Lars Erstrand Four: Concert photos

After a warm week of sunny weather, Mother Nature (or Thor) decided that a big thunderstorm was in place just before the Lars Erstrand Four started their concert at Parksnäckan. As Parksnäckan is an outdoor stage this made it less desirable to sit under the open sky, but the staff found a solution, they rearranged the band on the stage, which is quite big, and invited the audience on stage where they had put out chairs. This made the concert very intimate.


This was the the 30th summer that Lars Erstrand played at Parksnäckan and the group has found it's format with about half swinging numbers and the other half with ballads. Excellent musicianship from all the band members. I especially like the drumming that Björn Sjödin does, he has so many different ways of accentuate the music. His joy of playing really is contagious. I'd say Björn Sjödin is the best jazz drummer in Uppsala right now.




The band played some songs that they always play. Being a dancer I didn't care too much for the ballads even though they were very beuatiful. I like the uptempo songs like: How high the moon, Stompin' at the Savoy and Flying Home. They also did a latin jazz number that I enjoyed.

Tip: If you sit on the front row you can hear the humorous banter between the band members.

In the band you also have Arne Wilhemsson on bass and Bertil Fernqvist on guitar.

The next jazz concert at Parksnäckan will be Aug 12th when Peter Lind and the Cabaret band performs the show Stardust. Stardust is about the jazz musicians in Harlem in the 1930's and 1940's. Don't miss that.

The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission.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 Lars Erstrand Four? Please comment.

Lars Erstrand 4: Concert Photos

Last Saturday Lars Erstrand Four played at Katalin . The concert was arranged together with Uppsala Jazz Club.



I really liked the concert (how could you not, they are such talented and swingin' jazz musicians) but since I'm a dancing fool, I would have like more uptempo songs instead of jazz ballads.

My favorite song of the concert was "Lady, Be Good" (Or was it Sweet Georgia Brown? I can't remember) that had an exiting arrangement with a boogie beat that I never have heard before. Great stuff.



The band consists of Lars Erstrand (vibraphone), Bertil Fernqvist (guitar), Arne Wilhelmsson (bass) and Björn Sjödin (drums).

The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission.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

Did you visit the jazz concert with Lars Erstrand Four. What did you think of the concert? Tell me.

Lars Erstrand Four at Katalin on Saturday

Lars Erstrand Four will play at Katalin on Saturday. The concert is arranged together with Uppsala Jazz Club.

The band consists of Lars Erstrand (vibraphone), Bertil Fernqvist (guitar), Arne Wilhelmsson (bass) and Björn Sjödin (drums).

These guys really swings, I last heard them this summer when the Lars Erstrand Four played at Parksnäckan. If you have the opportunity you should see them. Although there is no real dance floor, I think you can find a space to swing out in.

The concert starts at 14.00. I don't know right now what the price for the concert is. As usual, if you're under 25 years you'll get in for free.

The photo is taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to license it.

Have you heard Lars Erstrand Four? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Hacke Björksten 3G: Photos

Last Saturday the spring season of Uppsala Jazz Club's concert series started with a bang when Hacke Björksten 3G took the stage at Katalin and all that jazz.

"3G" is short for the 3 generations of jazz musicians in the band. Hacke Björksten, the band leader and saxophone player, is the oldest man in the band. He knows how to talk jive and the introduction of the songs is often done with great humour.



Karl Olandersson on the other hand is the youngest musician and he's a really talented trumpet player. I've heard him play in several bands and it's always great to hear him.



Ulf Johansson Werre on piano had a very busy day. When the concert ended he had about 40 minutes to get to his next gig together with Toots Thielemans at Uppsala Konsert & Kongress. Luckily it's only 200 meters between the places. If you've been following this blog you know that Ulf is one of my favorite jazz musicians.



In the first set they played the songs: Three Generations, All Time Blues, I Hear Music, Autumn In New York, On The Alamo.

In the second set they played Free Kick, Polska från Gemåla (a fusion between Swedish folk music and jazz in the style of the late piano player Jan Johansson), Someone To Watch Over Me, Horse Power, Scrapple From The Apple.

Several of these songs are available on Hacke Björksten's cd.

Above you see a picture of Arne Wilhelmsson, the bass player and below a photo of the drummer Mattias Puttonen.



They ended the concert with a really swinging version of Duke Ellington's Things Ain't What They Used To Be.

Things may not be be like the swing era anymore, but this is pretty darn close! Catch the band if you have the chance.

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

Were you at the concert with Hacke Björksten 3G? What did you think of them? Tell me.

Hacke Björksten 3G at Katalin tomorrow

There is a lot of things happening tomorrow. One of the things are the first jazz concert arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club for this spring.

On stage is Hacke Björksten 3G. 3G refers to that it is three generations of jazz musicians in the band.

The band consists of Hacke Björksten (saxophone), Karl Olandersson (trumpet), Ulf Johansson Werre (piano), Arne Wilhelmsson (bass) and Mattias Puttonen (drums).

I've heard all of these jazz musicians before (except the band leader) and they are great. I think that this concert will swing much. I don't know exactly what style they will play but I hope it's very danceable.

The concert starts at 14 and is located at Katalin. Note: If you're under 25 you'll get in for free. What about that!



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

Will you go to the concert tomorrow? Tell me.

Lars Erstrand Four: Photos

Last week I listened to Lars Erstrand Four when they played at the outdoor stage at Parksnäckan in Uppsala.




They played the songs: "Beautiful Friendship", "Cherokee", "The Things We Did Last Summer", "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans", "I Want To Be Happy", "I Found A New Baby", "Satin Doll", "It Might As Well Be Spring", "When You're Smiling", "All The Things You Are". My favorite song for the evening was "Timme's Blues". A really swinging song with great rhythm.

The featured guest, jazz fiddler Gunnar Lidberg, was great and played some songs by Svend Asmussen.



During the talk between the songs I found out that there have been an outdoor dancing place a few hundred meter south of Parksnäckan where there nowadays is a mini golf course. The dancing place was run by a woman named Saga Hedén. I would be fun to know more about this place, do you know something? Please tell me.

It would be nice to have an outdoor dancing place here in Uppsala during the summer. We dance at quayside every now and then but a place with a roof in a sunnier location would be great. A place for dancers of all kinds of dances to use. I have an idea that I would like to pitch to the city council, but that would take some work, if you're interested in helping me, let me know.



Lars Erstrand have met his idol Lionel Hampton several times and one time Lionel Hampton gave him this advice:

"If you got an audience that doesn't want to go home, just play a really slow ballad."

Consequently, the band ended the concert with "A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square".



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

Have you heard Lars Erstrand Four? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Lars Erstrand Four feat. Gunnar Lidberg

Tonight Lars Erstrand Four featuring Gunnar Lidberg will play at an outdoor concert at Parksnäckan in Uppsala.

The band consists of Lars Erstrand (vibraphone), Bertil Fernqvist (guitar), Arne Wilhelmsson (bass) and Björn Sjödin (drums). Gunnar Lidberg plays violin.

The concert starts at 19.30 and costs 90 kr (70 kr with UNT-card).

The photo of Bertil Fernqvist is taken by me at Uppsala Winter Swing and may not be used elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to license it.

Have you heard Lars Erstrand Four before? What do you think of them? Tell me.