Lasse Törnqvist All Stars

The autumn season of Uppsala Jazz Club ended on Dec 5th when Lasse Törnqvist All Stars visited Pub 19 in Uppsala. They played a lot of good mainstream jazz.



The group consists of Lasse Törnqvist (cornet), Erik Persson (stand-in for Klas Lindquist), (alt.sax); Dicken Hedrenius (trombone), Erik Söderlind (guitar), Patrik Boman (bass), Jesper Kviberg (drums).



The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission.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




What do you think of Lasse Törnqvist All Stars? Please comment.

Missisippi Seven at Uppsala Jazz Club

Last Sunday the trad jazz band Missisippi Seven had a concert at Pub 19 in Uppsala. The concert was arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club.



From a listeners point of view: This is music that really makes you happy. Good musicians. Nuff said.

Well, almost. What also makes you smile is that talk inbetween the songs by drummer Bertil Ekman. He seems to have a infinite supply of entertaining useless facts.



From a dancers point of view: Missisippi Seven plays trad jazz in a moderate tempo that you could easily do lindy to. The tempo is a little slow for balboa but they could probably throw in a couple of faster tunes if you asked them.

They played two of my favorite songs: "Diga Diga Doo" (also the name of the their new album where my photos is on the album cover) and "Blues My Sweetie Naugthy Gives To Me".

Here's my own useless but entertaining fact: mostly you hear "Blues My Sweetie Naugthy Gives To Me" played instrumently by for instance Sidney Bechet but there is actually lyrics to the song which list all the kinds of blues that you can get.

One of the kinds of blues is "The blues you get from women, when you see them going swimming, and you doesn't have a bathing suit yourself".



The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission.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

What do you think of Missisippi Seven? Please comment.

Trinity at Uppsala Jazz Club: Photos

The jazz group Trinity played yesterday at Pub Nitton in Uppsala at a concert arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club.

The band consists of Ali Djeridi (drums), Andreas Hellkvist (Hammond) and Amanda Sedgwick (saxophone) who this time replaced Karl Olandersson (trumpet).



They played groovy jazz from the 1960's. It becomes especially groovy when Andreas Hellkvist attackes the key of his Hammond organ.



My favorite song of the concert was The Preacher by Horace Silver. Very groovy indeed.


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

What do you think of Trinity? Please comment.

Jazz photography: Stockholm Classic Jazz Band

Yesterday The Stockholm Classic Jazz Band played at a concert at Pub 19 in Uppsala.

Pub 19 is a classic stomping ground for jazz listners, a couple of years ago "Katalin and all that jazz" was located here before they moved to the new location right by the central station. The pub really has an intimate feeling. All around the walls there are photos of many musicians that has played there over the years.



Stockholm Classic Jazz Band played good trad jazz and had a really good lineup of musicians. One of them is Bent Persson, the trumpet player. I have one of his cds: Swingin' Straight, when I spoke to him he said that he usually plays other kinds of jazz than what's on that cd. So I guess Bent Persson mostly plays trad jazz.



Jens Lindgren on trumpet and song is another member of the Stockholm Classic Jazz Band. What you might not know is that he and Lennart Westerlund and the dance group The Rhythm Hot Shots started Jesses Jazz Club that was located at Katariahissen (Pryssgränd) where there was dancing every week to live bands. In the early days Jens Lindgren was the MC of the night. One of these days I might go through my old photo albums, I might have some photos from Jesses Jazz Club (or better yet, you send me one!).

When the rent became to high they had to move to another location. The dance night has now transformed into Zackes Jazz Corner which is hosted each Wednesday at the Chicago Dance Studio owned by The Harlem Hot Shots. Chicago Dance Studio is located at Hornsgatan 75 in Stockholm.

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 Stockholm Classic Jazz Band? Please comment.

Stockholm Classic Jazz Band: Concert Sun 30 nov at Pub 19

Join me tomorrow, Sunday Nov 30th, at a concert with Stockholm Classic Jazz Band at Pub 19 in Uppsala at 15.00.

Stockholm Classic Jazz Band play trad jazz and has some of the very best musicians in that genre: Bent Persson (trumpet), Jens Lindgren (trombon, song), Göran Eriksson (clarinet, alto saxophone), Holger Gross (banjo, guitar, bandleader), Göran Lind (bass) and Christer Ekhé (drums).

The concert is arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club.

What do you think of Stockholm Classic Jazz Band? Please comment.

Emma Larsson at Pub 19 today

Today the jazz singer Emma Larsson and her quartet will play at a concert at Pub 19 in Uppsala at 15.00. The concert is arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club and costs 120 kr.

Listen to Emma Larsson at MySpace.

What do you think of Emma Larsson? Please comment.

Andreas Pettersson: Gershwin On Guitar

On Saturday I visited a concert at Katalin arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club that was called "Gershwin On Guitar" performed by the Andreas Pettersson Quartet.

Andreas Pettersson is an amazing guitarist that I've had the pleasure of listening and dancing to before. Two years ago he was playing together with his old friend Ulf Johansson Werre and some other musicians at Uppsala Winter Camp. What a treat.

This time he and his quartet interpret George Gershwin's songs. The other musicians in the band are: Daniel Tilling (piano), Martin Sjöstedt (bas) och Daniel Fredriksson (drums).



They started with songs from George Gershwin's early career: "Preludes I, II och III”.

Andreas Pettersson continued with songs like: "Embraceable You", "Strike Up The Band", "Lady Be Good" and "´S Wonderful".

They also played a bunch of melodies from George Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess": "It Ain´t Necessarily So", "Summertime" and "Bess, You Is My Woman Now".

If you want to hear what they sounded like, take a look at this page with the album "Gershwin On Guitar", which has sound samples.



In the break I had the good fortune of sitting beside a retired music teacher from Uppsala who told me some anecdotes.



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

Did you visit the concert "Gershwin On Guitar" with the Andreas Pettersson Quartet? What did you think of it? Tell me.

Emily McEwan & Kjell Fernström Kvartett: Concert photos

On Saturday I visited a concert at Katalin where Kjell Fernström Kvartett featuring Emily McEwan performed. The concert was arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club.

The quartet consists of Kjell Fernström (piano), Per Nilsson (bass), Jesper Kviberg (drums) and Claes Askelöf (guitar). Together with them they had singer Emily McEwan.



This was a really really good concert. It had a little bit of everything: swingin' jazz, latin jazz, blues and ballads.

Emily McEwan has a beautiful voice and I like to hear more of her. In the middle of the second set, when she had sung "Over the Rainbow", band leader Kjell Fernström remarked: "We could end right now and everybody would be satified". He was right. Fortunatly they kept on playing. I liked the way she kind of danced on stage full of energy when the other musicians played.



I liked how piano player Kjell Fernström phrased the music. I also like how fun they had playing together.

I wish the band could play at a swing dance at Swingkatten, I think they would be great.



Jesper Kviberg was also here in Uppsala last fall when he played at a concert with Monica Borrfors. The first time I heard Emily McEwan was last spring when she sang at After Work Jazz with Daniel Lantz Trio.


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 concert? Have you heard Emily McEwan & Kjell Fernström Kvartett before? What do you think? Tell me.

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.

Johan Christoffersson 4: Concert Photos

On Saturday The Johan Christoffersson 4 played at Katalin at an concert arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club. The band plays modern jazz and while my main consumtion of jazz is swing, I really liked their music.

They are very good musicians and what I like most about them apart from the music is the joy of playing that they have, they are having fun on the stage and I love watching the interaction between the band members.



Johan Christoffersson 4 consists of Johan Christoffersson (saxophone), Filip Ekestubbe (piano), Petter Olofsson (bass) and Sebastian Ågren (drums).



In the first set they played Nardis, It could happen to you, Joshua but also some of their own songs like Lucky Number 7 (by Petter Olofsson) and The Hip World of Klaus Wunderlich.



In the second set they continued with a song of their own: Grova händer and then they played songs like Night and Day (by Cole Porter) and Goodbye Porkpie Hat.

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 Johan Christoffersson 4? What did you think of them? Tell me.

Johan Christoffersson 4 at Katalin

If you like modern jazz, you should check out the band Johan Christoffersson 4 at Katalin today at 14. They won The Youth Jazz Contest 2007 arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club.

Johan Christoffersson 4 consists of Johan Christoffersson (saxophone), Filip Ekestubbe (piano), Petter Olofsson (bass) and Sebastian Ågren (drums).

The concert costs 100 kr (If you're younger than 25, you'll get in for free!)

And don't miss to come and see and dance to Palladium at Grand Swing Party tonight.

Have you heard Johan Christoffersson 4? 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.

Uppsala Jazz Club: Spring Program 2008

Uppsala Jazz Club has released the concert program (pdf) for the spring. A lot of good concerts are coming up:

Saturday February 16th
Hacke Björkstens 3G (Three Generations)

Hacke Björksten, saxophone
Karl Olandersson, trumpet
Ulf Johansson Werre, piano
Arne Wilhelmsson, bass
Mathias Puttonen, drums

Saturday February 23rd
Johan Christoffersson 4

The winners of Youth Jazz Contest 2007
Johan Christoffersson, saxophone
Filip Ekestubbe, piano
Petter Olofsson, bass
Sebastian Ågren, drums


Saturday March 8th
Lars Erstrand Four

Lars Erstrand, vibraphone
Bertil Fernqvist, guitar
Arne Wilhelmsson, bass
Björn Sjödin, drums

Saturday April 5th
Emily McEwan and Kjell Fernström kvartett

Kjell Fernström, piano
Ola Botzén, drums
Per Nilsson, bass
Claes Askelöf, guitar

Saturday April 19th
Gerschwin on Guitar

Andreas Pettersson, guitar
Daniel Tilling, piano
Martin Sjöstedt, bass
Daniel Fredriksson, drums

Which concerts are most interesting to you? Tell me.

Pidgin: concert at Hijazz: Photos

Last Saturday the jazz band Pidgin had a concert at Hijazz in Uppsala. The concert was arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club.



Pidgin consists of Joakim Simonsson (piano), Pär-Ola Landin (bass), Thomas Opava (percussion), Daniel Olsson (drums) and Joakim Milder (saxophone). This time Joakim Milder was replaced by Fredrik Nordström.

Pidgin plays very soft and lyrical jazz. From my point of view I also sense a touch of Swedish folk music. Most songs were composed by Joakim Simonsson.



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 Pidgin? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Monica Borrfors sings Monica Zetterlund

On Saturday Monica Borrfors and The Gösta Nilsson Trio played at a concert at Hijazz in Uppsala. The concert was arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club.

The concert was a tribute to the late jazz singer Monica Zetterlund who would have been 70 years old this year, if she hadn't died in an accident a couple of years ago. Monica Borrfors told about her life and career and sung the songs that made Monica Zetterlund famous.

Monica Borrfors has an exellent voice that is very warm, it was a pleasure to hear her sing songs like "Sakta vi går genom stan" (Walking my baby back home). In fact, one of the things that made Monica Zetterlund special was that she sang the jazz standards with Swedish lyrics, the songs gets a slightly different meaning and adds something new. Very refreshing.



I particulary liked "Du måste ta det kallt" (Stockholm Sweetnin´, Music: Quincy Jones; Lyrics: Peter Himmelstrand) and "En Slump" (Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, Music: Richard Rogers and lyrics by Tage Danielsson).

Monica Borrfors is backed up by a great band: The Gösta Nilsson Trio which consists of:
Gösta Nilsson (piano), Filip Augustsson (bass) and Jesper Kviberg (drums). At this concert Filip Augustsson was replaced by Palle Sollinger.

If you want to hear the music, Monica Borrfors has made a cd with the songs from the show.

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 Monica Borrfors and The Gösta Nilsson? What did you think of the jazz concert? Tell me.