“Suggestive Jazz – each note carries an image, a feeling, an impulse toward something higher.”  (LIRA)

NORTH is a reference both to the musicians’ countries of origin and to the musical approach taken, in which communication, silence and melody are central. Flautist and saxophonist Anders Hagberg is a musical voyager, and in NORTH, he has assembled some of Scandinavia’s finest musicians in jazz and world music. 

A Nordic dream team with musicians associated with artists such as Mari Boine, Jon Hassell, Jon Balke, Billy Cobham, Marilyn Mazur, Avishai Cohen, Shakti to name a few.

Anders Hagberg – flutes, soprano sax, ambient sounds
Joona Toivanen – piano, zither
Johannes Lundberg – double bass, voice
Helge Norbakken – percussion

Watch full concert Haga Church March 2021: NORTH on VIMEO

(See also QUARTET for the first edition of the band which existed between 2010-2015)

“A unique world of sound, filled with beautiful, lyrical melodies and suggestive rhythms…It moves from quiet wonder to expressive, explosive exuberance.” (Opulens, 5/5)

With the critically acclaimed album TRUST (2018), Anders Hagberg created a sound world of his own with cinematic storytelling, evocative grooves and desolate melodies. Through the unique Contrabass flute and other wind instruments, Hagberg has created all the rhythmic beats and ambient sounds which are sampled and processed into musical starting points for an intuitive and improvised live performance.

The music for TRUST was created in collaboration with visual art forms such as dance, painting, video and sculpture and has been performed in connection with exhibitions by Louise Bourgeois and Bill Viola, dance performances and at site-specific concerts. (See: Dance, Film, Art)

In 2022, the album MA was released, which examines the importance of space as a musical co-player and was recorded in places with different acoustics. Double bass player Johannes Lundberg appears here on several tracks in close dialogue with Hagberg. Several of the pieces are made in collaboration with visual arts that has been premiered at exhibitions in Sweden and Italy.

Presence, communication and transcending genres are central words in Hagberg’s artistry, and they characterize this solo act, which has been played at festivals in the USA, South Korea, Turkey, Iran, Portugal and Sweden.

This program is offered as a solo/duo performance with options on guest artists:

Anders Hagberg: Concert-, Alto-, Bass- & Contrabass Flute, sopranosaxophone, electronics

Johannes Lundberg: Double Bass, Voice, Zither
Options: guest artists percussion/dancers/visual arts

“Temple of Culture”, The Water Tank in Gothenburg:

”An enchanting musician who unites the improvised freedom of jazz with an archaic quality.” UNT

“A fantastic interpretation of waves, winds and the singing of whales.” GT

ANDERS HAGBERG and JOHANNES LANDGREN
–flutes/soprano sax & church organ/piano

“Celestial inspiring music.” all about jazz

“These two musicians … create an organic, almost physical sensuality.”/Lira

“You just feel very grateful…unbroken passion.” /Hallandsposten

“Hagberg and Landgren offer some stunning moments.” /Greenman Review

Hagberg & Landgren explore and develop improvisations taking their point of departure in Gregorian chant, chorales, contemporary music and their own original compositions. An encounter between two improvisation traditions. Anders and Johannes also play together with choirs.

”Magical Melange” 

Connecting Worlds is a platform for musical collaborations between genres and cultures created by Anders Hagberg.
Since 2014 a great number of performance, concert series and collaborations have been made with artists from India, Japan, South Korea, Iran, Syria, Palestine, Sweden as well as string ensembles from e.g. Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (GSO).

The partnership between Anders Hagberg and Palestinian oud player Ahmad al Khatib started in 2011 with an artistic development project at the University of Gothenburg on Modal Improvisation – “A Melodic Melange between Nordic Jazz and Arabic Maqam”

There collaboration has resulted in the album Melodic Melange and tours in Scandinavia, Estonia, India and South Korea. During their tours in India with artists from Bombay and Bangalore, they have made the album Ley Lines.

Live 2021:

Soundcloud
Review in Swedish

ANDERS HAGBERG QUARTET – STORIES OF NOW
See also NORTH

“…exquisite world jazz, both rhythmically rich and mellifluous…” Lira

Soundcloud

“… Hagberg plays, constantly inventive and with a highly vocal quality to his musicianship.”    GP

” The groups´ improvisational quality was finely balanced with a sense of direction and destination; one was carried along a world journey.”               Washington D.P.

“…The world…grow both larger and smaller when we listen to Stories of now.”  OJ

Anders has been commissioned to compose music for a number of films, dance performances and exhibitions of visual arts.

“Gränsland” part 2 sample (2023):

TEACHING
Anders is a Professor in Musical Performance, specialized in Improvisation at the Academy of Music and Drama, Gothenburgh University.
His work includes teaching (individual and ensemble classes in improvisation, lectures and seminars) supervising student thesis, mentorship.

His work with artistic development and research at the Academy resulted in conducted several projects and recordings.
Link to published works

Here is an article about teaching improvisation at the University. Instrumentalundervisning i improvisation – en balansgång mellan tre perspektiv

He has been doing Workshops and Master Classes all over Scandinavia as well as in America and Asia.

As a pedagogue he is offering seminars, courses and masterclasses in Jazz, Improvisation and World Music.

Since 2007 he has been teaching at the Summer course Blekinge Jazz & World.

WINDUO
”Human communication, crossing musical borders…astoundingly expressive”. / JazzLife, Tokyo

Anders Hagberg and japanese bass player Yasuhito Mori started playing duo together in 1985. Since then they have gone through many phases, developing the rare touch that only somes from a long musical friendship.

Both musicians work in other groups but keep returning to this duo, where the traditional roles of solo and comp are replaced by an open script for two voices in free flight. On the repertoire you will find Japanese lullabies and Swedish folkmelodies, but also bluesy rhytmic grooves and viruoso unison parts in a close dynamic interplay.

Winduo has made 5 CDs and toured both Europe and Japan. They have also performed with others, including Japanese pianist Wong Wing Tsan, a number of Swedish and Indian percussionists, modern dance ensembles and with the Ginestera string quartet.

EARTHSONGS
”Boundary crossing music at its very  best…modest beauty, magical sounds…breaths love, veneration and respect for the roots.”

Earthsongs was formed by Anders Hagberg from a will of expressing his nordic roots, using the melodies from joiks and herding calls as a starting point for improvisations. Together with experiences of Indian and Japanese music, Earthsongs has explored soundworlds where jazz, world and ambient meet.

The CDs EARTHSONGS and THE HERD were both nominated for swedish grammy award and the group has featured some of the finest nordic traditional vocalists including Sami Inga Juuso and Faroese Eivor Palsdottir. Earthsongs has been featured at the openings of several festivals and exhibitions where Stockholm Millenium Celebration and “Eldnatt” at Urkult Festival is worth noting. In 2004 they recorded music for STENRISTARNA, a TV-documentary. The CD and DVD was released in 2005.

“Earthsongs amused me deeply and wholehearted. Beautiful lines, interesting harmonies and rhytmical variety were  forming the base of their success.” Dziennik Polski.