Jazz at Konserthuset

Stockholm Jazz Festival is popping open the Champagne on opening night, when fourteen-time Grammy-nominated New Orleans-born singer Ledisi sings songs from the musical trove of legendary Nina Simone. She is accompanied by a 50-person orchestra constituting a unique blend of big band and symphony orchestra, with an ability to deliver multi-genre music in a big, luxurious format – all under the baton of Calle Rasmusson.

Throughout her career, Ledisi has frequently returned to the songs of Nina Simone, which have played a crucial role for her – especially when life was challenging in her twenties. “I heard her on the radio singing ‘Trouble in Mind.’ Nina’s voice said to me I was not alone.” Together with the big band-symphony orchestra Metropole Orkest, she released the record Ledisi Sings Simone in 2021. On this Grammy-award-winning album, Ledisi draws on the energy of Simone, while remaining faithful to her own voice in interpretations of Simone’s songs.

In addition to albums and tours in her own name, Ledisi has appeared in musical contexts on Broadway, TV shows, and in movies, including in a role as gospel queen Mahalia Jackson in the movie Selma, about the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Ledisi was a frequent guest artist during Obama’s time in the White House.

Thus the Stockholm Jazz Festival begins at the highest level, with a world-class artist and a voice interpreting some of the most legendary artistry of jazz, soul, and rhythm and blues.  

In cooperation with Stockholm Jazz Festival

Stockholm Jazz Festival is one of the biggest and oldest festivals in Sweden, and takes place between 14 and 23 October 2022. This year’s festival includes major names, such as Ledisi Sings Nina, Rubalcaba, Gretchen Parlato and Hiatus Kaiyote. Stockholm Jazz Festival is held on over fifty stages each year and is attended by around 25,000 Stockholmers in its ten days. Read more about the festival at stockholmjazz.se

Ulf Wakenius is one of Sweden’s most prominent jazz guitarists internationally. He debuted in the 1970s and became a name through the group Hawk On Flight, of which he was a founding member. The duo Guitars Unlimited, with Peter Almqvist, also received significant attention in the 1980s.

Wakenius has worked with a long line of the world’s leading names in jazz, and in 1997 he joined Oscar Peterson’s acclaimed quartet. Oscar Peterson himself described Ulf Wakenius as one of the greatest guitarists. And many excellent guitarists count themselves among Wakenius’ outspoken admirers, including Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, John Scofield and Mike Stern. 

In a tribute to friend, colleague and source of inspiration Oscar Peterson, we hear Ulf Wakenius together with the versatile Hungarian-Canadian pianist Robi Botos, who has drawn inspiration from Oscar Peterson. We also hear a highly skilled rhythm section consisting of Swedish bassist Hans Backenroth, whose credentials are endless, as well as Lewis Nash on drums, one of the most sought-after musicans in jazz and represented on many hundreds of albums. 

In cooperation with Stockholm Jazz Festival (link opens in a new window) 

Dianne Reeves is one of the leading American jazz vocalists of the contemporary era. She is active in the same tradition as legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington and Carmen McRae.

Reeves is deeply rooted in classic jazz and blues, but brings the music into modernity with fresh influences and elements. Throughout her career, Dianne Reeves has regularly moved beyond the borders of jazz to intermingle world music and pop with her own autobiographical songs, inspired by African folk music.

Dianne Reeves and her quartet are beloved return guests. They last visited Konserthuset in autumn 2013. 

Mårten Lundgren and Royal Big Band pay tribute to Dizzy Gillespie.

Trumpet player Mårten Lundgren is one of Sweden’s most renowned arrangers and names in jazz.  He has worked in the Copenhagen-Malmö area for years, but now we finally have the opportunity to hear him in Stockholm. Together with Royal Big Band, he presents a tribute concert to the legendary Dizzy Gillespie.

John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie was one of the leading figures in the evolution of jazz in the 1940s. At this concert, Mårten and Royal Big Band highlight Dizzy’s playful, joyful Afro-Cuban style along with hits from the swing era.  

Mårten Lundgren studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and has played with big bands like Mats Holmqvist’s Stora Stygga, Stockholm Jazz Orchestra, Gugge Hedrenius Big Blues Band, Radiojazzgruppen and Hector Bingert Latin Lover Big Band.  In 1999 he moved to Copenhagen and played with, among others, the Tivoli Big Band and the Danish Radio Big Band, and then moved to Malmö.

Royal Big Band was started in Stockholm in 1992 and has developed into a top-level ensemble. Major sources of inspiration include orchestra leaders like Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones and Gordon Goodwin. The band has previously worked with Monica Dominique and Jonas Kullhammar, among others.