Brazilian Jazz Project 2024

I was brought up in Malmö in the south of Sweden. Not a very big city but a very multicultural one. There’s a saying that goes « If you’ve seen Malmö, you’ve seen the world! ». When you grow up there chances are you will interact and make friends with people of different cultures from all over the world, hear their music and their language. In addition to discovering and falling in love with jazz as a teenager I was very moved and deeply inspired by Brazilian music when I got exposed to it, first by a music teacher and then by a drummer friend who had an impressive record collection. The richness of this music is simply incredible, the rhythms of course but also the intriguing melodies and sophisticated harmonies. It can be overwhelming at times! I had to listen and study a lot to learn how to play the different rhythms, bossanova, samba, afoxé, partido alto etc. For years now I have played a lot of Brazilian music and composed and released a few samba and bossanova type of tunes and I am getting a hang of it. Right from the start I also liked the smooth phonetics of the language, Brazilian Portuguese, and just knew that I would learn to speak it some day in the future. In recent years I’ve been to the country several times and during my last visit I met some very talented musicians and decided to record a new album with them in São Paulo in July 2024! Salomão Soares is an amazing pianist with a very unique voice on the instrument. He has an original and personal way of playing, percussive and lyrical at the same time. I made an interview with him and we also recorded a tune together. We connected right away because like all great musicians he has a great time feel and huge ears. The list of artists Carlos Bala has played with reads like a who’s who of modern Brazilian music. I heard him playing live for the first time with his jazz quartet in a club in São Paulo and he gave me the chills. He lays down such a steady groove and is also very expressive with his sophisticated fills. Carlinhos Noronha is a 5-string bass virtuoso and one of the most sought after bassists on the scene today in São Paulo thanks to his solid and impeccable pocket. I have heard him live several times and he plays all the different rhythms so effortlessly and solos in a very expressive way. I am writing new music especially for this project and these musicians. This will be my fifth album as a leader. I really need your help to achieve this project that is both an international encounter and a beautiful musical journey!