Scott Hamilton - Swedish Ballads... & More (2013)

Since long before the present flowering of native talent, Scandinavia has been a very jazz-friendly place. Miles Davis borrowed a Swedish folk song and called it Dear Old Stockholm. Quincy Jones wrote one of his first compositions, Stockholm Sweetnin', there in the 1950s. Both are among the seven numbers on this delectable set by the great American tenor saxophonist and a trio led by Jan Lundgren. Hamilton is famous for the consistent excellence of his playing but this time, sparked by Lundgren's inspired piano solos and crystal-clear accompaniment, he really surpasses himself. There may be a few more potential jazz standards here, too. (Dave Gelly, Guardian)