Jazz at Konserthuset

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.

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.

“This is a tribute to Bill Evans, who was one of my most important influences when I started playing jazz,” says Jan Lundgren. “I was captivated by his sound: his way of playing and voicing chords, the immense richness of his harmonies. It made him truly unique, and I consider him one of the most important jazz musicians of all time. We’ll play some original Bill Evans music, like Waltz for Debby and Very Early, as well as music he’s associated with, such as Song from MASH. We’re paying homage to both the artist and the composer. To recreate his style and not just play the songs requires a deep understanding of the artist – without losing oneself.”

Just as Bill Evans had his trio, Jan Lundgren has put together an exceptionally skilled trio here. German drummer Wolfgang Haffner, one of the foremost in the world, has previously worked with Jan Lundgren (as well as with Nils Landgren, for instance). The renowned Swedish bassist Anders Jormin has also taken a leading role in international music and is now a professor at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg.

Kustbandet has been committed to 1920s and 30s jazz since the band’s formation by a few enthusiastic schoolmates in Årsta in the 1960s. With high spirits, energy and professionalism, they have nurtured the legacy of greats like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Count Basie, and presented that legacy with pleasure to Sweden and the world. Like their role models before them, Kustbandet is musically rooted in early-twentieth-century New Orleans and the jazz and swing of Harlem – eras in which jazz was a popular, festive style of music for dance and entertainment.

They’ve had numerous successes over the decades, appearing at thousands of concerts, festivals and jazz clubs. As Swedish jazz ambassadors, Kustbandet has toured 20 countries and been celebrated by the media, jazz lovers, and not least – by greats like Arne Domnérus, Benny Carter and Dizzy Gillespie. Leif “Smoke Rings” Andersson referred to Kustbandet as his special “Swingin’ Swedes”.

Jazz is Fun traditionally combines new and old works with a surprise or two.