Jakob Buchanan, Simon Toldam, Chris Speed, Anders Jormin and Artos Quartet
Biographie Jakob Buchanan, Simon Toldam, Chris Speed, Anders Jormin and Artos Quartet
Jakob Buchanan
was born in Viby, Jutland. He was raised in Rosenhøjby his Danish mother and British father. He was the first jazz student ever to be accepted at soloist class of the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus, Denmark. A position from which he has been able to work closely with familiar artists while also creating unexpected con-stellations. His early works were composed for a jazz sextet and released on his first two albums ‘Dreamfactory’ and ‘i’. Since 2008, Jakob Buchanan has been playing and touring with his quartet for longer periods. Percussionist Marilyn Mazur and guitarist Jakob Bro have been members of the Jakob Buchanan Quartet from the beginning.
Bassist Jonas Westergaard replaces pianist Simon Toldam on the latest quartet album ‘Some People & Some Places’. The album was nominated in two categoriesat the Danish Music Awards Jazz 2014: ‘Jazz Album of the Year’, and ‘Jazz Composer of the Year’. For his album ‘Requiem’, Jakob Buchanan won the Danish Music Awards Jazz 2016 ‘Release of the Year’ and ‘Composer of the Year’, and in 2015 the Jazznyt Award.
Jakob Buchanan teaches trumpet and composition at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark and has toured in allScandinavian countrys, Germany, France, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Poland, America, Canada, and Russia. With Marilyn Mazurs Special 4 and the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra.The Requiem:Alarge-scale work which combined elements from the Latin mass for the dead with European choral tradition, Nordic orchestral music and improvisation. In 2001, Jakob Buchanan became the first jazz musician at the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus to take part in the soloist programme, previously reserved for classical students.
Today he teaches composition in the rhythmic department: ‘In Aarhus, you are part of a diverse environment, where jazz is close to classical music, because the Academy has merged the courses. I have always loved the great works and, when I was a student, I could find a way of sneaking in and attending conductors’ rehearsals with strings and orchestras. I studied Russian for acouple of years at the university, and there I discovered Russian avant-garde art from the beginning of the 20th century, including the painter Malevich, who worked with points, lines and surfaces. When I listen to Bach, Tchaikovsky,
Mahler or James Macmillan today, I can find myself listening for the points, the lines and the surfaces of the music. It can be a new way to experience how works are composed.’ Since Requiem, which also saw the beginning of a fruitful collaboration with choral and orchestral conductor Carsten Seyer-Hansen, several orchestral projects have seen the light of day. In 2017, as mentioned, it was
The Voices from Rosenhill written to celebrate Aarhus 2017 –European Capital of Culture. In 2019, Songs To The Green Land for big band, choir and soloists was performed in Aarhus and Copenhagena co-writng project w. Norwegian drummer Helge Andreas Norbakken. Buchanan has also written and recorded with guitarist Jakob Bro a work for choir and instrumental soloists,that have not yet been published. And a new commission awaits it’s releasea piece for Aarhus Jazz Orchestra and the Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir under the direction of Carsten Seyer-Hansenand featuring Marilyn Mazur on percussion. Jakob Buchanan has quietly become a new and exciting voice in Danish orchestral music.Christian Munch-Hansen
Chris Speed
is a composer, clarinetist, and tenor saxophonist whose music, rooted in jazz, stretches across folk, classical, and rock. For nearly three decades, he has been a prominent and influential voice in jazz and improvised music, known for his inventive artistry and genre-defying collaborations.
“A dazzling player of exquisite restraint, intelligence, and range.” — Chicago Reader
“Speed's top-down manner of storytelling is complemented by soaring mini-motifs and graceful descents.” — All About Jazz
“Mr. Speed is a tenor saxophonist and clarinetist who can find the logical strand in an abstract canvas, and turn wobbly irresolution into a form of riveting suspense.” — The New York Times
Born in 1967 and raised in the Seattle area, Speed formed early bonds with Jim Black and Andrew D'Angelo—friendships that later led to the formation of Human Feel in Boston with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. The group produced several acclaimed albums, including Scatter (1992) and Gold (2019).
After studying at the New England Conservatory and touring with the Artie Shaw Band (led by Dick Johnson), Speed moved to New York City, joining Tim Berne’s Bloodcount (e.g., Unwound, Discretion, Saturation Point).
A deep interest in Balkan folk traditions inspired the creation of Pachora (with Black, Brad Shepik, and Skúli Sverrisson), a high-energy ensemble that evolved from traditional covers into an acclaimed original touring band. Speed’s passion for folk music also extended to Slavic Soul Party, with whom he recorded In Makedonija (2002).
His band Yeah NO (with Cuong Vu, Sverrisson, Black) was an experiment in shaping spontaneous improvisation into formal compositions, mixing jazz, rock, eastern folk, and minimalism (Emit 2000, Swell Henry 2004).
The Clarinets (with Oscar Noriega and Anthony Burr) explores acoustic ambient music through extended clarinet techniques and group improvisation. Their work has been praised for blurring the line between composed chamber music and experimental improvisation and was featured on NPR’s Fresh Air.
Endangered Blood —formed in 2008 with Black, Noriega, and Trevor Dunn— was born from benefit concerts for Andrew D'Angelo and evolved into a powerhouse group combining post-bop, New Orleans funeral marches, chromaticism, avant-garde jazz, and punk energy (Work Your Magic 2013, NPR Tiny Desk Concert 2012).
In 2014, Speed formed the Chris Speed Trio with drummer Dave King and bassist Chris Tordini, putting a fresh spin on the classic sax-bass-drums lineup. The trio digs deep into jazz tradition while drawing on years of boundary-pushing experience, creating music that's direct, melodic, and full of subtle invention. Their recordings — Really OK, Platinum On Tap, Respect For Your Toughness, and Despite Obstacles — highlight Speed's knack for writing tunes that are both catchy and rich with possibility.
Broken Shadows (with Tim Berne, Reid Anderson, and Dave King) reinterprets the music of Ornette Coleman and Julius Hemphill with raw energy and modernist improvisation, drawing on deep American roots (Broken Shadows, 2019 Intakt).
Most recently, Speed joined the pioneering jazz group The Bad Plus, bringing his distinctive voice to their evolving sound.
Anders Jormin
born 1957 in Jönköping, Sweden, has been hailed by Down Beat as “a treasure – everything a bassist should be”. The son of a jazz musician, he graduated from Gothenburg’s Musikhögskolan with diplomas in double-bass and improvisation/pedagogy in 1979. He was influenced not just by his classical and jazz training, but also Sweden’s folk tradition; he recalled to John Kelman: “I always had those three things going on in my head. I take all my inspirations and influences into some kind of melting pot inside my heart, and what comes out is, I hope, my personality.”
By the mid-80s Jormin was firmly established on the Swedish scene. He arrived at ECM thanks to pianist Bobo Stenson, who showcased him in his trio and brought him into the groups of Charles Lloyd and Tomasz Stanko.. Albums under Jprmin’sown name for the label include Xieyi (meaning “to write”), which juxtaposes pieces for solo bass with compositions for brass ensemble; the song cycle In winds, in light, for a group whose personnel includes US pianist Marilyn Crispell and Swedish folksinger Lena Willemark; Ad Lucem, which includes settings of Latin verse composed by Jormin; and Trees of Light with Willemark and koto player Karin Nakagawa.
For almost 30 years Jormin has been a teacher of double bass and improvisation at Gothenburg’s Musikhögskolan, where he has played a key role in building up a leading improvised music department. In 2003 he was given an honorary doctorate at Finland’s Sibelius Academy. He is four-times winner of Sweden’s annual award for the best jazz recording and is the first contemporary improviser ever to become a member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Music.
“My aim as an artist was always simply to find and explore my own natural voice, my own conception of playing my instrument, and my music within the very generous but still style-founded field we call ‘improvised music’.”
Simon Toldam
“Simon Toldam ... one of the most impressive figures on the bustling Scandinavian improvised music scene.” - Peter Margasak, DownBeat
“Together these three musicians (Simon Toldam Trio) have created their own sound, their own way of seing and hearing.” — JAKOB BÆKGAARD, ALL ABOUT JAZZ
The award winning pianist and composer Simon Toldam is one of Scandinavia’s most exciting and distinguished musicians, having released 20 albums as a leader and co-leader. He is a five-time winner of Danish Music Awards - among these “Orchestra of the Year” and “Best Album of the Year” - recipient of the prestigious 3-year grant from The Danish Arts Foundation and AUTOR´s prize of honour. Toldam is a member of the Danish jazz and contemporary music recording label - ILK Music.
Toldam started his first trio at the age of 9, and has since then been leading and co-leading several groups playing jazz, improv and beyond. Composition and improvisation has always been – and still are - the mainpillars in the musical carrier of this versatile player. He has composed music for orchestras of various size all the way from solo to 20-piece orchestras, for film, theatre, contemporary dance, and has been official Festival Composer at Cph Jazzfestival .
Besides leading/co-leading a number of groups, Toldam is in demand on the scene as sideman in various, jazz/new music settings, and as teacher on the conservatories in DK.
Toldam main focus is currently leading Simon Toldam Trio, performing his solo-piano-piece Five little pieces of time, the hymnotic scandinavian constellation Tak For Dit Brev, and the trio Luope, that work in a realm they call Magnified Micro Music. All constellations presenting the music of Toldam, showing all of his orchestrational abilities and his intriguing way of conveying his own music.
