that was announced in the media—and on the respective websites of the participating musicians—under different headings. But ultimately, the sparse audience had the privilege of attending a vibrant concert in a quintet format, under the leadership of the superb Swedish singer and composer Anna Pauline Andersson (aka Anna Pauline), another figure who probably deserves wider attention beyond what she already enjoys in the Scandinavian music scene. Andersson cultivates an art that is increasingly elusive and difficult to hear: that of the great jazz vocal tradition that giants like Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae or Anita O'Day (some of her favorite singers, as she confessed to us) chiseled during decades of powerfully creative mainstream. Her phrasing proudly draws—without imitation—from such illustrious predecessors, relying on a perceptive use of the microphone to establish subtle dynamics with her clear, luminous voice. She was backed rhythmically by the piano of fellow Swede Mattias Nilsson and two regular accompanists of the trumpet player, Kansas City bassist Tom Warburton and Malmo drummer Anton Jarl, the third Swede of the night.

The quintet deployed a repertoire combining well-known standards with less-usual ones, including traditional and pop songs and some original compositions: a nutritious serving of orthodoxy under an updated post-bop format, delivered with expert proficiency and well-channeled passion. An energetic "You And The Night And The Music" showed from the very beginning a surprising coordination in a formation assembled for the occasion, with Pastor authoritatively certifying his permanent state of grace with the brass instrument par excellence. In a similar standard manner, "No Moon At All" showcased Andersson's scat skills in a piece previously performed by her admired O'Day and Fitzgerald. This is a singing practice that is in decreasing use and that, in her case, she seems to draw from the depths of her being, featuring a grainy texture and a markedly rhythmic approach shaped by an almost cutting staccato. She also used it in "Chega de Saudade," the immortal theme by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius De Moraes, which, executed at a moderately fast tempo, revealed the interpretive complexities of its demanding intervals, while allowing Jarl to shine in a concise but effective solo. Ballads and mid-tempos also had their space, with a beautiful piece written by the vocalist dedicated to her grandmother, where Pastor skillfully used his mute, and with "I Hope It's Spring For You," a composition by the amazing Swedish baritone Lars Gullin poeticized by Chan Parker, in which Warburton's bass excelled through subtle accents à la Charlie Haden. With the same vibe, the execution of a traditional Swedish song stood out: Departing from non-jazz harmonies, the trumpet introduced an almost ECM-like mood, followed by an inspiring dialogue between the bassist and the pianist. Regarding the latter, as the concert progressed, he consolidated—despite an improvable sound capture that at certain moments blurred his left hand—a less contemplative and considerably more substantial discourse than that shown in his two previous releases.

One of the high points of the evening, especially for up-tempo lovers, was undoubtedly an exuberant "Donna Lee," with Pastor and his rhythm section signing a dizzying tribute to one of the fathers of be-bop and master of the trumpet. The horn man thus anticipated, with his resounding mixture of imagination, expressiveness and technique, how much his current Dizzyness project delivers. He will soon present it in Barcelona at the historic venue El Molino, a former music hall inaugurated in 1898 that, after many vicissitudes, has recently been converted into a multipurpose space, offering a new stage for jazz in a city that urgently needs it. In a bet that demonstrates knowledge and judgment, numerous performances with luminaries of the local and international scene—the latter something not so usual in these parts, outside the festivals circuit—are confirmed in the short term through a splendid program that includes names like Bill Frisell, Monty Alexander, Kenny Garrett, James Brandon Lewis, Shai Maestro, Ambrose Akinmusire or The Bad Plus, to name just a few. But returning to Dizzyness, it is mandatory to mention that it is already available, although camouflaged under the title of The Abraxas Sessions - David Pastor (Volume 4) (Dot Time Records, 2025), a new chapter in the series carried out by this label, publishing live concerts held at the Kulturhaus theater in the German city of Augsburg.

The session concluded with a suggestive "Dedicated To You," followed by a single but mildly emotional encore, the enormous "Amar Pelos Dois" by the equally great Salvador Sobral, a genuine discovery thanks to a television festival (Eurovision) very far from music understood as creative art. Thus ended the short 75 minutes of a performance nurtured by a kind of jazz that could be called 'suitable for all audiences,' but which, far from being diluted or denatured, maintains its vital signs intact. Certainly, the field of action of contemporary jazz is vast, as it ranges from the primeval tradition to experimentations of extreme atonality, through fusion with genres situated at its stylistic antipodes or through a respectful updating of all its historical styles and currents. Among all of them, vocal mainstream may be seen by some as an extinct dinosaur; but, in reality, like many other reptiles, it enjoys an enviable longevity that is clothed, from time to time, in a splendorous new skin, thus allowing its survival and its influence on new listeners and performers. Andersson and Pastor's proposal is, therefore, not at all minor, repetitive or outdated. Whether aimed at the demanding enthusiast or the casual sympathizer, it insists on revealing the magnificent heritage of this music beneath the surface of irrefutably current dexterity and ingenuity.

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