Youth Jazz Contest in Uppsala 2007: Photos

The Youth Jazz Contest in took place yesterday at Reginateatern in Uppsala. Young jazz musicians competed with their music. There were six groups who performed 2 songs each:

• Trio From Hell
• Yenny Alpsten Duo
• Jazzseptetten B13
• Johan Christoffersson 4
• Henrik & Anton Duo
• Future Sound Of Sweden
  
  

The winners of Youth Jazz Contest 2007 was Johan Christoffersson 4 which consists of Johan Christoffersson (saxophone), Filip Ekestubbe (piano), Petter Olofsson (bass) and Sebastian Ågren (drums).

I think the jury made the right choice because these guys were clearly the best group when it comes to musicianship and ensamble play. I really liked the way the bass player and drummer interacted, they were in the pocket and kept it swinging. Johan Christoffersson had the the best sound of all saxophone players. I'm looking forward to hearing them in the spring.

The winners played bop jazz but there were all kinds of jazz styles represented there, but unfortunatly no real swing music. Jazzseptetten B13 played the most swinging music which I liked. I also enjoyed the soft jazz with Henrik & Anton Duo, particulary the trumpet playing by Henrik Grim. Henrik won the jury's price for best individual performance.


Future Sound Of Sweden play jazz with a lot of influences from funk. They took third place. If there had been a price for entusiasm it should have been awarded to them too.

Second place was awarded to Yenny Alpsten Duo which played free jazz. I enjoy most forms of music, but free jazz is not one of them. I can't find anything in it that I appreciate. It must have a pulse, a rhythm or a melody. Free jazz, by definition, has none of that. If you are a fan of free jazz, would you please comment and tell me what attracts you to the music, I really like to know.

I missed the women in this competition, of all the contestant there were not a single one. Why is that? I hope there are young women playing jazz somewhere, even though they weren't in this competition.



Footnote:
The jury was instructed to rank the contestants with the following things in mind:

1. Group feeling/ ensemble play between the band members
2. Individual proficiency at their instruments
3. Feeling for the particular style of jazz they've chosen to play
4. Additional factors to consider: Joy of playing and originality in choice of music and arrangements

The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission.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 Youth Jazz Contest 2007? What do you think of it? Which group was your favorite? Tell me.

Youth Jazz Contest 2007

Tonight it's time for Youth Jazz Contest 2007 in Uppsala at Reginateatern where young jazz musicians compete. You might spot the jazz stars of tomorrow there. The concert/competition is FREE.

The event starts at 19 o'clock and is arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club. The winner gets to play at either Katalin or Uppsala Konsert & Kongress in the spring.

In the photo you can see Johanna Grim and Henrik Grim who competed in last years Youth Jazz Contest. The photo is taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to license it.

Are you going to the Youth Jazz Contest? Tell me.

Silver Sextett at Uppsala Konsert & Kongress Opening

The Silver Sextett is a group of young jazz musicans that I first wrote about in connection with Youth Jazz Contest. Yesterday they performed at the opening of Uppsalas new concert hall: Uppsala Konsert & Kongress.

It's estimated that more than 10000 people in Uppsala took the chance to see what the new building was like.


The Silver Sextett played, among other songs, Night in Tunisia and It Don't Mean A Thing. It sounded very good.

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 hear the Silver Sextett yesterday at Uppsala Konsert & Kongress? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Uppsala Konsert & Kongress presentation

Yesterday I attended a presentation of the new consert and congress hall in Uppsala: Uppsala Konsert & Kongress, also known as Musikens hus (House of Music). The meeting was arranged by Musikens Hus vänner (Friends of House of Music).



The building of a new concert and congress hall has been debated a long time but now the building is soon completed. In a couple of months time they are ready to move in and it will be inaugurated September 1st.



Magnus Bäckström (CEO), Cecilia Jordan (Congress project manager) and Göran Persson (CMO) presented what is happening right now and what will happen once the building is inaugurated.

All people from Uppsala Konsert & Kongress radiated with enthusiasm and passion for the house and they seemed to have a great time working together. This will become a great creative meeting spot in Uppsala. Although there are some concerns,

I would dare to say that this is the best thing that has happened in Uppsala in over a decade. I'm excited and can't wait till it's finished.

As part of the evening Musikens hus vänner awarded two young musicians with a scolarship. One of them was trumpeter Henrik Grim (also seen at Youth Jazz Contest as a member of the Silver Sextett). Henrik Grim played a classical piece and then the jazz standard Autumn Leaves.

The scholarships was handed over by the chairman of Musikens hus vänner: Ola Carlsson. Unfortunately I didn't catch the name of the flute player that also got awarded, please tell me her name.




The photos are taken by me and may not be used elsewhere without my permission.

What do you think of Uppsala Konsert & Kongress? Tell me.

Youth Jazz Contest in Uppsala

In november last year Uppsala Jazz Club held a contest for young jazz musicians: Youth Jazz Contest.

The musicians were overall very talented. They played modern jazz styles and while I can appreciate that on an intellectual level it doesn't grab me as much as swing does. How do you encourage young muscians to start playing swing?

The winners of the competition was a group called Nkiru with members (left to right): Andreas Larsson (drums), Niklas Fernqvist (bass), Jakob Gustavsson (saxophone) and Alexander Zethson (piano).



Stina Hellberg played a unusual instrument in a jazz environment: a harp, but it really worked. In her trio were also Linus Fredin (bass), Wille Alin (drums) and Alexander Iberer (cello).

Silver Sextett

This band plays a lot of songs by Horace Silver.

From left to right: Christoffer Aldin (saxophone), Johanna Grim (trombone), Henrik Grim (trumpet) samt Per Björkling (bass) Also in the band but not in this picture were Joel Sandberg (drums) and Henrik Boseaus (piano).

Johanna won the jurys bonus price.



All pictures are taken by me and may not be used elsewhere without my permission.