Jazz at Konserthuset

The trailblazing guitarist returns to Konserthuset. Pat Metheny has had a remarkably long career by now, yet his curiosity has never waned. Few, if any, can match his versatility. A true musical explorer, he has engaged in numerous collaborations over the years – often beyond the realm of jazz. Metheny has performed with the likes of Ornette Coleman and Herbie Hancock but has also worked with Steve Reich and David Bowie, to name just a few.

At Konserthuset Stockholm, he presents his latest album, Dream Box (2023) – a collection of solo pieces recorded over several years while on tour, based on musical ideas he stumbled upon on a long-forgotten hard drive.

Metheny has a habit of quickly recording ideas as they emerge. “As I listened through these sessions, I gradually began to sift through the material and realised that a coherent whole was taking shape. I discovered that, without meaning to, I had arrived at a destination I hadn’t planned – and I’m looking forward to sharing what was hidden there.”

Pat Metheny made his debut at Konserthuset Stockholm in 1989 and last visited us in 2022.

Experience the phenomenal Stockholm Swing All Stars in concert, with hits composed by stars such as George Gershwin and Duke Ellington, as well as less familiar greats, like Ann Ronell and Bert Kaempfert.

We also get to enjoy lyrical, beautiful and swinging jazz masterpieces by the same composers. But whether or not these masterpieces have become hits, this concert features the coolest and best jazz tunes in brand new arrangements created by the band, for the band.

Hear “Summertime” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, all filtered through Stockholm Swing All Stars’ dazzling improvisations, playfulness and brilliant arrangements infused with history, modernity, and maybe even a hint of the future.

It will be swinging, beautiful and grotesque, and dig deep in the mire of the blues; it will sometimes be sweet and cute – and sometimes dark and dreary. But most of all, it will be fun!

The band members are among Sweden’s leading and most popular jazz musicians and for over 20 years – since they were promising young up-and-comers – they have joined forces as Stockholm Swing All Stars to dig deep into the foundations of jazz. Each one is a fantastic musician in their own right, but together, they form something even greater: a unique band that is simultaneously preserving and renewing jazz. Their latest album is “Play the Jazz Hits”, which came out in 2024.

It began as an experiment exactly twenty years ago. That was when Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu, French accordionist Richard Galliano and Swedish pianist Jan Lundgren first came together for a series of concerts that resulted in the first Mare Nostrum album.

Three different musical backgrounds and three individual styles are fused here into a shared mare nostrum – “our sea.” “We share the same philosophy and meet in mutual understanding,” Jan Lundgren emphasises. “This collaboration has strengthened my belief that what we call jazz can encompass so very much.”

The trio has now reached Mare Nostrum IV. And once again, we can delight in and be fascinated by how these three musicians combine the freedom of jazz with their individual influences – spanning folk music, classical and popular music.

Across three concerts in the Grünewald Hall this autumn, Magnus Lindgren has invited musical friends – one international guest per occasion. This intimate venue features a rarely used stage platform that rises from the centre of the floor, creating a space for musical encounters with the audience seated all around. A jazz ring, of sorts.

First up is Italian artist Chiara Civello – vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist. On this occasion, she sings and plays guitar. Her style is characterised by openness, and it’s neither traditional jazz nor something that could quite be called pop – let’s simply call it Chiara Civello. She has released a handful of albums.

Magnus Lindgren’s artistry, too, is marked by openness and curiosity. Over the years, the jazz musician Lindgren has explored everything from Brazilian samba to Swedish folk music. For 20 years, he also co-led Konserthuset’s own big band, the Blue House Jazz Orchestra, together with trumpeter Peter Asplund. He has released seven albums and in recent years collaborated with artists such as John Beasley and Germany’s SWR Big Band.