The Mats/Morgan Band

The Mats/Morgan Band - Live - 2001 - Ultimate Audio Entertainment

"..influenced by Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Earth, Wind & Fire. (They are) tight and precise and seem capable of playing absolutely anything with great gusto...the Mats/Morgan men integrate everything and make it their own." – Audiophile Audition

"...a fusion-ish instrumental band of almost impossible virtuosity and a palpable sense of fun." – Expose

"Morgan is quite simply one of the most interesting and exciting drummers I've ever heard. Rhythmically advanced and musical too. A rare combination of modern and classic." – Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree)

Mats(keyboards) and Morgan(drums) have been playing together before they were even in highschool.At first they were a Zappa cover band but have since started playing their own compositions which are all-instrumental.These two guys steal the show on this live album recorded at a club in Stockholm,Sweden in June of 1999.From Bruford to Zappa these fellow musicians have talked about how blown away they have been by the talent of these two men. "Hollmervalsen" opens with drums,organ and bass all sounding so amazing.Keyboards join in and it turns heavier 2 1/2 minutes in then the tempo picks up.Intense.Nice bass 8 minutes in and check out the drums and keyboards a minute later. "En Schizofrens Dagbok" has some incredible interplay on it.It's all so intricate and precise. "Ta Ned Trasan" is led by keyboards and drums early.It's insane 1 1/2 minutes in.Some crazy keyboard sounds before 3 minutes.Chunky bass a minute later.It settles before 6 minutes then it starts to rebuild. "Jigsaw Variations" has this unsteady beat with guitar sounds.It gets louder.Great sound 3 minutes in until almost 5 minutes. "Guardian Pitch" opens with drums and bass.Keyboards before 2 minutes.This sounds so good. "Paltsug" is a short piece that ends with spoken words. "Etage A41" is uptempo and complex.Guitar before 2 1/2 minutes rips it up for a minute.Intense before 6 minutes to the end. "Min Hast" is led by guitar before 2 1/2 minutes as drums and bass pound it out.I really like when the organ comes in late. "Banned Again" is led by organ,bass and drums early.Keyboards after a minute.The drums are unreal.It settles before 5 minutes as the crowd roars it's approval at what they've been hearing. "Igloo" is the jazziest of all the songs.Vibes on this one too. "Kintormen" sounds amazing as the drums pound and keyboards play.It settles some after 3 1/2 minutes.Processed vocals end it. Just an incredible display of instrumental talent on this one. A solid four stars. Mellotron Storm 4/5 2010-8-27 © Prog Archives, All rights reserved http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=296437

Swedish musicians Keyboardist Mats Oberg and drummer Morgan Agren began playing together over 30 years ago. Very influenced by the late Frank Zappa, they played with him in 1988, and even though part of Frank Zappa's sound is evident in the band's music, they now have their own identifiable sound. In the mid 90's, they started releasing albums on Morgan Agren's UAE label, evolving into a brilliant jazz rock/fusion band. Since 2001 the band composed of Mats and Robert Elovsson-keyboards, Jimmy Agren-guitar, Tommy Thordsson-bass and Morgan Agren-drums has been impressing audiences all over Europe and the USA. All band members have a finely honed playing technique, and are all outstanding musicians.Their music is well developed, modern sounding progressive jazz rock, composed of many complex musical styles, but still accessible and enjoyable. If you like Canterbury Rock bands like Matching Mole, Gong, or more conventional artists like the late Ian Carr and his band Nucleus, you may find this live album rewarding. "They played unbelievable, just unbelievable." – Frank Zappa. "Remarkable technical expertise and playing skills"– Bill Bruford. "Absolutely unbelievable, they drove me right out of my mind, it was so good. Buy their albums." – Mike Keneally. The last three quotes refer to The Mats/Morgan Band's "Thanks For Flying With Us" album which is worth listening to

TRACKS

1. Hollmervalsen
2. En schitzofrens dagbok
3. Ta ned trasan
4. Jigsaw Variations
5. Guardian Pitch
6. Paltsug
7. Etage A41
8. Min häst
9. Banned Again
10. Igloo
11. Kintörnen

Tracks 1,2,4,7,9,11 composed by Jimmy Agren. Tracks 3,5,6,8,10 composed by Mats Öberg

BAND

Jimmy Agren - guitar
Tommy Thordsson - bass
Mats Öberg, Robert Elovsson, Eric Carlsson - keyboards
Morgan Agren - drums

BIO (WIKIPEDIA)

Mats/Morgan Band (formerly Hot Rats and Zappsteetoot) is a band that features Morgan Ågren and Mats Öberg. Morgan is a drummer and composer and Mats is a keyboard player and composer. The band is a showcase for their virtuosic skills on their respective instruments as well as their compositional skills. Their music is difficult to categorize, containing elements of jazz, electronic music, waltz, dance music, avant garde/free jazz, techno, rock, progressive and modern classical music. Morgan Ågren has been a drummer since age four. Born in Umeå, Sweden, Ågren was spotted as an outstanding talent at a young age as he began performing publicly at age seven, and eventually joined forces with blind keyboardist Mats Öberg in 1981. They later formed Zappsteetoot together in 1984, a band internationally known for performing Zappa's music. In 1988, Morgan Ågren age 20 was, along with Mats, invited by Frank Zappa to do a guest performance at Mr. Zappa's Stockholm performance. Blown away by his skills, Mr. Zappa invited Morgan to the states to partake in several projects, including the 1994 Grammy Award winning CD "Zappa's Universe" with Steve Vai as well as a sold out New York performance of Zappa's classical program at Lincoln Centers Great Performers Series at Avery Fisher Hall. Morgan Ågren also collaborated with the guitarist of Swedish experimental metal band Meshuggah, Fredrik Thordendal, on the album Sol Niger Within, which was released in 1997.