In the mid-1980s, the Swedish Dragon label came out with five LPs of music featuring the great Swedish baritonist Lars Gullin. Only Vol. 1 has thus far been reissued on CD. The second volume, which has the earliest recordings in the batch, consists of performances that were either previously unreleased or quite obscure at the time. Gullin is heard in quartets and quintets, sometimes as a sideman, including a few very rare appearances on alto which, although worthy, show why he mostly stuck to baritone. The cool-toned bop, reminiscent but not derivative of Gerry Mulligan, should be of great interest to 1950s jazz collectors. ~ Scott Yanow|

Rovi