Since I am big believer that Jazz is a living, breathing, evolving organism, staying on top of recent developments is crucial to the notion that Jazz ain’t dead, it ain’t even resting. It’s gone from Urban outlier to Citizen of the world and that comes with a sigh of relief.
Magnus Lindgren may not be new but he’s part of that generation of Jazz musicians actively engaged in sculpting and adding to the conversation. He’s here with the SWR BigBand and Meddy Gerville on piano and vocals.
As a young musician, Magnus Lindgren performed with Herbie Hancock in 1993; he joined the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra in 1995, where he played with Bob Mintzer, Maria Schneider, and Jim McNeely. He started a jazz septet in 1994, and a quartet in 1997.
As he developed his career, he expanded his sphere of influence beyond Sweden. He played at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2000. He also began a collaboration with opera singer Barbara Hendricks in 2002, and worked with James Ingram in Los Angeles in 2004. He performed at the Montreux jazz festival with his quartet in 2006. In 2009, he traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, to record with Brazilian musicians, and later performed with Brazilian composer and singer Ivan Lins.
Lindgren and his band, “Batucada Jazz,” toured the world in 2010. He released an album, also titled Batucada Jazz, in the spring of 2009. It features Kiko Continentino on piano, Leonardo Amuedo on guitar, Armando Marcal and Pirulito on percussion with a guest spot by Nils Landgren. The album was nominated for a Grammis (the Swedish equivalent to the Grammys).
So we have a lot to look forward to, not only from Magnus Lindgren but the whole new generation coming along and falling in love with the freedom of Jazz and the gorgeous tapestry it brings with it.
Always – always – always keep your mind open. Amazing things are everywhere.
Dive in.
