As mentioned in my post “Update December 2019”, I haven’t had much time to myself lately. I haven’t been to any concerts in quite a while and there hasn’t been much time to seriously listen to music at home either.

I have however upgraded my sound system by getting a new amplifier, floorstanding speakers and better cables so it’s been inspiring to play records at home anyway with improved sound, even when I can’t really focus on the music.

Trying my new set up out and experimenting with the positioning of my new speakers, I’ve been listening to albums that I know quite well. Using those as a reference has helped me in comparing different options.

The “downside” of having a better system is that the difference between a good sounding recording and a less good one becomes more clear. Using some albums that I consider to be good sounding as references has reminded me of that aspect and makes me appreciate that part of the production process even more. Some of the CD’s that I’ve been listening to are:

Tomasz Stanko New York Quartet: Wisława (ECM)
John Scofield: Grace Under Pressure (Blue Note)
Bobo Stenson Trio: War Orphans (ECM)
Peter Erskine Trio: As It Is / Time Being / You Never Know (ECM)
Miles Davis: Bitches Brew from “The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions” (Columbia/Legacy)
Jacob Young: Evening Falls (ECM)
Joni Mitchell: Travelogue (Nonesuch)

The last concert I saw was Ralph Towner playing solo guitar at Jazzhus Montmartre, Copenhagen on May 3^rd, 2019. That was something truly special and an evening I will never forget.

There has been some changes in my life this year. Our daughter was born in August so I now have two children and I also have a new (fixed) position at Malmö Academy of Music, where I’ve become head of the Jazz performance programme.

This changes my everyday life quite a bit. Having two small children and much more of a day to day routine definitely limits how much time I can spend with my instrument and with music in general. It also limits my flexibility when it comes to traveling and freelancing. On top of that, none of the bands that I’m in are very active right now so I’m not playing very much at the moment.

By now, I’m slowly getting back into a practise routine and am trying to figure out how to balance everything. Being limited with time really makes you think about what you want to be able to do in 30 minutes/1hour/a day/a week!

When it comes to making music, I would like to play more than now but things are the way they are. At the same time, I feel that I’m changing as a person and that also effects my view on music. I once heard someone mention the difference between drum chops and music chops and right now, that makes a lot of sense to me. I have been in better form as a drummer but I think that I’m a better musician than ever. Things change…