Mats Gustafsson

Born: October 29, 1964

Mats Gustafsson was born 1964 in Ume?, is a Swedish saxophone player and a stalwart on the Scandinavian free jazz scene. He first came to the attention of lovers of improvised music as part of a duo with Christian Munthe in 1986 and the band Gush. He has later played widely with musicians such as Peter Br?tzmann, Joe McPhee, Paul Lovens, Barry Guy and Derek Bailey. Since the early 1990s, Mats Gustafsson has been a regular visitor to the U.S., forming a particular affinity with Chicago musicians such as Hamid Drake, Michael Zerang and Ken Vandermark and recording for the city��s OkkaDisk label.

In addition to projects with musicians, Mats Gustafsson has worked extensively with artists from the worlds of dance, theatre, poetry and painting.

PIVOT

By Mats Gustafsson

Label: Silkheart Records
Released: 2025
Track listing: The Sensation of Sliding; Blowing out from Chicago; Epistemological Glide; Drops of Sorrow. Accelerating; PIVOT Duos 1; PIVOT Duos 2; PIVOT Duos 3; PIVOT Duos 4; PIVOT Duos 5; PIVOT Duos 6; Unmeasured Mile; I am aware. Standing in Snow.; Drifting against the Wind.; Popular Music Theory.

Loke Risberg: Solo

by Alberto Bazzurro
September 9, 2025

Abbinando brani suoi (per lo pi��) e di altri (fra cui Bach e Berg), in questo album inciso nell'ottobre 2022 ma uscito solo di recente Loke Risberg, al secolo Eva Susanna Linn��a Risberg, chitarrista svedese (quasi) trentacinquenne, gi�� a fianco, fra gli altri, di Maria Schneider e Mats Gustafsson, approda alla formula del solo, sfoggiando una ...

Tatsuya Yoshida / Mart��n Escalante: The Sound of Raspberry

by Mark Corroto
September 4, 2025

This LP may be the revelation of 2025--or a sonic ordeal, depending on your tolerance for noise and your grasp of history. Japanese drummer Tatsuya Yoshida and Mexican saxophonist Martín Escalante met at the perfect moment in December 2023 to record 14 tracks at Tokyo's Bar Aja. The result, The Sound of Raspberry, is the love ...

Scheen Jazzorkester & Fredrik Ljungkvist: Framat!

by Mark Corroto
June 8, 2025

Scandinavian large ensembles have much to teach their more conservative American counterparts about reinventing the jazz orchestra for the 21st century. Fram?t! by Scheen Jazzorkester is a powerful affirmation of this idea. This Norwegian ensemble has consistently pushed the boundaries of large ensemble jazz, and Fram?ti--their tenth release since forming in 2010--is another compelling addition to ...

Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville 2025

by Mike Chamberlain
May 30, 2025

Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville Victoriaville, Quebec May 12-18, 2025 The 41st edition of the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville was the second with Scott Thomson as artistic director, after taking the reins of the festival from festival founder and artistic director Michel Levasseur following the 39th edition ...

Archer: Sudden Dusk

by Mark Corroto
March 30, 2025

Saxophonist and label chief Dave Rempis invites listeners to come for the punk rock and stay for the meditation session. With his new quartet, Archer, the Chicagoan joins forces with Dutch guitarist Terrie Ex and the Norwegian rhythm duo of bassist Jon Rune Strøm and drummer Tollef Østvang. Sudden Dusk captures two live performances from the ...

Emilio Solla: Uncovering Music Already There

by Dean Nardi
February 26, 2025

In the '40s, the jazz scene was dominated by bebop with its roots in swing music, formerly the purview of the big band era. Trios and quartets became the combo of choice for players such as Charlie “Yardbird" Parker and Thelonious Monk, who took the harmonies of the old jazz and superimposed them on chord substitutions, ...

Sons d'Hiver 2025

by Luciano Rossetti
February 25, 2025

Tribute To Peter Brotzmann at Pardon To Tu

by Ziga Koritnik
January 6, 2025

A collection of musicians portraits from the 3 Nights In Tribute To Peter Br?tzmann at Pardon, To Tu in Warsaw, Poland, from May 27 to May 29, 2024; featuring Caspar Brotzmann, Mats Gustafsson, John Corbett, Joe McPhee, Hamid Drake, Paal Nilssen-Love, Keiji Haino, Jason Adasiewicz, Mette Rasmussen, Virgina Genta, Marino Pliakas, Michael Wertmuller, Jan St. Werner, ...