Totally Stockholm 1
Charles Lloyd and Bill Frisell Eric Birath, Photo
: Miki Anagrius Fasching In Bloom is a concert series taking place in the garden below ArkDes and Moderna Museet, on the island of Skeppsholmen. The series include 13 open-air events, ranging from the intergalactic mash-up of British band The Comet is Coming to Sara Parkman’s modern and mysterious take on Swedish folk music, with an added dash of heavy beats, Gregorian chants and dirty violins. But mainly, the line-up leans towards jazz. Both in the traditional sense and the contemporary one, and with names both international and domestic, new and old. And a visit from the pop super-and-ever-moresupergroup Amason. Eric Birath is Fasching and Stockholm Jazz Festival’s head honcho. He’s been leading the project to take live music back to Skeppsholmen. He kindly talked us through the various twists and turns on the path to music wafting over the Picasso statues in The Skeppsholmen garden. The Cometh is Coming, Photo: Josh Cheuse Fasching in Bloom marks the return of jazz and live music to Skeppsholmen. Is there a part of yourself, and Stockholm Jazz Festival, that longs for the good old days with an open-air summertime festival? And does this represent a good compromise, of a return to the outdoor scene, while still keeping the now established, and weather-protected, indoor festival in October? Isn’t there a part of us all that longs for great music in a beautiful outdoor setting, a cold beer in hand and good friends to share the moment with? We are super happy about the indoor jazz festival in October, that has the security and perfect setting for each performance, but we also felt that the Stockholm summer lacked something – namely jazz! There are a lot of things going on in Stockholm during the summer, but we felt that no one really catered to our audience and to musicians - thus the idea of In Bloom was born. We want to give Stockholmers and visitors a chance to experience Fasching, and the music we love, in a wonderful setting and we could think of no better place for this than Skeppsholmen. Explain how the Fasching in Bloom series of concerts came about? And tell us more about the exact location. The idea came about because we wanted to stretch our programme over summer, so that people could experience the music we love, even during the outdoor season. Fasching club is a great place for gigs but in July and August we all want to be outdoors, not inside a dark jazz club. In Bloom is taking place in the green garden next to, or to the right of, ArkDes and the Moderna Museet, the entrance is from Exercisplan, where the entrances to the museums are as well. Some people might know it from the huge Picasso statues in the garden. 9 Emma Jean Thackray, Photo: Joe Magowan