Jazz at Konserthuset

The Count Basie Orchestra is one of jazz’s most iconic big bands and has continued to perform around the world, even 40 years after its founder, William “Count” Basie, passed away. Count Basie was born in 1904 and began his career as a pianist and organist. He soon started exploring his love for the blues and joined Benny Moten's orchestra before forming his own band in 1935 – The Count Basie Orchestra.

This big band has been one of the foremost representatives of Kansas City swing and contributed significantly to the big band era. Basie encouraged his musicians to compose and arrange music, which contributed to the unique sound and enduring success. Among the jazz greats who worked with Basie are Lester Young, Billie Holiday, and Joe Williams.

Since Basie's death in 1984, The Count Basie Orchestra has continued to perform under the leadership of Scotty Barnhart, with some members originally hired by Basie himself. The Count Basie Orchestra has been awarded 18 Grammy Awards and has performed for royalty as well as in numerous films and TV shows. The latest album, Basie Swings the Blues, won a Grammy in 2024. The Count Basie Orchestra remains a living symbol of jazz history.

It is now exactly 20 years since The Count Basie Orchestra last visited Konserthuset Stockholm (November 2004).

If you love the music of Glenn Miller, swinging Christmas classics, and a great show – then this is definitely the concert for you! The ensemble performs a fantastic selection of songs from Glenn Miller’s incredible repertoire, as well as a few arrangements of Christmas songs.

It has been 80 years since Glenn Miller disappeared in an airplane over the English Channel, but his music is still played around the world. Come and experience the 2024 Christmas Show with the Glenn Miller Orchestra – The Miller Sound Lives Forever!

Glenn Miller Orchestra Scandinavia formed in 2010 and performs with a license from Glenn Miller Productions, Inc., New York, U.S.A. The orchestra regularly tours Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland and is viewed internationally as the most prominent of the four orchestras in the world entitled to use Glenn Miller’s name and perform the original arrangements. Based in Stockholm, the orchestra is led by trombone player Jan Slottenäs and includes several younger musicians from among Sweden’s jazz elite.”

Jan Lundgren is one of our foremost musicians, and with around fifty CDs and a range of projects and collaborations, he has consistently shown his ability to embrace tradition while always evolving. Each year, Jan Lundgren presents three concerts under the banner Kind of Jazz – unique meetings with invited artists and ensembles. Kind of Jazz 2025 marks the series’ seventh season.

“The title Chamber Jazz signals an intimate way of making music together, and this time there will be no drums,” says Jan Lundgren. “For the first time, I’ll be working with American cornetist Warren Vaché, who is considered one of the greats today and one of the few still active who has played with legends like Benny Goodman. Warren’s roots are in the swing era of the 1940s, with early influences such as Roy Eldridge and Bobby Hackett. The Great American Songbook will be central, and we’ll definitely include something by Duke Ellington.”

Joining Jan Lundgren and Warren Vaché are two of Denmark’s finest jazz musicians: guitarist Jacob Fischer – “we’ve played together in many settings since the 1990s; he’s a true musician’s musician,” and bassist Thomas Fonnesbæk, “arguably Denmark’s top bassist and a successor to the great Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen.”

Note: The cornet is similar to the trumpet but is slightly more compact and has a warmer sound.

Anyone familiar with jazz history knows that Charlie Parker in 1950 released two separate albums, both titled Charlie Parker with Strings, where he played jazz standards rather than his own compositions. These albums also became his best-selling records.

In other words, it’s no bad idea to revisit that concept – and that’s exactly what the American clarinettist and saxophonist Ken Peplowski and his ensemble do here. The versatile Peplowski has explored a wide range of musical genres, having collaborated with artists such as Mel Tormé, Peggy Lee, Madonna, Marianne Faithfull, and Woody Allen.

Most of the music performed consists of the original arrangements from Charlie Parker’s best-selling 1950 albums. The ensemble of around 20 musicians is led by Calle Rasmusson.