Influenced by a wide variety of music,
Lena Willemark has not been afraid to take chances -- and the Swedish folk-pop singer takes her share on
Windogur. This introspective effort, recorded in Stockholm in 1999, underscores
Willemark's eclectic, unpredictable nature and showcases how many different styles of music have affected her. Swedish folk is her foundation, but
Willemark is no purist and liberally incorporates elements of pop and post-bop jazz. In fact, two of the musicians she employs on
Windogur -- pianist
Bobo Stenson and bassist
Palle Danielsson -- are Swedish jazz musicians who command a lot of respect in European jazz circles. There are also traces of East European and Middle Eastern music on some of the material. As experimental and risk-taking as
Willemark is,
Windogur never sounds forced or unnatural -- all of the selections sound very organic, and
Willemark has no problem bringing them to life. ~ Alex Henderson