Totally Stockholm 1
Is it difficult building a lineup that strikes th
at perfect balance between the more traditional jazz and whatever else you do to make the festival relevant to music lovers who might not be so well-versed in jazz? The festival works as a kind of ‘umbrella festival’ where we as the central organizers of the festival book some of our bigger stages and the international artists, as well as try to make sure there is a balance between the avantgarde and progressive and the more traditional jazz. Other promoters and venues book their own acts during the course of the ten-day festival and add their programme to the festival, making it an event with around 200 performances on 50 or so stages. In this programme there will be ‘something for everyone’ if you just dedicate yourself even a little to discovering it. A lot of people have a pre-conceived notion of what jazz is, without really having given themselves a chance to discover all the different styles and artists that are out there. Someone saying ‘I don’t like jazz’ seems to me like saying ‘I don’t like rock’ without considering everything from black metal to Elvis. The scope in jazz is just as immense. And how much of a gamble is this economically, right now we don’t know whether you are permitted to sell 500 tickets or only 50 to each show? I guess that makes a huge difference to the bottom line. 500 or 50 tickets will make a huge difference but this year we have a very limited number of bigger concerts in order not to gamble too much financially (and also because of the lack of international artists). Most performances are taking place in smaller venues this year and we have had to negotiate fees with artists. Everyone understands that there is less intake to be shared. The festival also has grants from the municipality, the region, and the Swedish Arts Council, without these grants there would be no festival this year. Rotsystem Isabell Gustafsson, Photo: Maria Leck So in the current circumstances, what’s your greatest hope now when it comes to how this week and a half will pan out? Our greatest hope is that we will be allowed to have a larger audience than 50 at the larger venues, and of course with the overall general situation that the spread of covid continues to decline in our society. We want our audience to feel safe and to be safe, that’s even more important than music right now, but saying that, we can tell that people are hungry for music and concerts. Nearly all of the gigs we released last week sold out in the first hours, though of course there were only 50 tickets to sell. Hopefully we can offer somewhat more soon. Finally, can you give me your three not-to-be-missed highlights from the festival progamme? 4 Wheel Drive – Nils Landgren is an institution in himself in Swedish jazz, the trombonist and singer is immensely popular in Scandinavia and also has a far-reaching international career. In the project 4 Wheel Drive, Nils plays with fellow Swede, the acclaimed double bassist and cellist Lars Danielsson, as well as the German colleagues Michael Wollny (piano) and Wolfgang Haffner (drums). This is jazz that’s easy to take to heart, performed by some of Europe’s foremost instrumentalists. Oscarteatern, Sunday Oct 18 4 Wheel Drive, Photo: Stephen Freiheit Ashley Henry – One of the few international acts of the festival this year (going into quarantine upon arriving back in the UK – thanks for that Ashley!). Ashley Henry is an emerging artist from the extremely buzzing UK jazz scene and part of the Jazz Re:freshed movement. I say emerging, but Ashley has already played with the most influential musicians of his generation; Makaya McCraven, Keyon Harrold and Theo Croker all feature on his debut album from 2019, a jazz album full of influences from hip-hop, funk, and Henry’s own Jamaican heritage. Fasching, Saturday Oct 10 Rotsystem (Isabell Gustafsson-Ny) - Isabell Gustafsson-Ny released the album Rotsystem at the height of the pandemic in April. It’s a beautiful album exploring the theme of ancestry and roots featuring some of the most interesting young musicians right now. Jazz built on elements of free jazz, chamber music, pop and folk with a distinctive Swedish or Scandinavian feel to it. Fylkingen, Thursday Oct 15 10 Ashley Henry, Photo: Max Fairclough Photo: Max Fairclough Photo: Stephen Freiheit Photo: Maria Leck