Bobo Stenson solo

(SWE)

“My playing has become simpler and more precise. I’ve come closer to what I want to say and more straightforward”, the great Swedish pianist says of his style, which has always been quite lyrical at the core. This time we can really get to its essence, as he performs solo.

Bobo Stenson, born in Västerås 1944, started playing the piano at five. The beginning was classical, but at 12 he got into blues and jazz. He still loves and plays especially Bach, though jazz became his personal musical language. Early on he had an identifiable style, though he took influences from many pianists, like Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett. In the late 60’s Stenson accompanied countless visiting Americans, like Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Gary Burton and worked closely with trumpeter Don Cherry, who had moved to Sweden. At that time he pretty much defined modern Swedish jazz piano.

The 70’s were very intense for the pianist, who signed with the famous ECM label and started a long-lasting trio with Norwegians Arild Andersen and Jon Christensen. Rena Rama was another long-term band, as is Stenson’s current trio with Anders Jormin and Jon Fält. He has also many other projects with his trio as the core. Jan Garbarek, Charles Lloyd and Tomasz Stanko have been his close recording and live partners for years. Stenson’s latest album is Indicum with his trio, released by ECM last year.