The December holidays and the ditto sale are since long over, and now we all are into those long toiling weeks of work, with no longer holidays – in Sweden, at least – until spring break and Easter holidays far later – when winter has turned into Spring. Also: This winter – again: at least in Sweden – being unusually warm, rainy and murky without any real change in sight, doesn’t help making this period any easier.

With those prospects, I find it encouraging and energizing to have fun things to look forward to, and one such thing is that Huddinge Big Band will hold a following-up concert of the Diane Schuur-project they performed in June last year. The concert will be held at Scandic Bredden in collaboration with the cultural association Bio Sober on Sunday February 19th. More info on that event will be published later.

Another such thing to look forward to, is a just started collaboration with the eminent (and very nice) orchestra Immanuel Big Band, which supposedly will result in the performing of my music later this spring. More information will be published here later.

The third thing to look forward to, is the composing of new Big Band music, which has begun again in earnest after a break during the Holidays. The composing for the Japanese-influenced project is proceeding both with writing lyrics – about the earlier mentioned Nué – and composing music to already completed lyrics – about persons with dubious personalities in a song titled “City Bird” for a female vocalist. Six songs for the project are already finished, and another two are on the piano composing-stand, and it’s an energizing feeling to see everything coming nicely into finished songs and arrangements. All those compositions will be published here upon completion.

I wish and hope that you all visiting here can find your own things that give you energy, strength and good prospects to endure these weeks without any real long weekends or holidays – at least for us in Sweden. Until spring really sets in to make everything a little brighter and lighter, and the more substantial holidays coming up later can give rest and recuperation.

After an intensive, inspiring and invigorating rehearsal period (from which this photo above is taken), Huddinge Big Band featuring Anna Häll as vocalist will perform the concert “Standard Story” under my conducting at Huddinge Gymnasium’s assembly hall this coming Wednesday, the 16/11. Doors open at 19:00 hrs, and concert start is 19:30. Admission is 100:- with free entrance for those of age fifteen and under.

There will also be coffee and some homemade pastries for sale in the foyer.

Concert length is just above one hour.

Very, very WELCOME!

Entering September, I can state that this year’s Summer Sale ended with August. As usual, I continue to play, compose, and work. There are some fun projects coming up, and I will post more information about those as they approach.

The main writing issue for now is my “Yokai” project, which comes along very well, with a lot of fun and inspiration. Lyrics are being written, music is being composed to those texts, and along with a completed, brooding lyrics about lost friendships, I now draft a text about the mysterious and quite sinister yokai, the Nue. A creature which – as far as I understand it – has the body of a tiger-pawed horse, a monkey’s head and a snake for tail (see the picture to the right). It apparently inhabits the sky and seems to be hostile to humans. The resulting compositions will be published here upon completion.

I wish all of you northerners visiting here, a really nice start of the Autumn, while I wish all you from the southern hemisphere to enjoy an oncoming, beautiful spring. Wherever you are, though: Beware of Nue:s!

It’s unfortunate and sad, but sometimes creative inspiration comes from bad and horrible events and phenomenons, as is the case with this latest addition to the web shop, the composition “Black Cat Blues”, which from today is available (at a discount from the start).

This new piece is a thirteen bar blues with lyrics, written by me, portraying the gloominess and fear coming from witnessing abuse, exploitation and soiling of innocence, youth, beauty, peacefulness and openness. Naming some of the means used to make these encroachments possible, and hints at what befalls those who pursue these things.

The actual composition itself was ultimately prompted by the cowardly Russian assault on Ukraine on February 24:th, but bits and pieces of the lyrics had continuously been coming together over the years seeing the reprehensible and detestable lives and customs of people like Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell (among far too many others), who used power, monetary wealth, social standing and networks of similarly inclined low-lifes to exploit both people and resources to promote their perverted and sleazy life styles. People whom use their resourceful personas only to amass wealth enough to enable them to take out their perversions and whims on all and everything.

To express my contempt and derision of people like that, I put together the lyrics and composed this blues in an attempt to show that evil is prevalent among seemingly highly socialised but powerful people, and that too many let the strife for wealth and power dull or outright kill their intellectual, mental and empathical abilities. Only to leave them as preying ghouls, whom think it’s in their rights to invade, abuse the young (mostly women and girls), kill displeasing persons, overly consume environmental resources or just take their whims out on others, no matter what.

The Summer Sale is on until August 31:st. Take the opportunity to buy exciting Big Band charts at a discount. 30% off on all compositions, and 25% off on all arrangements.

I wish all of you visiting here, a really nice and relaxing Summer!

Wednesday June 8th at 19:00, Huddinge Big Band will hold a Diane Schuur tribute concert in Sjödalsparken at Huddinge centrum under my direction and conducting. The concert will be the entire repertoire from the famous 1987 recording of Diane backed up by The Count Basie Orchestra, which has been a huge influence and inspiration for me.

The concert is the result of me spending many years – and quite a lot of money – on chasing down all the eminent charts presented on that record, and when I finally could get hold of the last arrangements last year, I turned to HBB with a proposal of them reproducing the concert as celebration of an influential record and performance. For this concert, the eminent Anna Häll will be the vocalist.

The concert is open for everyone; there is no admittance. Click this link for more information: Park Activities Summer Program 2022, Huddinge.

Welcome!

There will also be a Summer Sale, starting on June 1st, during which prices on all arrangements will be reduced by 25% and all compositions by 30%. Take this opportunity to buy great and stimulating charts for your Big Band at reduced prices, to kickstart the (now still far off) Autumn rehearsals.