The Victoria Jazz Orchestra is pleased to present the jazz orchestra works of Swedish composer Ann-Sofi Söderqvist on November 19, along with the works of Monik Nordine, who travelled to Stockholm in 2021 to study music and compose for this concert.
When music lovers think of Sweden, they might think first of ABBA, or metal bands like Meshuggah, but the history of jazz music from Sweden is also linked with some of our most celebrated sounds, such as trombonist Nils Landgren, who often played with saxophonist Maceo Parker, and bassist Palle Danielsson of Keith Jarrett’s European Quartet.
Jazz orchestral music is a genre that has its roots in the sounds of Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson, and is typically concert music as opposed to dance music. Moving through the 20th century, it includes artists such as Claude Thornhill, Gil Evans and Stan Kenton. And, of course, one of the biggest influences in jazz orchestra music today is that of Canadian composer and trumpet player Kenny Wheeler.
The Ann-Sofi Söderqvist Jazz Orchestra is one of Europe’s finest sounds in this idiom, and the Victoria Jazz Orchestra will be playing four selections from their 2018 recording Live at Fasching.
Also on the program is the music written in Sweden by Nordine under Söderqvist’s mentorship, including “The COVID-19 Blues,” written by Nordine, “Let Your Heart Sing” by Sonny Greenwich, and “The River” by Canadian artist Coco Love Alcorn.
The orchestra will have the great pleasure of backing vocalist Jennifer Scott, one of the most important jazz artists working in Canada and the US today.
Nordine is a freelance saxophonist, composer and bandleader who works mainly in the jazz, blues, Latin, folk, pop and world music idioms. She leads her own trio and quartet, and directs the Victoria Jazz Orchestra. She has performed with Hugh Fraser and VEJI, the Hard Rubber Orchestra, Ian McDougall, Rob McConnell, Guido Basso, Michael Bublé, the Victoria Symphony Orchestra and more. DownBeat magazine has praised her “solid performance and writing chops.” She has recorded three albums as a leader, and they can be found at moniknordine.bandcamp.com. Learn more at moniknordine.ca.
The Music from Sweden concert is being held at Hermann’s Upstairs Lounge on Saturday, November 19 starting at 8 pm. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased from the Hermann’s website at hermannsjazz.com.