Daniel Karlsson Trio
Wednesday 13 November 2019
The Daniel Karlsson trio’s music is described as distinctive and extrovert. The band adopts the standard piano trio format, but the music is anything but formulaic. Influences such as 60s jazz, club music, dance and electronica, soul and pop are evident, but with a clear Nordic scent of EST. It makes for great listening. All the music is penned by Daniel Karlsson. The Trio have, since their album debut Das Taxibåtin September 2013, established themselves as one of the most interesting bands in Swedish and European jazz.
They achieved a hat-trick of awards with their sophomore release Fusion for Fish, released in August 2014. The album ended up winning the Swedish Radio’s Jazz Group of the Year Award 2014, Swedish jazz magazine OJ’s Golden Disc 2015 as well as the Swedish Jazz Grammy 2015.
Daniel Karlsson is a member of the Magnus Öström Band and you can tell instantly that there’s a strong rhythmic component to this music with a modern, metronomic and hypnotic drum beat to many tracks that suggests a family lineage back to E.S.T. as well as the the rich Nordic heritage in jazz piano.
Karlsson has played with most of the contemporary Swedish greats and many European stars so he’s earned his jazz spurs. He is also well known for his work in highly merited Oddjob. He has also been a frequent collaborator with, among others, Till Brönner, Nils Landgren, Viktoria Tolstoy and Rigmor Gustafsson. In 2005 he was nominated Jazz Artist of the Year and released Pan-Pan, his first album in his own name. Christian has also toured with Rigmor and Nils and been heard with jazz icons such as Peter Erskine, Bobo Stenson and Jon Christensen. Fredrik has also, among others, played with Bobo Stenson and Palle Danielsson. In recent years he has most frequently been heard in indie pop star Sarah Blasko’s band.
Their 2016 release, their third album, At the Feel Free Falafel also garnered a lot of attention with favourable reviews and extensive radio. Their fourth release Ding Dong was nominated for a Swedish Grammy Award for best jazz album in 2018. Their fifth outing, aptly titled No. 5, was released in march 2018. Their sixth outing Fuse Number Eleven will be released in October 2019.
The trio play unashamedly modern European jazz that is rooted in the rich soil of the contemporary scene, rather than reaching back into the past.
The Daniel Karlsson Trio are: Daniel Karlsson – piano & keyboards. Christian Spering – double bass. Fredrik Rundqvist – drums & percussion.
“Many bands are described as being a ‘Power Trio’ and, to my ears, none fit the description better than this award-winning Swedish band.” Review live gig at Jazz Cafe, Newcastle Sep. 2018