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Rickard Malmsten

Rickard Malmsten

About Me

Award winning composer/musician Rickard Malmsten was born in Landskrona/Sweden 1974 into a big family of 7 brothers and sisters. Starting on Drums at the age of 7, Rickard switched to bass guitar at age 13. Growing up surrounded by music of the likes of The Beatles and The Beach Boys setting the foundations for his musical interest, deciding to give music a shot he enrolled at Åhus music school in 1990 and graduated 1993. In search of a bigger city with a richer musical background Rickard moved to Los Angeles and continued his studies at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. Rickard have since been a seasonal traveller and have up to date been living and working as a musician in 5 continents. That includes Europe, North America, Australia, South America and Asia. Rickard’s body of work includes compositions for solo bass, small ensembles, electric and acoustic instruments, and music for TV/Films with settings ranging from modern experimental jazz to rock pop and classical. As well as being a bassist and composer, Rickard has also participated in the academic arena as a music educator. At 23, he was the youngest teacher at the University of Costa Rica. He has also held music workshops all over the world as endorse and representative for Warwick Basses and Amps. Rickard have during the years been blessed to play with a remarkable array of artists, such Larry Coryell, Uri Caine, Dennis Chambers, Ulf Wakenius, Magnus Lindgren, Scott Henderson, Bob Moses, Roy Hargrove, Joe Diorio, Nils Landgren and fellow bassist as Jeff Berlin, Victor Wooten, Jack Bruce and Gary Willis. Rickard took over after Mike Nock as the Jazz Label Manager for Naxos Records until 2012 and have composed the anthem for his birth city Landskrona and the official hymn for Landskrona BoIS soccer team. Rickard is also the founder and festival director for Võsu International Jazz Festival in Estonia.