Jazz photography: The Great Jazz Party

Last Saturday I attended the concert The Great Jazz Party. The concert hall was almost sold out. It was a really good concert, how could it not be that way with some of Swedens best jazz musicians in the band. I'm especially thinking of Klas Lindquist, Klas Toresson, Karl Olandersson and Andreas Pettersson and of course the maestro himself: Ulf Johansson Werre.



Two vocalist were featured in the concert: Roger Pontare and Vivian Buczek. Roger Pontare is known for his songs with a strong ethnic influence from northern Sweden (which you might have guessed by his clothes in the picture above) but he has also recorded an album with Frank Sinatra songs.

Vivian Buczek comes from the other end of Sweden, from the town Malmö, in the very south of Sweden. I've heard her before when she sang with Claes Crona Trio at Katalin last year.

Both singers sang excellent.



At the concert they played a song that I heard a couple of times but never known what it's called, now I got it: Filthy McNasty written by Horace Silver. (Hear a clip of Filthy McNasty at Youtube).

If you want to see more of my photos from the jazz concert, take a look here: The Great Jazz Party at Uppsala Konsert & Kongress 2008.

The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to license them.

What do you think of Great Jazz Party? Please comment.

Big Band Explosion & Louise Hoffsten & Vocation

The name of the concert says it all: Great Jazz Party. What else could you call a evening with top notch jazz musicians in an 17 piece band. Band leader Ulf Johansson Werre has put together a superb orchestra. Providing the base for swinging madly is the rhythm section with Ulf Johansson Werre himself on piano, Andreas Pettersson on guitar, Tommy Johnson on bass and Mats Engström on drums. Mats had also arranged many of the songs they played.

There were many great solos, I particularly liked the solos by Karl Olandersson and Ulf Andersson. I liked the song "I found a new baby" which was played by a small group consisting of Ulf Johansson Werre, Mats Engström and Klas Toresson (saxophone).




It was great to hear singer Louise Hoffsten, who can both sing in smooth and a raw style. An old favorite song sung by her was "Seduction of Sweet Louise" and she also sang a really good song from her coming album: "Så speciell" (So special).

Last but not least there was a vocal group called Vocation. I really liked their version of "It dont mean a thing (if it ain't got that swing)"

The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to license them.

Where you at the concert with Ulf Johansson Werre Big Band Explosion at Uppsala Konsert & Kongress? What did you think of the evening? Tell me.

Great Jazz Party at Uppsala Konsert & Kongress

One of the largest jazz concerts of the autumn here in Uppsala will take place on Saturday Nov 10th, it's properly named Great Jazz Party.

Great Jazz Party is the work of Ulf Johansson Werre where he handpicks the greatest jazz musicians in Sweden to form an 17 piece orchestra called "Ulf Johansson Werre Big Band Explosion".

This is the 7th year that Great Jazz Party is performed, earlier years there have been a theme to the concert but now there is no theme which gives Ulf Johansson Werre more artistic freedom for the concert.



Big Band Explosion consists of:

• Saxophone/clarinet/flute:
  Johan Hörlén, Klas Lindquist, Klas Toresson, Ulf Andersson, Erik Nilsson
• Trumpet/flugelhorn:
  Jan Kohlin, Karl Olandersson, Stig Persson, Svante Halldin
• Trombone:
  Olle Holmquist, Karin Hammar, Mats Hermansson, Sven Larsson
• Guitar : Andreas Pettersson
• Bass: Tommy Johnson
• Drums: Mats Engström
• Piano/trombone: Ulf Johansson Werre
  

Also performing together with the band is the excellent blues singer Louise Hoffsten (who is also a great harmonica player) and the vocal group Vocation.



I hear that the concert is sold out, but if you're lucky you might find a ticket.

The photos are taken by me (with the exception of the photo of Louise Hoffsten) and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to license them.

Are you going to Great Jazz Party at Uppsala Konsert & Kongress? What are your expectations? Tell me.