J. Shogren ist ein anerkannter Philosoph und war Professor für Umweltwissenschaften in Schweden. Als Mitglied des überstaatlichen Ausschusses über den Klimawandel gehörte er zum Team um Al Gore, das 2007 den Nobel-Preis zugesprochen bekam und er ist ein gestandener Folk-Musiker, der sich stark um die Roots Musik bemüht und so eine Mischung aus Blues, Country, Hillbilly, Polka und und und zu seinem eigenen Americana Sound vermengt.

Bird Bones & Muscles vereinigt diese ganzen Musikstile mit einer Leichtigkeit und klingt so in keiner Sekunde verstaubt oder altertümlich, sondern erfrischend aktuell. Für das aktuelle Album hat sich J. Shogren mit Jalan Crossland zusammengetan, der am Banjo seine ganze Klasse ausspielen kann. Selten hört man das Banjo so inspiriert spielen und grooven, wie auf Bird Bones & Muscles. Das hat Größe.

J. Shogren gehört zu den herausragenden Künstlern im Roots-Sektor. Nicht umsonst ist Bird Bones & Muscles in verschiedenen Folk-Charts an vorderer Stelle zu finden. Dieses Album sei jedem Freund eines kräftigen ureigenen Americana-Sounds wärmstens ans Herz gelegt. Empfehlung!

”
- Musik an Sich

“...Received a new album from J Shogren titled Bird Bones & Muscle. It was a pleasant and refreshing surprise. The album is very blues-based with small flavors of all kinds of other roots and traditional genres. The album in general reminds me of the hot and humid rural south… images of a sweaty afternoon in the back yard with friends jamming out tunes. Sometimes rough around the edges. Odd thing is that the album was recorded in Laramie, WY by a guy who splits his time between Laramie and Sweden. Spinning “Salvation” this morning as I think it gives you a good taste of what you will find in this album.

”
- Notes from the Front Porch

“J. Shogren is een Amerikaanse professor Toegepaste Filosofie aan de universiteit van Wyoming en een naaste medewerker en adviseur voor milieuzaken van de Zweedse koning Carl Gustav. Om beide professionele activiteiten te ontplooien is hij vaak weg uit zijn permanente woonplaats Centennial in de staat Wyoming om in de Zweedse hoofdstad Stockholm die tweede taak te gaan vervullen.

Toch heeft deze man nog een derde belangrijke activiteit in zijn leven, namelijk songs schrijven, veel optreden en cd’s uitbrengen. Na “Jahamericana” uit 2007 en het ook voor Rootstime gerecenseerde “American Holly” uit 2008 verschijnt er nu een derde album van J. Shogren onder de titel “Bird Bones & Muscle”.

Daarop horen we zoals bij de vorige albums akoestische Americana en country rootsmuziek die werd opgenomen met de muzikanten van de ‘Jalan Crossland Band’ en waarbij zangeres Mandy Bohlender en zanger Dan Tinker voor wat extra vocale en instrumentale ondersteuning zorgen.

Het album bestaat uit 15 eigen composities in verschillende authentieke Amerikaanse muziekstijlen waarbij o.a. blues, jive, bluegrass en swing een plaatsje krijgen naaste country en zuivere Americana-ballads. De albumtitel verwijst naar de kwetsbaarheid maar ook de innerlijke kracht van de mens om zich te verweren als hij in gevaar dreigt te komen. Als wereldreiziger vertaalt J. Shogren zijn vele ervaringen in zijn songteksten die dus vooral als verhalend kunnen worden beschouwd. Op die manier gebruikt hij zijn muziek een beetje om zijn persoonlijke visie op de dingen des levens weer te geven. Qua stem lijkt hij soms wat op Randy Newman met dat typische Amerikaanse accent in zijn uitspraak. Enkele favoriete songtitels tot slot: het bluesy “Burnt Fields”, de bluegrass-song over countryzanger “Charlie Poole, Charlie Poole”, de swingende rockers “Loving Time”, “Procrastinator Blues” en “Bird Bones & Muscle”, de humorvolle accordeonpolka “Polkagris” en de zeer mooi gezongen ballads “Big Blue Bird Of Happiness” en “Southern Isle A Pearl”.

J. Shogren is een vakman, zowel als professor en als muzikant. Met deze derde plaat “Bird Bones & Muscle” bewijst hij dat er voor dergelijk professionalisme altijd nog een plaatsje vrij blijft in de toch al vrij goed gevulde wereld van de traditionele Americana-muziek.

(valsam) “J. Shogren is a true professional, both as university professor and as musician. With his third release ‘Bird Bones & Muscle’ he provides proof that there will always be a warm place free for such traditional Americana music with to-the-point lyrics that describe his views on the issues of daily life.”

– www.rootstime.be ”
- Rootstime (BE)

“Radio Interview with Calvin Powers of Tap Root Radio

http://mp3.taprootradio.com/tmf/tmf0012.mp3”
- Tap Root Radio

“5 of 5 stars

Utan att ha någon större större grundkunskap i släktforskning kan man skönja att J. Shogren har sina rötter i gamla Svedala. Nya CD:n är i form av ett äldre svenskt mynt från 1918 innehållande texten hejsan, ojsan, jasan, nejsan. Polkagris, Helgagatan och Saltlakrits är låttitlar från denna och hans tidigare utmärkta plattor American Holly och Jahaamericana.

Jason Sjogren som har ett förflutet som trapper, delar nu sitt musicerande med att inneha en universitetsprofessur i miljövetenskap i Umeå. I sin musik omfamnar han hela den amerikanska musiktraditionen och lite till i en bamsestor björnkram. Några goda exempel på detta är gospel- och bluesgungande Salvation, rockabillystudsande Longtime eller banjodrivna Charlie Poole. Allt detta och lite till som barbershopsång, lite joddlande och en finstämd ballad som Big Blue Bird Of Happiness samsas på Bird Bones & Muscle utan att det verkar splittrat. Att det inte gör det är J. Shogrens stora förtjänst som låtskrivare och musiker. För allt han gör och då tänker jag på alla de tre album jag nämnt här, är gjorda med en stor värme och en omtanke för att inte tala om en ren kärlek till musicerandet som konstform.

Så de fem femmorna här ovan är denna gång ovanligt välförtjänta. Hoppas det nu finns någon arrangör med god smak som kan plocka hit J. Shogren för en turné.

Bengt Berglind

2010”
- Bengt Berglind, Nya Skivor (SE)

“....Shogren sjunger bättre än nånsin: liksom en cowboyjobbarröst, lite mörkt och grovt, in- och utlevelsefullt. Också ljud och komp lyfter till en högre nivå än på de föregående albumen.

go to Bengt's website for full review”
- Bengt Eriksson, Rootsy

“Old-timey hubbub

(2010)

When a record lists washboard, resonator, yodels and “hubbub” among its instrumentation, it’s fair to say that the artist involved is striving for a certain tone. J. Shogren’s 15-song Bird Bones and Muscle aims for a certain sort of loose, old-timey devil-may-care nonchalance, and at times he hits the bulls-eye. “Burnt Fields” is a strong start, with a catchy guitar lick and some bluesy banjo. “Salvation” and “Younger” maintain the high energy and playful lyrics. Other tunes, like the haunting “Judge & the Hangman,” derive power from Shogren’s vocal delivery. The instrumentation remains solidly traditional throughout, with guitars, bass and drums providing the framework for most songs, which are then heavily adorned with banjo and mandolin. Accordion shows up for a couple of cajun-flavored numbers. Shogren’s voice is as down-home and twangy as you might expect, given the album’s other elements, and he croons through slower tunes such as “Paper Barn” and “Wandering Foot” with an unexpected wistfulness. Elsewhere tracks benefit from nice backing vocals, both male and female. There’s nothing quite as left-field to this record as the instrumentation mentioned earlier might suggest, but it’s still a solid set of idiosyncratic acoustic tunes.”
- Pop Matters, David Maine

“...."Bird Bones & Muscle" ist schon wieder ein Album, mit dem J. Shogren durch die Bank überzeugen kann. Wenn das so weiter geht, dann ist da bald eine Tipp-Grafik fällig. Sein viertes Album wird es dann zeigen.

(for the full review, please go to the web site)”
- Rock Times (GERMANY)

“Thanks to songs about Charlie Poole by Loudoun Wainwright III (here) and now J Shogren I have learned quite a bit about this original country music star and hard partying man of all trades (textiles, pro ballplayer, moonshiner). J Shogren is quite a charachter himself. This Wyoming born singer songwriter is a professor of Applied Philosophy and also the King’s Professor to the King of Sweden. He also received the Nobel Piece prize along with Al Gore. But it’s his unique blend of Americana inspired music that lands him on the cover of Songs:Illinois. His new record is called Bird Bones & Muscle. Here’s the song “Charlie Poole Charlie Poole” off it. Buy it now at CD Baby here.”
- Songs:Illinois

“J Shogren. Bird Bones and Muscle. August 29, 2010 by Paul Kerr From the opening bars of this album it’s clear that Shogren has a unique take on traditional American styles. “Burnt Fields” squirms and squiggles with scratchy guitar riffs and banjo on a song that sounds like a cross between David Lindley and Loudon Wainwright. The Wainwright comparison continues on the next song. “Charlie Poole, Charlie Poole” which has lashings of banjo and a great driving rhythm. “Salvation” which follows maintains this glorious banjo driven take on country blues, imagine vintage Taj Mahal souped up with a glucose jag and you’re halfway there. Mention must be given to Jalan Crossland who carries banjo duties and who flails away like a man possessed on many of the songs here. Shogren calms things down on “ Big Blue Bird of Happiness” which is a ballad in the manner of Guy Clark while “Paper Barn” and “Wandering Foot” are couched in the singer songwriter idiom and sound as if they were forged in the Texas of the seventies. While there is a touch of the magpie here with Shogren visiting other genres (including polka and swamp blues) he has a sure hand on the tiller throughout. The title song is a pumped up voodoo blues with some great gutbucket guitar while “Younger” is a tremendous country rock song where the banjo takes on the lead guitar part. A highlight is “Southern Isle a Pearl” which has Shogren crooning over a dreamlike backing with swooning guitar, a miniature gem. Overall this is a fine example of someone grabbing tradition by the collar and bringing it bang up to date. You can buy the album here Meanwhile Salvation awaits here”
- Paul Kerr, Blabber 'n' Smoke

“Shogren, J – “Bird Bones & Muscle” (JAHA!) A- ...... A combination of oddities…this man, a professor of philosophy and past King of Sweden’s special professor on environmental science, Shogren lives half-time in Sweden, and the rest in Wyoming, where he put together this amazing rootsy band, sporting tunes from “Weird old America.” Cool stuff…he plays resonator, mandolin, and sings with people on accordion, yodeling and banjo…barbershop quartet stylings in a modern setting. Who would have guessed? Acoustic, eclectic, intelligent lyrics and fun. “Recalling everything from Dylan to Dr. John, Buck Owens to Tom Waits, Shogrun explains, ‘No veneer—just a coat of varnish to keep out the weather’.” Original.”
- Cathi @ WFHB Bloomington

“ Last year, I reviewed J Shogren’s last album, American Holly, and I talked about his wild imagination. More recently, I kicked off my Americana Festival with Jalan Crossland‘s latest album. I found Crossland in the first place because J Shogren told me they were working together. Bird Bones & Muscle is the result of that partnership. To me, the album feels like two very talented musicians feeling their way until they found what works for them as musical partners. Bird Bones and Muscle begins as a rock record. Burnt Fields begins with a figure on electric guitar, and soon the whole band tears into this blues tinged number. It sounds some what like the heartland rock of John Mellencamp, around the time of the Scarecrow album. But wait, one of those electric guitars sounds odd… That’s a banjo! Yes it is, and Crossland gets it to do some things I’ve never heard before. Blues and rock banjo are new to me, but they work. Three more up tempo rockers follow, and the last of these, Loving Time, is also the weakest. The lyric is skeletal, and the song sounds like a band rocking just to rock. There’s not really anything wrong with that, but American Holly led me to expect more here. And then the next song started, and I got more. Big Blue Bird of Happiness is the first ballad on the album. The lyrics present unrequited love in an original way, and the music has subtle touches that add to its beauty. From here on, we are in good hands. Paper Barn is a declaration of love that promises that dreaming together can make it true. The song has a spare arrangement that does everything it needs to with just acoustic guitar and a few elements for flavor. My Remedy is another declaration of love, this set to a slinky blues groove. Later, there is Polkagris, an actual polka, where Shogren’s sense of humor sneaks out for a moment. This one sounds like it was a blast to record, which also makes it a treat for the listener. And there are two songs, Wandering Foot, and Judge & the Hangman, which are ballads in the old sense that they tell stories. Wandering Foot is the tale of a man who sacrificed his family for an ill-advised affair, and had cause to regret it. This may be Shogren’s most emotional vocal on the album, and the song is totally convincing as a result. Judge & the Hangman is a powerful evocation of the Old West, something Shogren does very well indeed. I mentioned the four rockers that start the album. Each has its merits, but I found the block of them a bit much. Indeed, there are more up tempo numbers as the album progresses, and they sound better. So I think it might have sufficed to sequence the album differently. On their own, I can certainly recommend Charlie Poole, Charlie Poole and Salvation especially. So I don’t know if Shogren and Crossland intend to continue working together, but I would like to hear the results if they do. In any case, I hope to have for you whatever each of them chooses to do next. One more quibble if I may: there is a female vocalist on Bird Bones and Muscle, who adds some wonderful harmony, and whose work really makes a difference on several songs. J Shogren only lists his musicians by first initial and last name, so I don’t know who she is. If I find out, I will let you know. Update: I heard back from J Shogren, and he tells me that the background singer is Mandy Bohlender. She is in a band called The Free Range Band; I don't believe that they have recorded anything for release yet, and when they do, they will need a name change. There is already another band out there by that name.”
- Oliver di Place

“Americana Roots – Singer/Songwriter J Shogren: American Holly 2008 JAHA! Records, independent release – www.jshogren.com A rare and talented philosopher and balladeer with dust in his cuffs and dirt under his nails, J Shogren kicks right into gear with his powerful delivery. There are more than a few lyrical broken hearts between the covers of American Holly that may have been treated with a bottle of whiskey, salve and painted blue. Listen to Everyman and see what you think. Holes takes a humorously twisted look at a relationship that may not be working out so well and seems to continue past the point of sensible thinking. Delightfully satirical, Hand Grenade uses the power of a gospel song to deliver a strong message while maintaining a light-hearted cadence. Deny Me goes right to the gut lyrically with the cry of a resonator, tasteful guitar and gentle rhythm serving as a melancholy wash for Shogren’s gritty vocals to reside upon. There seems to be a narrative style to the arrangement and order of songs giving American Holly a defined story line that adds depth to the overall production. There is a thoughtfulness that becomes more clear each time you listen to this recording. I find the finger-style guitar work in Well Fed Man a delight to listen to. Equally as intriguing though completely different conceptually, Split Whiskey pours right out of Shogren’s heart. There are so many words and double meanings in Relativity your ears have to work very hard to take it all in. Baby on the Tracks leading into God’s 9:05 is another masterful piece of prose backed with colorful, intricate instrumentation that really builds as it carries the story along. JJ Polka is somewhat unexpected. Shogren continues to surprise and captivate, putting his all into this recording. It seems to have been well worth his sweat and efforts. [Nancy Vivolo]”
- Victory Reviews

“

J Shogren    American Holly

"We receive more and more of the finest of popular music from the United States. This J Shogren is no other than Jason Shogren, that is to say, someone very highly respected at the University of Wyoming, a professor whom the king of Sweden have recently chosen to be the special professor of environmental science. He was also a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore in 2007. Wow! (Maybe this makes you wanna say that, in France, we have the girlfriend of the President of the Republic making songs... Well...)

Right off the beam, let me tell you that country music isn't dead. Maybe I shouldn't call these fellows country music though. Let's just describe them as two new discs of acoustic roots music.

That's what J Shogren calls it on his Web site. Can't call it Americana since he splits his time between Wyoming and Sweden. He was the King of Sweden's professor for a time! He was a member of a group that received a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. He worked as a trapper, too. He's not your standard ranch stash at all. He sounds a bit like Kris Kristofferson, both vocally and in the lackadaisical pace of his album. Shogren plays guitars, tenor banjo, mandolin, etc. (the "etc." could mean anything; I just copied it from the liner notes). All the other musicians (and there are 17 of them) add voice, vocal, hubbub, and a variety of instruments. It's all pretty string band based, except for trombone, euphonium and jug, and drums. The songs sound like they might have originated in the Ozarks in the '30s, but in fact, J Shogren wrote most of them himself.

"I'll be a depth charge for God, gonna thump the devil, don't you cry for me," is an example of the kind of lyrical concern he deals with. A sampling of titles might give you an idea. "Everyman," "Salt lakrits," "Holes," "Deny me," "God's 9:05," and "Hardwood floor." And that's what they're about, too! None of the musicians have first names, just initials, like J or B or S. No punctuation either. They all play tolerably well, and make sense out of the tunes. I like it. It doesn't even have to grow on you...it sounds good from the get-go.

Split the difference between Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, and while you won't have everything you need to know about J Shogren (no period after the initial, I gather), you will have at least a place to start.

Shogren -- who even bears a vague physical resemblance to him -- has Cohen's mordant wit. Cohen could have written lines such as "Every man's Aristotle when he's drunk" and "I'll be a hand grenade for Jesus." Shogren, too, has a foot in the soil of traditional American music, sharing ground with Dylan. Like Dylan, he writes his own songs even as he nods to or winks at others. Here it's old songs like "John Henry," "Keep the Skillet Good & Greasy" and -- wonderfully -- "My Name is John Johnson."

"His adventures have taken him," it says here, "from days as a trapper to an endowed professor." He lives in Wyoming but is also an academic in Sweden. We may be confident that no other singer-songwriter claims a comparable resume. From this diverse biography he has fashioned American Holly, his second album; I haven't heard the first.

Though endearingly odd, it is also not a little disorienting. A part of that owes to the distinctive production, bringing to psychic eye and ear the sepia tones, in the first instance, of 19th-century American-village photography and, in the second, of the small-town folk orchestras so often captured in those pictures. Or this could be a lost America in a parallel universe.

If Shogren and his band summon up ghosts, they are not necessarily of persons once extant in the earthly flesh. The powerful opening cut, also the title song, is set in a war-ravaged landscape that one at first presumes to be a Civil War battlefield but whose geography and circumstance become ever less fixed, notwithstanding the singer's repeated, insistent reference to "American Holly." A woman? Something else?

A warning to those seeking easy pleasures:

In some ways Shogren's recording is a demanding one, not always suited to casual listening. At 17 cuts this is, in my estimation anyway, three or four too long. Still, even the occasional slow patch rewards the patient pilgrim, and it helps if you keep in mind that Shogren is far more the professor than the trapper. His vision of a frontier world is a metaphysical, not a physical, one, where the familiar always manages to stay just out of focus. Shogren takes a host of recognizable images and influences and turns them deeply strange.

Jason Sjögren från Wyoming, Sweden

Både ”Jahamericana” och J Shogrens andra album, ”American Holly”, spelades in i Laramie, Wyoming. Nu vet jag också att förnamnet är Jason och Shogren en amerikanisering av Sjögren. Några generationer bakåt utvandrade släkten till USA och Jason växte upp i Duluth, Minnesota. (Själv säger han att förebilden som sångpoet är Bob Dylan!) Han har varit trapper men är idag universitetsprofessor och har just nu en gästprofessur i miljövetenskap vid Umeå universitet.

J Shogrens sångpoesi, sång och gitarrspel blir som ett soundtrack of his life. Country, folksång, rock och lite blues blandas i ojämna portioner, mer av det ena och mer av det andra. På ”Jahamericana” låter det som om Shogren steg in i studion med sin gitarr och några kompisar på mandolin, bas, piano, dragspel, trummor och cello. Han visade hur låten gick, vilka ackord den har, och så körde dom. Varje låt fick den form som den råkade få. 

Bara några favoriter: elektriska, countrybluesrockiga ”Lovers Lane Boogie”, likaså countryaktiga men långsamma, berättande ”Me & Ghengis Khan” och gitarrplockiga, mjukt stämnings- och längtansfulla instrumentallåten ”Helgagatan”.

Uppföljaren, ”American Holly”, är – nästan – samma sak. Mer proffsig inspelning, mer planerat och arrangerat. Efter debutens vildvuxna skog av låtar kändes andraalbumet som lite tamare, kanske mer anpassat till möjliga lyssnare? Först, vill säga. Efter bara någon lyssning hördes och kändes det igen: det omedelbara och spontana i J Shogrens sångdiktande och musicerande.   

Kalla det charm eller personlighet, låtar som  bluesvarianten ”Salt Lakrits”, gospeln ”Handgranade For Jesus” och ragtimejazziga ”Holes” är omöjliga att inte placera längst in i sitt – alltså mitt – hjärta. Några sista ord om rösten: J Shogren sjunger som de timmerstockar med årsringar som syns på omslaget till ”Jahamericana”.