notes from a musician

Unfortunately when I had the best flow I was not focused on making notes of all fantastic gigs I think I was lucky to do.

I confess to not have being the busiest semi professional player but I have at least done enough to have got a feeling of what a professional carrier is like or could have been. I have played with the best Swedish musicians around at one time...and I have not stopped playing so the best gigs may still be ahead of me, somwhere round the corner :-)

It was during the late 80's to the mid 90's while I was working full time as a music teacher that I also was lucky to sub with some of the best bands that were around in Stockholm. I do remember one Concert in particular with Lasse Samuelsson and his great Big Band accompanying Georgie Fame at The Grand Finale of the Stockholm Water Festival a Sunday 14/8 1994. I have also done some touring with Lasse Samuelsson and Georgie Fame to Dalhalla and also with the drummer and singer Rune Carlssons band, substituting on first trombone on a tour in southern Sweden. I'm proud to have played with the Count Basie/Duke Ellington trumpeter Willy Cook who had moved to Sweden and was a member of that band and also on the same tour. Of course I have also "subbed" on numerous gigs - dances and concerts - in the Stockholm area both with those bands as well as with other bands for example with the saxophone player/arranger/composer Bernt Rosengren, in his big band, and Ronny Gardiner at "Gröna Lund", Leif Kronlund at "Skansen" and "Jonny Ohlssons" Big Band (also) at the Stockholm Water Festival. Jonny Ohlsson had a band that bloomed for a few years. At one short period he had all the TV-show gigs. This is just to name a few names who still are known in Sweden at this time. There are a lot of others but they were only locally known in the Stockholm area and most of them are forgotten today.

All this happened in about the same short period when I had the flow. I will point that I never had the chance or was asked to be a permanent member of any of these orchestras or bands that I subbed with. If had got that question I had accepted right away.

I'm also very lucky to have done a few CD-recordings. The two I'm more happy with are "Gunnars fem fingrar" with a studio orchestra playing some original Big Band music written by the pianoplayer and entertainer Gunnar "Helmer Bryd" Svensson futuring Putte Wickman, one of Swedens finest jazz musicians on clarinet. I also did a studiorecording with singer/actor/dancer Jan Malmsjö. A long wish/dream he had to sing some sacred music - hymns mostly - in arrangements of Lasse Samuelsson and others. I have also done some classical concerts too, mostly in churches with semi professional symphony orchestras or brass ensambles.

In 1996 I switched career to computer programming and stopped playing for four years. I even declared to all the contacts I had that I would never pick it up again. Stupid? Yes, but that was how I felt about it at the time, and the studies I had to do for the new carrier needed all my time anyhow. I came back to playing again in the year 2000. It did not take long to come back.

What I'm most proud of is to have been a part of the New Years Eve Concerts in "Berwald Hallen" in Stockholm with "The Stockholm Strauss Orchestra" on the second trombone alongside Christer Torge on first trombone and Sven Larsson on Bass Trombone and Tuba. I did this two years in a row, I think it was to celebrate new year 2002 and 2003. They happened after I had done some years of computer studies and had a couple of years on the new job as a programmer. It happened after I had took up my musical ambitions again.

I think of those concerts sometimes. All were great moments. The rehearsals and the six concerts I did with "The Stockholm Strauss Orchestra" will never be forgotten by me. They are memories for life.

There will never be a full time musical carreer for me as a trombone player for a couple of main reasons. First is there are very few jobs for musicians on trombone; Second there are simply to many good trombone players around; Third is I have a good regular job which gives me the income I need and I do appreciate that job very much. To play as a semi professonal musician suits me fine, it is like a hobby. Allways fun and I've found that the extra money I get from music is so much more welcomed when it comes as a bonus. As a semi professional player I don't rely on it for food on the table or roof over my head. I think this is one thing what makes it more fun nowadays.

Even if my time for music now is secondary it is still nice to meet an audience once in a while and make some music. This means I always long for the next gig. You can see excerpts of what I'm doing here and in my calendar