Karl-Martin Almqvist

Karl-Martin Almqvist, saxophonist and composer, is one of the most uniquely personal voices found on the Swedish jazz scene today. He comes from the town of Karlstad, which he left at the age of 18 to take up his studies in music at Skurups Folkhögskola, continuing at the Conservatory of Music in Malmö, then moving on to the Mannes College of Music in New York City in 1994, where he remained for about two years. There Karl-Martin studied with musicians such as George Garzone, Bob Mintzer, Richie Beirach and Reggie Workman. In autumn 1996 he returned to Sweden, and 1998 he made Stockholm his home.

Helge Albin: Homemade

by Fran Kursztejn
April 8, 2025

If the word “fussy" occasionally rears its head when relating the Helge Albin Quintet's newest release, it is not meant as a slight. Albin--an undeniable staple of the Swedish and wider North European jazz scene--is nothing if not insatiable. Before the quintet's founding, he led the impressive Tolvan Big Band, certainly Sweden's most ambitious musical project ...

I Dischi del 2024 secondo Ludovico Granvassu

by Ludovico Granvassu
January 2, 2025

Spesso molti articoli sulle “migliori uscite dell'anno" iniziano con una premessa quasi apologetica ("questi non sono necessariamente 'i migliori album dell'anno,' ma 'i miei preferiti';" “�� tutto soggettivo;" “domani avrei scelto titoli diversi;" “ho potuto selezionare solo dieci album," ecc.)? Queste dichiarazioni sembrano riflettere il disagio del redattore, costretto a riassumere un vasto ecosistema artistico selezionando ...

Ludovico Granvassu's Garden of Jazzy Delights 2024

by Ludovico Granvassu
December 31, 2024

Have you noticed how many “best of the year" listicles start with an apologetic preamble ("these are not necessarily 'the best albums of the year' but 'my favorites';" “it's all subjective;" “tomorrow I might have chosen different titles;" “I could only select ten albums" etc.)? Those disclaimers channel the writer's discomfort of having to summarize a ...

Path

By Mathias Landaeus

Label: SF?R
Released: 2024
Track listing: Body: A Tree Merging with Itself; Reminder; Mind: Saved by Imagination; Free Mess; Spirit: Waving Flags in the Mist; Korall.

Horizon

By Martin Sj?stedt

Label: Ubuntu Music
Released: 2024
Track listing: Butterfly; Intervals; Donna Lee; Horizon; The Wedding; Mulgrew; 26-2; Tengtones; Equinox.

Homemade

By Helge Albin

Label: The End Records
Released: 2024
Track listing: Jeriko. Wineglass .Easy Going. Pallet. Looking Inside. Homemade. Bass Figures. Magic Fingers. Bright Colours. Lutoslawski NO3.

Sweet Dreams

By Kristin Korb

Label: Giant Sheep Music
Released: 2024
Track listing: Sweet Dreams (feat. Karl-Martin Almqvist); There Must Be An Angel (feat. Mathias Heise); Here Comes The Rain Again (feat. Karl-Martin Almqvist); We Two Are One (feat. Steen Nikolaj Hansen); When Tomorrow Comes; Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves (feat. Karl-Martin Almqvist); I Saved The World Today (feat. Steen Nikolaj Hansen); I've Got A Life (feat. Mathias Heise); Don't Let It Bring You Down; Would I Lie To You (feat. Mathias Heise); Put A Little Love In Your Heart; Lifted (feat. Mathias Heise, Karl-Martin Almqvist, and Steen Nikolaj Hansen)

Mathias Landaeus: Path

by Troy Dostert
June 9, 2024

Pianist Mathias Land?us has been a notable presence in Swedish jazz for some time, with his debut leader release, Bl?bete (Amigo Records) dating back to 1996. At times he displays rather adventurous tendencies, revealed keenly in a freewheeling trio with saxophonist Oliver Lake and drummer Kresten Osgood on 2023's Spirit (SF?R), but he also possesses a ...

Abdullah Ibrahim, McCoy Mrubata, Nduduzo Makhathini, Steve Dyer & More

by Ludovico Granvassu
May 30, 2024

Enjoy a set spotlighting fascinating South African projects, their new albums which do a really great job at showing both where these artists are coming from and how they experiment with their roots in unconventional ways. Happy listening! Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Spirits ...