Musician
Here you can read more about the musicians in Bohuslän Big Band.
Joakim Rolandsson
Saxophone & woodwinds
Born in 1973 and raised in Uddevalla, Sweden. Like so many others, Joakim Rolandsson began his musical journey by playing the recorder at the age of seven. He attended the music program in high school and has since studied at Fridhem Folk High School and at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg. For many years he has also worked as a freelance musician.
Martin Bjurek Svanström
Saxophone & woodwinds
Born in 1989 and raised on Björkö, in the municipality of Öckerö in Sweden. He started playing alto saxophone at the age of 8. He attended the arts program at Donnergymnasiet in Gothenburg. After that, he completed the jazz program at Ljungskile Folk High School and studied the improvisation musician program at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg. He has also worked as a freelance saxophonist for 8 years.
Linus Lindblom
Saxophone & woodwinds
Born in 1977 and raised in Kilafors in southern Hälsingland in Sweden. Linus Lindblom started playing drums at the age of 8, but later found his way to the saxophone. He was educated at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where he studied the performance program.
Mikael Karlsson
Saxophone & woodwinds
Born in 1959 and raised in Hovenäset in Bohuslän on the Swedish west coast. Mikael Karlsson started playing the piano at the age of 10. He was educated at the Academy of Music in Gothenburg.
Alberto Pinton
Saxophone & woodwinds
Born in 1962 and raised in Marghera, Italy, an industrial town on the mainland near Venice. After playing both piano as a child and guitar as a teenager, he bought his first alto saxophone at the age of 18, and that was when he decided to play music full-time. Alberto has since earned a bachelor’s degree in saxophone from Berklee College of Music in Boston (1990), a master’s degree in saxophone from the Manhattan School of Music (1995), New York, and a master’s degree in composition (jazz) from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm (2023).
Lennart Grahn
Trumpet
Born in 1961 and raised in Falköping, Sweden. Lennart Grahn started playing the recorder at the age of seven, and his path through the municipal school of arts has led to an entire professional life as a trumpeter.
Samuel Olsson
Trumpet
Born in 1974 and raised in Sunne in Värmland, Sweden. Samuel Olsson began his musical journey playing the recorder at the age of seven, and the following year the cornet. At the age of 12 he also started playing double bass. After that, he studied among other places at Ingesund Folk High School, one semester in the music performance program at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, and for four years in the individual performance program at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg.
Jan Eliasson
Trumpet
Born in 1959 and raised in Ytterby in Bohuslän, the Swedish west coast. Jan Eliasson’s musical journey took off when he was 6 years old and secretly started playing his older brother’s trumpet while his brother was at school. Over the years he has played with many big bands and wind ensembles from western Sweden and has taken part in numerous trumpet courses with both Swedish and international instructors.
Vacant
Trumpet
A position in the trumpet section is vacant. This means that there is currently no permanently employed musician in this position, and the seat is instead filled by substitutes.
Niclas Rydh
Trombone
Born in 1968 and raised in Huskvarna, Sweden, Niclas Rydh started playing the trombone at the age of nine. He studied at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg, where he completed the performance program with a classical focus.
Christer Olofsson
Trombone
Born in 1968 and raised in Lysekil, Bohuslän, the Swedish west coast. Like so many others, Christer Olofsson began his musical journey by playing the recorder when he was 8 years old. The following year came piano and electric organ. He discovered the trombone at the age of 14. In addition to attending the music school in Lysekil, he took private lessons with Bengt-Åke Andersson, who was a trombonist in the Bohuslän Big Band until 2001. He then studied at the Ingesund College of Music, focusing on the Afro-American tradition. Over the years he has also done a great deal of freelance work and performed in various bands.
Hanne Småvik
Trombone
Born in 1990 in Trondheim, Norway. Hanne Småvik began her musical career playing the euphonium at the age of 8. After about a year, however, she switched to the trombone, which has been her main instrument ever since. She studied at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg, where she completed an undergraduate program in classical music. She has also previously worked as a substitute in orchestras such as the Gävle Symphony Orchestra, the Gothenburg Opera Orchestra, among others.
Vacant
Bass trombone
A position in the trombone section is vacant. This means that there is currently no permanently employed musician in this position, and the seat is being filled by substitutes.
Göran Kroon
Rhythm section – drums
Born in 1966 and raised in Växjö in Småland, Sweden. Göran Kroon started playing drums at the age of 9 in the marching band. He was educated at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg, where he completed the performance program with a classical focus. Today he also teaches at the Academy of Music and Drama.
Vacant
Rhythm section – bass
The position of bassist in the big band is vacant. This means that there is currently no permanently employed musician in this role; instead, the position is being filled by substitutes.
Vacant
Rhythm section – piano
The position of pianist in the big band is vacant. This means that there is currently no permanently employed musician in this role; instead, the position is being filled by substitutes.
Great friends of jazz
Great friends of jazz
Soundwaves from the Swedish west coast
Soundwaves from the Swedish west coast