Formed in 1985, the Maffy Falay Quintet plays its own sophisticated brand of swinging hard bop rooted in the exciting music of the fifties. The group plays a wide range of music, including ballads, the blues of Charlie Parker, hard bop and compositions by Mobley, Dorham, Horace Silver, Tina Brooks, McCoy Tyner and Benny Golson. The horn arrangements include originals written by Falay and Bernt Rosengren.

Bernt Rosengren

Born in 1937, Bernt Rosengren has been a prominent tenor saxophone player since the age of nineteen. During his career, Rosengren has worked with such artists as Idrees Sulieman, George Russell, Palle Mikkelborg, Lars Gullin, Don Cherry, Benny Bailey, Eje Thelin, Lasse Werner, Claes-Göran Fagerstedt, Horace Parlan, Nannie Porres, Doug Raney and Gil Evans. He has also appeared at the Montreaux and Newport Jazz Festival.

In the British magazine, Jazz & Blues, Roger Cotterrell wrote "Rosengren, a Swedish reedman,...is one of the best tenor players in Europe . . . On flute his agile, freely melodic phrasing and full, beautiful tone remind me of Eric Dolphy's best work on the instrument." In the Canadian magazine, Coda, Barry Tepperman wrote "Bernt Rosengren is certainly one of the three or four best tenorists in Europe - and just possibly the best flutist in the world." Musician/Producer Gunnar Lindquist summed it up best when he said: "Bernt Rosengren is not just the greatest saxophonist of his generation, he is one of the major Swedish jazz musicians through the ages. He has inspired all those around him and has been a leading figure in music during his entire career. His influence is tremendous."

Rosengren Discography

• The Bernt Rosengren Quartet with Bobo Stenson, In Stockholm Vol. 1 & 2, Amigo AMLP 818, 1975
• Bernt Rosengren Quartet/Quintet, Suprise Party, SteepleChase SCS 1177, 1983
• The Hug, Dragon DRCD 211 CD, 5/92
• Full of Life, Dragon DRCD 205 CD, 3/91
• Bent's Jump: Summit Meeting Live At Bent J, Dragon DRCD 233 CD, 7/93
• Bernt Rosengren Big Band with Doug Raney/Parlan/Falay/Koverhult, Caprice 1214 LP, 1980
• Bernt Rosengren 10tet Live with Doug Raney/Koverhult/Falay, Dragon 55, LP

Åke Johansson

Born in 1937, pianist Åke Johansson has accompanied many of the great names in jazz and is a favorite with jazz fans in his native Sweden. In the liner notes of We Six (Phontastic 7576). Maffy Falay states, "Bernt Rosengren and Åke Johansson are the greatest Swedish jazz musicians." Åke has produced four recordings of his own work as well as participated in recordings with several musicians including Chet Baker (Chet Baker Live In Sweden with Åke Johansson Trio-Dragon DRCD 178, 1983), Christer Boustedt, Stefan Isaksson and the Contemporary Bebop Quintet.

Johansson Discography

• Chet Baker Live In Sweden with Åke Johansson Trio, Dragon DRCD 178, 1983
• Contemporary Bebop Quintet, Circles & Triplets, Dragon DRCD 230,
  featuring Bosse Broberg, Stefan Isaksson, Åke Johansson, Ivar Lindell & Gilbert Matthews

Per-Ola Gadd

Born on the west coast of Sweden in 1962, Per-Ola Gadd studied string bass and composition for eight years. Five of these years were spent at the Ingesund Music Conservatory, where he studied under Björn F. Holmvik, and at the Gothenburg Academy of Music (University of Gothenburg), where he studied with Ferdinand Lipa. Private studies in string bass followed with the Dane, Niels-Henning Örsted-Pedersen.

From 1986-1987, Per-Ola attended the Musician's Institute in Hollywood, Califonia. He remained in California until 1992 teaching part-time at the Musician's Institute.and freelancing with jazz and big band musicians, including Bill Perkins, Lee Konitz, Charlie Shoemake, Emil Richards, the Candoli Brothers, Frank Strazzeri, Lou Levy, Jake Hanna, Lawrance Marable, Carl Burnett, Alvin Stoller and Freddie Redd.

Selahattin Can Kozlu

Born in 1954, Can Kozlu is a very active participant in the Turkish jazz scene. After studying economics at the Sorbonne in Paris, he completed jazz training at CIM Jazz School in Paris, where he later became an instructor. During this period, Selahattin was the drummer for many American jazz musicians in Paris. In the early 1980s, he moved to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music. In these years he played with Barney Kessel, Chris Woods, Aydin Esen and Christina Legrand, among others. His interest in percussion has taken him to India, Cuba, and Africa. During his travels he felt most at home while living among African tribes where he studied the drumming tradition and the place drumming holds in these societies.

Selahattin teaches drumming and holds community drumming sessions in addition to teaching jazz history at Bosphorus University in Istanbul. He tours and records frequently. He can be heard on several recordings with Turkish pianist Aydin Esen and his group

Kozlu Discography

• Aydin Esen Quartet, JMS, France, 1990
• Pictures featuring Mick Goodrick, JazzCity, Japan, 1989
• So Many Lifetimes featuring Francis Bourrec, JMS, France, 1988
• Erken, Önder Focan Quartet, Turkey, 1994
• Hands and Lips, Kerem Görsev Group, Turkey, 1994

reviews & comments

"Very much in the mold of mainline bop quintet recordings is the in-concert disc spearheaded by Turkish trumpet man Maffy Falay. Aided and abetted by Swedish players Bernt Rosengren, Ake Johansson, and Per-Ola Gadd along with fellow Turk Selahattin Can Kozlu, the unit presents a united notion as to how music can cross all cultural and geographical boundaries. Followers of the European scene will already know what fine musicians Rosengren and Johansson are, but it is the leader who is the biggest surprise here. The most impressive aspect of his playing is a large and beautiful tone in the tradition of Brown, Lee Morgan, Hubbard and the like."

Larry Holis, Cadence - October 1996, The Review of Jazz & Blues: Creative Improvised Music

Golden Horn has announced the release of an all new album by world renowned jazz performers the Maffy Falay Quintet titled Live at International Istanbul Jazz Festival '94.

The International Istanbul Jazz Festival, presented by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, was an all new concept for the organization, having presented a variety of international arts festivals for many years. This festival was held for nine days during July 1994, and featured such jazz performers as the Joe Henderson Quartet, the Toots Thielemans Brasil Project and many others from around the world. The Maffy Falay Quintet performance was specially recorded at this festival.

The Maffy Falay Quintet is a Swedish-Turkish orchestra formed in 1985 and led by Turkish trumpet player Maffy Falay, said by famed jazz artist Dizzy Gillespie to be in the same league as Miles Davis or Eldridge. The Quintet performs a wide range of music including ballads and the blues of Charlie Parker, but is best known for their sophisticated brand of swinging hard bop rooted in the music of the fifties..."

from the press release / December 4, 1995