I
remember from my school days during the fifties the day the
music lesson was going to be about jazz. It was very exciting.
The teacher came in, showed us Leonard Bernstein's LP What Is
Jazz?, put it on and asked a pupil to turn the record after the
first side. He then left the room for the rest of the lesson. I
guess this made me even more hungry to listen to and learn about
jazz.
There
were the records with Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, Lars Gullin,
Lee Konitz, Bengt Hallberg and all the others. There were all
the local musicians playing jazz for dancing audiences. Below
the stage you could see a lot of people listening. Their heads
bobbed up and down in time with the music.
After
school I moved to Stockholm and got the wonderful opportunity to
work with living legends of jazz at the club The Golden Circle.
Musicians like Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, Lars Gullin, Ben
Webster and Bernt Rosengren made life worth living.
Through
the years I've also led my own groups and made national and
international tours, as well as many recordings. Now I've
assembled some of Sweden's best jazz musicians in a quartet.
They give me this great feeling of timeless jazz that has been
ingrained in me since my early years.
We want to share it with you!
Lars Sjösten, jazz
pianist, composer and arranger
LARS SJÖSTEN, piano
During
the 60's, Lars Sjösten, who was born in 1941, often worked at
the world famous jazz restaurant The Golden Circle in Stockholm.
He played with many jazz greats like Ben Webster, Dexter Gordon,
Art Farmer and Bernt Rosengren.
Lars
also played in Lars Gullin’s groups - the great Swedish baritone
saxophonist and composer. He became a close friend of Gullin’s
and their cooperation has meant a lot to Sjösten’s own
music-making. In 1997 The Lars Gullin Society gave him the Lars
Gullin Prize for the first time "for his of many years deserving
way of exercising the musical heritage of Lars Gullin". Through
the years Lars Sjösten has led his own groups and freelanced. He
has made many recordings and received public response as well as
governmental support. His tours have taken him to metropolises
like Paris, Moscow, Vittoria da Praia (the Azores) and Emmaboda.
Lars
is also an established composer with a flair for strong melodies
and beautiful chords. On record you can hear his flowing lines
and rich harmonies in recordings in his own name and also with
Dexter Gordon, Lars Gullin, Benny Bailey, Rolf Ericson, Bjarne
Nerem, Lee Konitz, Putte Wickman and many others.
GUNNAR BERGSTEN,
baritone sax
Gunnar
Bergsten was born in 1945. As a youngster he played the trumpet
in a brass band. In his teen’s Gunnar heard Lars Gullin and
Pepper Adams and got interested in the baritone sax. In 1965 he
began to play in internationally acclaimed Swedish trumpeter
Rolf Ericson’s big band. After that, his warm and expressive
playing has been heard in many different contexts. For example
he has played in Bernt Rosengren’s groups and in Maffy Falay’s
Sevda, a group that during the 70's played a mixture of jazz and
Turkish folk music.
In
1996 Gunnar received the Grammy award for his first CD in his
own name. On other records you can hear Gunnar Bergsten with,
among others, Bernt Rosengren, Björn Alke, Tommy Koverhult, Lars
Sjösten and Lee Konitz.
PATRIK BOMAN, bass
Patrik
Boman, born in 1964, belongs to the increasing group of younger
jazz musicians that understands the importance of tradition. He
has been playing the bass since he was 14 years of age and
appreciates bassists like Paul Chambers and Oscar Pettiford.
Patrik was educated at the High School of Music in Malmö and
Stockholm. After that he has played and recorded with many
Swedish and international great musicians, for example James
Moody, Rune Carlsson, Lou Donaldson, Bernt Rosengren and Mark
Murphy.
BO SÖDERBERG, drums
Bo
Söderberg was born in 1952. He was active on the music scene in
Umeå and played with Lars Lystedt Quintet, Eskil Columbus
Quartet, the opera and the symphony orchestra in Umeå. Bo
studied jazz music at High School of Music in Stockholm. He is a
member of Lars Sjösten Quintet, Fredrik Ljungkvist Quartet (CD:
Falling Papers, Dragon Records), Robert Nordmark Quintet, Magnus
Lindgren’s Seven Steps and other groups. Bo is a very dynamic
player and a master of making the most of a room’s acoustics.
"Bo Söderberg plays with drive and authority which give his
music-making a relieving presence." (OrkesterJournalen)
Press Voices:
"Amazing vitality, lyric and
sonorous"
(Nya Wermlandstidningen)
"A tone of the distinctive character of the native country"
(Politiken)
"Sjöstenian beauty", "exceptionally beautiful ensemble sound"
(OrkesterJournalen)
JAZZ, SWEDISH QUALITY
Our
ambition is to combine a lyric, Nordic tone with that blue and
deep swing that permeates all true jazz music.
We
let quiet, meditative passages be succeeded by forceful,
outgoing chunks and are very particular about creating a strong
atmosphere.
Our
repertoire consists largely of compositions by Lars Sjösten and
Lars Gullin, intermixed with carefully chosen evergreens and
jazz standards. We’re always on the lookout for good European
jazz songs and we also like to play the blues!
