Peter Nilsson Music

INSPIRATION #15

Peter — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 21:50:14 +0000

The pandemic obviously changed a lot of things but I’ve had no problem staying inspired during this challenging time. I’ve continued to upgrade my sound system, which is now on a new level and I’ve been listening to a lot of music at home. It’s been quite a mix and way too much to mention here. Instead, I thought I’d mention some of the records that I’ve bought during this period:

Lennart Åberg – Partial Solar Eclipse
Pål Thowsen/Jon Christensen – No Time For Time
Idris Muhammad – Power of Soul
Peter Brötzmann/Milford Graves/William Parker – Historic Music Past Tense Future
Bill Frisell – Nashville, Music Is
Gary Burton – Seven Songs for Quartet and Chamber Orchestra
Ralph Towner – My Foolish Heart
Marc Johnson – Overpass
Keith Jarrett – Budapest Concert
Marshall Allen/Roscoe Mitchell/Milford Graves/Scott Robinson – Flow States
Leandre/Maneri/Cleaver – Light and Dance
Don Cherry – The Summer House Sessions, Organic Music Theater Festival de Chateauvallon 1972
Marc Ribot – Solo Guitar Works of Frantz Casseus
Chris Lightcap – SuperBigMouth
Fela Kuti – Live with Ginger Baker
David Virelles – Nuna, Gnosis
Michael Formanek – Other Zones
Freddie Hubbard – Skydive
Gil Evans – Svengali, Blues in Orbit
Hermeto Pasqoal – Slaves Mass
Mark Helias – Split Image
Prokofiev – Concertos (Warner)
Ravel – Complete Orchestral Works (Deutsche Grammophone)
Milton Nascimento – Angelus
Elis Regina & Toots Thielemans – Elis & Toots
Steely Dan – The Royal Scam, Katy Lied, Prezel Logic

I’ve also attended some concerts:

Broken Shadows @ Handelsbeurs, Ghent, Belgium on February 5th, 2020
Anders Kjellberg Group @ Dunkers Kulturhus, Helsingborg on September 29th, 2021 Flat Earth Society @ Inkonst, Malmö on November 22nd, 2021
Vera/Ploug/Badenhorst @ Malmö Live on March 14th, 2022
Anouar Brahem Quartet @ Ystads Teater on August 5th, 2022
London Philharmonia & Víkingur Ólafsson conducted by Santu-Matias Rouvali (Clyne: Masquerade / Adams: Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes? / Mahler: Symphony #5) @ Royal Festival Hall, London, UK on September 22nd, 2022
Brandon Lopez/Tom Rainey/Ingrid Laubrock @ Rehab Kultur, Malmö on September 29th, 2022
Eivind Aarset Quartet @ Victoriateatern, Malmö on October 20th, 2022
David Virelles @ Coffey Street Studio, Brooklyn, USA on November 9th, 2022
La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra & Alexandra Dariescu conducted by Alain Altinoglu (Reyer: Ouverure “Sigurd” / Franck: Variations symphoniques, for piano and orchestra / Berloiz: Symphonie fantastique) @ Bozar, Brussels, Belgium on December 30th, 2022

I also purchased “Full Mantis” and “Motian in Motion”, documentaries about Milford Graves and Paul Motian, who have both been inspirational to me. And I’ve been reading “Free Play” by Stephen Nachmanovitch.

As mentioned in “Inspiration #13”, I’ve been enjoying different podcasts and during the pandemic I also discovered “Pablo Held Investigates” and “Dr. Jazz Talks”. I’ve enjoyed a lot of the interviews presented there as well as watching a lot of other documentaries/interviews online about drumming, various kinds of music, conducting, HiFi, and so on…

UPDATE JANUARY 2023

Peter — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 21:40:34 +0000

My first post in a LONG time. A lot has happened since my last one with the pandemic obviously affecting everyone’s lives one way or another. In my case, it didn’t change my everyday life that much. Having two small children and my job at Malmö Academy of Music to take care of, I pretty much managed to stick to my routines and could keep working although under different circumstances at times. Even with very few gigs during this time, it’s been an intense period and trying to stay on top of things have definitely been enough, even without freelancing very much.

I’m hardly performing at all right now but I have been getting back into practicing a bit more and a bit more regularly. I’m quite happy about that, consistency makes such a big difference! I’ve gotten together with percussionist/drummer Lennart Gruvstedt on a few occasions in order to ask him some specific questions regarding technique and sound which has been very rewarding and inspiring. Those are some of the topics I’m spending time on at the moment. At the drum set, I also know quite well what I want to develop and in what direction I want to go and I’m feeling inspired and focused. Things will pick up when it comes to getting back into playing with and for people. In the meantime, I spend whatever time I can to continue studying and developing on my own.

As part of my job at Malmö Academy of Music, there are two projects that I’m working on this year. I’m putting together a book of exercises with the working name “Drum Set Warm Ups”. This book will consist of exercises that I originally created for myself but that I’ve continued to develop and will introduce to students in this format. More on this in a later post.
Together with a few colleagues, I’m also part of a project where we’re each writing a chapter about our thoughts on practicing. The timing for this project turned out to be perfect for me because I’ve been thinking a lot about practicing, development and where to put your focus while getting back into more of a practice routine myself.

This spring, I’ll again be working at Malmö Stadsteater where we will be performing “Monicas Vals” for a third and final run.

INSPIRATION #14

Peter — Mon, 30 Dec 2019 13:49:38 +0000

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.

UPDATE DECEMBER 2019

Peter — Mon, 30 Dec 2019 13:46:37 +0000

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…

INSPIRATION #13

Peter — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 08:40:15 +0000

I haven’t had much time to listen to music or go to concerts during the past six months but one thing that I have been doing is listening to some podcasts and I’ve been enjoying these:

A Noise From the Deep https://greenleafmusic.com/podcasts/
Music Magic with Chick Corea http://chickcorea.com/podcast/#.XBHlPzt4VZg
The NYU Jazz Interview Series Podcast https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/music/jazz/interviews

I’ve also read Gary Burton’s book “Learning to Listen” and I did get to see Bobo Stenson play solo piano at Malmö Live on January 14^th, 2019.

INSPIRATION #12

Peter — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 16:07:46 +0000

I became a father on February 2nd which has been fantastic. Since then, my life is different and there hasn’t been a lot of time to myself. Therefore, I haven’t been to as many concerts or listened as much to music as I used to. However, I have been to a few concerts during the last six months:

Chick Corea solo @ Kulturværftet, Helsingør, Denmark on April 30^th, 2018
John Scofield/Gerald Clayton/Vincente Archer/Bill Stewart @ Palladium, Malmö on May 11^th, 2018
Malmö Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rafael Payare (Mahler: Symphony #3) @ Malmö Live on May 19^th, 2018

And some albums I’ve enjoyed listening to are:

Thommy Andersson – Wood Spine (Gateway)
Chris Lightcap’s Bigmouth – Deluxe (Clean Feed)
Ben Perowsky – Camp Songs (Tzadik)
Nels Cline – Currents, Constellations (Blue Note)

MONICAS VALS

Peter — Fri, 25 May 2018 08:29:20 +0000

This fall, I will be working at Malmö Stadsteater for three months. They are producing a play about the legendary Swedish vocalist Monica Zetterlund called ”Monicas vals” which will be premiered on September 21^st. There will be a lot of music in it and Benjamin Koppel, who will be the musical director, has put together a nice quartet which will be on stage during the whole performance. I’ve always enjoyed Zetterlunds way of singing and a lot of the music and the scene that she was a part of during the 60′s and 70′s so I’m looking forward to being a part of this production. The play will be performed until November 1st.

INSPIRATION #11

Peter — Sat, 03 Mar 2018 15:40:22 +0000

Some concerts that I’ve enjoyed lately are:

Malmö Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Trevino (Mahler: Symphony #7) @ Malmö Live on September 28th, 2017
Napoleon Murphy Brock & Mats Öberg @ Folk å Rock, Malmö on November 5th, 2017
Cecilia Persson solo @ Palladium, Malmö on November 14th, 2017
Sylvie Courvoisier & Mark Feldman @ Victoriateatern, Malmö on November 26th, 2017
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & Martin Helmchen conducted by Alexander Vedernikov (Brahms: Piano Concerto #2 / Prokofiev: Cinderella) @ ICC, Birmingham, UK on December 7th, 2017
Malmö Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marc Soustrot (Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande suite / Strauss: Alpine Symphony) @ Malmö Live on January 25th, 2018
Sten Sandell solo @ Palladium, Malmö on February 21st, 2018

I also read “Lee Konitz – Conversations on the Improviser’s Art” by Andy Hamilton and I saw Alan Roth’s movie “The Breath Courses Through Us – a documentary movie about the New York Art Quartet”

And some albums that I’ve been into are:

Wayne Shorter – North Sea Jazz Legendary Concerts (Bob City)
Mark Helias Open Loose – The Signal Maker (Intakt)
Morgan Ågren – Batterie Deluxe (MondoTunes)

INSPIRATION #10

Peter — Fri, 01 Sep 2017 21:39:39 +0000

I haven’t been to very many performances lately but a few ones that I’ve enjoyed are:

Chris Lightcap’s Bigmouth @ Copenhagen Jazzhouse on March 24th, 2017
Brad Mehldau Trio @ Palladium, Malmö on May 10th, 2017
Bill Frisell Trio @ Copenhagen Jazz Festival on July 12th, 2017
Paul Auster interviewed by Aris Fioretos @ Malmö City Library on August 28th, 2017

Some records I’ve been into lately are:

Craig Taborn: Daylight Ghosts (ECM)
Tomasz Stanko New York Quartet: December Avenue (ECM)
Miles Davis: Freedom Jazz Dance – The Bootleg Series Vol.5 (Columbia/Legacy)
Joni Mitchell: Shadows & Light (Asylum)
Carla Bley/Paul Haines: Escalator Over The Hill (JCOA)
Astor Piazzola: Nuestro Tiempo / Tango para una Ciudad (Columbia)
Kronos Quartet & Astor Piazzola: Five Tango Sensations (Elektra Nonesuch)

And I’ve also enjoyed reading “The Inner Game of Tennis” by Timothy Gallwey

LOÏC DEQUIDT ENSEMBLE – NUANCES

Peter — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 09:26:38 +0000

Pianist & composer Loïc Dequidt is doing a project this fall that I’m really looking forward to be part of. He’s put together a larger ensemble, combining his quartet and a woodwind quintet put together by flutist Katlijn Sergeant. This enables him to write for a larger group which mixes jazz- and classical musicians and the format of the group opens up a lot of possibilities. We will be performing in Göteborg, Malmö & Stockholm and will also record an album to be released next year.

The ensemble consists of:

Katlijn Sergeant (BE), flute
Christoph Neuerburg (DE), oboe
Johnny Teyssier (US/F), clarinet
Jake Mączyński (CA/POL), french horn
Katelin Coleman (CA), bassoon
Staffan Svensson (SE), trumpet
Mattias Hjorth (SE), double bass
Peter Nilsson (SE), drums
Loïc Dequidt (FR/SE), piano & composition