THE JAZZCATS take you back to the time when the Savoy Ballroom was at its peak with dance, laughter, and people toasting into the wee hours. Some of Sweden’s foremost young jazz musicians have come together in one band to carry on the tradition of jazz.
The Jazzcats sounds like a big band but in a smaller and more intimate format with a unique “horn section,” consisting of trombone, clarinet, and violin. The repertoire includes instrumental jazz from the golden era of swing and contains songs written by composers such as Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, and Count Basie as well as vocal hits made famous by Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. The upcoming album is a lovely mix of old musical songs, lindy hop hits and famous big band songs, which will instantly put you in a good mood!
The debut album “Come Fly With Me” is released and is available on all digital platforms.
Listen to the album here
“We are proud to present this very exciting and personal group from Stockholm at the Classic Jazz Festival. They emphatically show how professional young musicians of today can in a virtuoso and musical way manage and develop jazz traditions of the 1930s / 40s. We promise an exceptionally charming swing experience!”
Classic Jazz Festival, 2018
Alexander Ivarsson
Alexander is the clarinetist and the singer of the band. As a clarinetplayer he is influenced by Åke Hasselgård, Putte Wickman and Buddy DeFranco and has developed a style of playing that lies in the borderland between bebop, swing and blues. He is one of few jazz musicians in Sweden who has clarinet as main instrument and he is the first clarinetist in history to graduate from the Bachelor’s Program in Jazz-Performance at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. He has played with artists such as Victoria Tolstoy, Peter Asplund and also sat in the orchestra behind Nils Landgren, Svante Thuresson and Lill Lindfors, among otehrs.
Agnes Darelid
Agnes is a trombonist originally from Gothenburg but has been living in Stockholm for three years. She has studied the jazz bachelor program at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, and before that the jazz programs at Bollnäs folkhögskola and Skurups folkhögskola. She rund her own band Agnes Darelid Group, and is a member of Susanna Risberg Septett and the salsa band Beat Company. Beside that she has played with, for example, Blue House Jazz Orchestra, Tjuvjakt, Elaria Orchestra and on the tv-show Skavlan.
Oskar Mattsson
Oskar grew up in Vindeln and has since 2013 been working as a freelance drummer in Stockholm. After his studies at the Royal College of Music he has mainly played in the jazz genre, including his own band Sthlm Monroes. In addition to music, he has an interest in finance and are currently working as a project accountant at Live Nation Sweden.
Alf Carlsson
Alf was born and raised in Stockholm and freelances in various genres, such as jazz, rock and pop. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the jazz musician program at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and in 2013 he was awarded the prestigious Albin Hagström Scholarship for upcoming guitarists in popular music. In 2016 he was also awarded the National Scholarship for the Royal Musical Academy. In recent years he has toured extensively with the international band Alf Carlsson / Jiri Kotacha Quartet in countries like Germany, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Samuel Löfdahl
Samuel comes from Skepptuna and has studied jazz bachelor at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. Before that he studied at the jazz musician program at Södra Latins Gymnasium and Lunnevads folkhögskola. Samuel freelances in several different genres and masters both electric and double bass. In addition to freelancing, he also teaches electric bass at Södra Latins Gymnasium.
Terese Lien Evenstad
Terese was born in Norway and is the first jazz violinist in history to graduate from the Bachelor’s Program in Jazz-Performance at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. Her music and performances have led to a nomination in the prestigious jazz prize of Jazzkatten in the category ”Newcomer of the year 2018” which is awarded by the Swedish national radio P2. She was also awarded the ”Louis Armstrong-scholarship” by Classic Jazz Association in 2018 and “J:son scholarship” in 2019 by Janne Schaffer. She was nominated for the concert series ”Young Swedish Soloist 2019” produced by Scenkonst Sörmland and “Up & Coming 2019” and performed with Bohuslän Big Band.