Jazz Articles about Ulf Wakenius

Ulf Wakenius: Signature Edition 2

by John Kelman
April 6, 2010

For the second in its Signature Edition compilations, dedicated to--and selected by--its vanguard artists, ACT profiles a guitarist who only became an exclusive artist in 2005, with the release of his homage to pianist Keith Jarrett--Notes From the Heart--but whose career truly demands retrospection and reevaluation. Unlike Signature Edition 1's fusion guitarist Nguyên Lê, who has released nearly a dozen labels for Siggi Loch's German label, Swedish six-stringer Ulf Wakenius has, in addition to a handful of ACT guest appearances, ...

Ulf Wakenius: Love is Real: Ulf Wakenius Plays the Music of Esbjorn Svensson

by AAJ Italy Staff
March 11, 2009

Virtuoso chitarrista svedese, Ulf Wakenius vanta un curriculum invidiabile grazie a prestigiose collaborazioni con Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Jack DeJohnette Randy Brecker, Herbie Hancock, Lars Danielsson. Dopo un disco interamente dedicato a Jarrett Notes from the Heart questa volta si cimenta su composizioni del pianista recentemente scomparso Esbjorn Svensson. L'organico vede confermata la formazione del precedente disco (Danielsson e Lund) cui si aggiungono il pianista Lars Jansson e gli archi del Radio.String.Quartet.Vienna. Lavoro che presta molta attenzione all'estetica e alla forma, ...

Ulf Wakenius: Love is Real: Ulf Wakenius Plays the Music of Esbjorn Svensson

by John Kelman
May 3, 2008

While the recent proliferation of piano trios has proven the pop/rock world can provide plenty of grist for jazz exploration, few are as successful as e.s.t. in writing instantly (and consistently) memorable original material that's rife for reexamination by others. The democratic trio attributes its writing to the group, but pianist Esbjorn Svensson is clearly its main ideas man.Ulf Wakenius mined iconic pianist Keith Jarrett for the sublime Notes from the Heart (ACT, 2005). But this virtuoso Swedish ...

Ulf Wakenius: Notes from the Heart

by Brian P. Lonergan
September 17, 2006

In the liner notes to Notes from the Heart, Ulf Wakenius' tribute to the compositions of Keith Jarrett, the Swedish guitarist states, “It's impossible to recreate his music--you can only approach it from a totally different angle. But rather than a radical reworking of Jarrett's music or a reproduction of his far-ranging solo trips, Wakenius has distilled many of Jarrett's signature shorter compositions to their essence, presenting them in respectful arrangements (mostly around the four-minute mark) that fans of Jarrett's ...

Ulf Wakenius: Notes From The Heart

by AAJ Italy Staff
August 25, 2006

“Solo pochi diamanti, dal suo immenso tesoro”: Ulf Wakenius è andato a scegliere alcune pietre preziose - undici in tutto - che risplendono particolarmente per senso della melodia, dal repertorio jarrettiano. Una sognante “Memories Of Tomorrow”, una dolcissima “Innocence”, assieme alla più ritmate “Dancing”, “The Windup”, “U-Dance”, sono queste le “Notes From the Heart” che uno dei chitarristi più validi (e meno conosciuti) dell’attuale scena jazzistica dedica al suo paladino Keith Jarrett. Col pianista statunitense, Wakenius ha lavorato in Svezia ...

Ulf Wakenius: Notes from the Heart

by John Kelman
October 31, 2005

One of the most significant artists of the past forty years, pianist Keith Jarrett continues to base his ever-evolving style on a remarkable stream-of-consciousness approach to improvisation. But with Jarrett focusing his energy almost exclusively on his longstanding Standards Trio and improvised solo piano performances for the past two decades, it's easy to forget that he's also written a wealth of memorable compositions. Still, Jarrett asserts that improvisation is nothing less than composition in real time, and he's absolutely right. ...

Ulf Wakenius: Tokyo Blue

by Jack Bowers
August 20, 2004

Guitarist Ulf Wakenius, who has performed with a number of jazz heavyweights from Oscar Peterson and Michael Brecker to Ray Brown and Jack DeJohnette, writes that his new release, Tokyo Blue, is designed to express the various aspects of his musical temperament, from sweetness to swing. The album is evenly divided between the two components, with five ballads and five medium- to up-tempo numbers, on each of which Wakenius shows his admirable versatility and technique.

Wakenius plays unaccompanied on Michel ...