Shine

Viktoria Tolstoy & Jacob Karlzon: Who We AreCD / Vinyl / digital  Viktoria Tolstoy vocalsJacob Karlzon piano, keyboards, programmingVocalist Viktoria Tolstoy and pianist/keyboard player Jacob Karlzon have worked together as close musical companions and friends for nearly three decades. So, when they choose to call their album Who We Are, it is far more than just an album title: they are making a statement. What they are offering is a kind of musical self-portrait. They are aggregating and celebrating their shared experience and their mutual trust. Theirs is the kind of artistic language which only emerges after two people have been resonating on the same frequency for years. This duo’s journey began in the mid-1990s during one of Tolstoy’s UK tours. Since then they have performed together again and again, recorded six albums together, including Letter To Herbie (2011), a homage to Herbie Hancock, an idol for both of them, and A Moment of Now (2013) the first of their widely acclaimed duo recordings.Viktoria Tolstoy and Jacob Karlzon’s close collaboration has reached the point where their story is no longer something they keep on needing to reinvent – these days they can simply tell it. Tolstoy describes in their interplay they have all the benefit of freedom, while also feeling completely secure: “What we do as a duo is really demanding – but it feels effortless. Jacob speaks my language completely; we follow and complement each other in a magical way.” This strong connection enables the duo to take constant risks, both in the studio and on stage – an essential part of who they are. Karlzon experiences this bond similarly: “Between Viktoria and me, there is no division between soloist and accompanist; we are simply two kindred spirits and we work on a completely equal footing.” This close communication forms the basis of the album – and perhaps the most precise answer to the title: Who We Are is that is a state of being. A mutual understanding. An authentic musical expression of “We”.Karlzon uses a vivid metaphor to help explain this phenomenon. He notes that the songwriters whose work the duo interprets – Billy Joel, Tori Amos, Thom Yorke – are artists who both sing and play the piano. “In a way, that’s exactly what we are trying to do – except we do it as two people. Two individuals, but one musical organism.” This idea – finding expression which is two-voiced but also unified – runs like a uniting thread through the entire production. Who We Are often sounds on a bigger scale than a duo because Tolstoy’s soul-infused jazz vocals and Karlzon’s energetic, harmonically wide-ranging playing do not merely complement each other – they merge. Alongside distinctive interpretations of songs by iconic songwriters, Who We Are also features a number of original compositions by Jacob Karlzon. On this occasion, and for the first time he has contributed not just the music but also written all the lyrics. Tolstoy, remembers being both surprised and deeply moved when she witnessed Karlzon taking this step: “After I’d received the music, suddenly lyrics for one song after another would begin landing in my inbox – and I was completely lost for words, they were so good!” Karlzon describes the writing process as a return to what he feels is at the root of all art: it’s not about a concept or aiming for commercial viability, but all about being truthful. The lyrics reflect personal experiences as well as observations – a patchwork that nonetheless carries a clear sense of purpose. Tolstoy, in turn, transforms these songs into her own stories. Because she knows Karlzon so well, as she says: “These are words that I can feel. Because I know exactly where they come from.”Who We Are is a mature, warm, and self-assured album by two artists who know each other in all their complexity – and through that, have found the kind of freedom that is increasingly rare. They have produced a collection of work which isn’t trying to explain who they might like to be; it lets us understand who they truly are.CreditsRecorded at Musikaliska Kvarteret, Stockholm, August 25 & 26, 2025, by Lars NilssonAdditional recordings at ChassRoomMixed and mastered at Nilento Studio by Lars NilssonNilento team: Lars Nilsson, Michael Dalvid, and Jenny NilssonProduced by Jacob Karlzon & Lars NilssonJacob Karlzon is a Steinway Artist

Various Artists - Romantic Freedom - Blue in GreenCD / digitalACT is a label with a clear sense of its own identity, values and mission, and these virtues find strong expression in this new compilation. ACT has been a major force since 1992 in bringing to the fore Euro-pean jazz which transcends the old genre boundaries, and has played a major part in helping this music to become far better known in its many and varied forms. This is in fact the second compilation album from the label to bear the motto “Romantic Freedom”. Back in 2006, fourteen years after the label was founded, the first album with this title focused on performances by solo pianists, a particularly strong area for ACT. Now, another fourteen years on, "Romantic Freedom - Blue in Green" brings the story and the message up to date - and does so in several fascinating ways.The ACT family continues to grow with the addition of fascinating artists from all over Europe, so it is fitting that David Helbock, a pianist who has only recently risen to prominence beyond his native Austria, and whose association with ACT started in 2016, should be given the honour of starting the album with his Random Control Trio in a moodily, atmospheric version of the modal Miles Davis/Bill Evans ballad “Blue in Green”. Another pianist who has only recently made his album is Carsten Dahl from Denmark. Dahl's “Sailing with no Wind” has calm, balance and great beauty. And for contrast there is the catchy, rock-inspired immediacy of the Stockholm-based Jacob Karl-zon Trio in “Bubbles”. The nurturing of fruitful dialogue across national borders and styles of music is a real strength at ACT, and is a key feature of "Romantic Freedom - Blue in Green". As Chris Pearson of The Times of London reflected in early 2020: “Since 1992 Act, the German label, has been building its own European union of musicians, fostering a freedom of movement between nationalities and genres.” It is worth noting that, whereas almost half of the pianists on the 2006 album were from North America, all the musicians apart from three on the new album were born in Europe. A band which epitomizes civilized conversation across borders, indeed has it at its very core is Mare Nostrum, the trio of Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu, French accordionist Richard Galliano und Swedish pianist Jan Lundgren. They play Michel Legrand’s “The Windmills of Your Mind” . Fresu’s appealing and warm flugelhorn sound is to also be heard irresistibly on Komeda’s “Sleep Safe and Warm” (also known as “Rosemary’s Lullaby”) in duo with Lars Danielsson. We also hear the very different heritages of Polish violinist Adam Bałdych and French/Israeli pianist Yaron Herman as the pair create and then release tension in “Riverendings”, the first of two tracks on this album featuring a violin.Musicians from Europe walk, quite literally, in the footsteps of the great classical composers. The young German pianist Johanna Summer, the youngest musician on this album and rapidly becoming a star of the label was born in Saxony very near Zwickau, the birthplace of Robert Schumann’s. She is heard here in her affecting “instant com-posing” version of Schumann’s “Of Foreign Lands And People” from “Scenes of Childhood”. David Helbock lived for some years in Vienna, and in “Beethoven #7, 2nd Movement”, we hear the Austrian in a delicate and thoughtful version on prepared piano. Norwegians pia-nist Bugge Wesseltoft and violinist Henning Kragerrud have a deep feeling for the melodic beauty of their compatriot Grieg’s “Våren” (Last Spring). ACT is home for pianists with a central role in European jazz in recent decades, such as Michael Wollny, Joachim Kühn, Leszek Możdżer. All three (and also Bugge Wesseltoft) were represented on the 2006 and the listener can reflect on the journey they have travelled over the decades with a label that above all help to ensure that their reputati-ons can build beyond their home countries. Michael Wollny’s “Little Person”, a cover of Jon Brion’s song from the film “Synecdoche, New York.” is quietly reflective with a gentle pulse and a deliciously open ending. We also hear Wollny on prepared piano accompanying another core member of the ACT artist family, Nils Landgren on both vocals and trombone), in Sting’s “Fragile”. We have the decisively carefree and rocky side of Joachim Kühn’s New Trio in “Sleep on it”. On this compilation we go back to the beginning and hear the very first track from “Pasodoble” Leszek_Możdżer’s 2007 debut on ACT: “Praying” in a duo with Lars Danielsson. Another massively influential figure in European jazz, and until his untimely death in 2008 a core member of the ACT label family was the late Esbjörn Svensson. He was also on the 2006 album. We hear an e.s.t. track which has become a classic, “Believe Beleft Below”, and also a homage to the Swedish visionary from another pianist who has revealed many sides of his character and his story on the ACT label, the Finn Iiro Rantala, who plays his heartfelt tribute “Tears For Esbjörn”. If we now know what European jazz is, that is at least in part because ACT has shaped an important part of its story. "Romantic Freedom - Blue in Green" shows how appealing, how approachable and how universal European jazz at its best can be. Credits: Curated by Siggi Loch Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann

Various Artists - Magic Moments 7 - Sounds of SurpriseCD / digitalMagic Moments: 16 tracks, over 50 contributors, 70 minutes of top-tier jazz infotainment from the current ACT lineup. Continuity. Trust and vision. Sustainability and unity. Discovering and nurturing talent. Supporting the next generation. These are key components and central pillars of the ACT philosophy, guiding our work for over 22 years: This year, we celebrate 20 years of successful partnership with Nils Landgren. We congratulate rising stars like Vincent Peirani and Emile Parisien, each awarded "Artist of the Year" in France at the Victoires du Jazz. We are delighted by Michael Wollny’s remarkable development into Germany’s leading jazz musician, emerging from our Young German Jazz series — a program that continues to serve as a breeding ground for promising artists such as vocalist Tobias Christl. The fact that even established jazz greats like Manu Katché — whom we warmly welcome as a new member of the ACT family — are now taking notice of our work is a great honor. Nevertheless, we remain true to our mission: above all, to discover the stars of tomorrow.Credits: Compilation by Siggi Loch Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann

Shine - Jacob KarlzonCD / Vinyl / digitalJacob Karlzon piano, keys, synths & programming Hans Andersson bass Robert Mehmet Ikiz drums Unmistakably now one of the best pianists in Europe, Jacob Karlzon’s music and personality are possessed of a radiance and vitality that has won audiences over worldwide. But Karlzon wants more – in terms of sound, composition and concept – and doesn’t really care much for categories and genre-labelling. Instead, Karlzon chooses to draw tastefully and fervently from the best of two worlds - the openness, curiosity and energy of jazz, and the power, catchiness and the production techniques of pop. And so it is on his latest album “Shine” – first and foremost an instrumental song album with which Karlzon perfectly captures the spirit of the age and swims with the tide of extraordinarily successful piano frontier-crossers the likes of Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds or Francesco Tristano, for whom, regardless of how different they may be, it is only the music that counts, wherever it comes from. On “Shine”, Karlzon continues on the path he laid out with his celebrated ACT debut “More” in 2012. The album was something of a landmark in Karlzon’s oeuvre, as The Guardian (UK) pointed out: “Karlzon may be more widely known as a piano partner of the singer Viktoria Tolstoy, but this bright set ought to increase his own network. Karlzon looks and sounds like a man who hugely enjoys his work, and though the territory of […] electronica-influenced piano jazz is a crowded one, the tunes here are simple but very infectious, and the fusion of pop grooves, jazz improv and classical phrasing doesn't sound forced for a moment.” Another major challenge that Karlzon mastered superbly together with his long-time bassist Hans Andersson and drummer Robert Mehmet Ikiz, among other things the “motor” of the Nils Landgren Funk Unit, was making the multi-layered sound and complex dynamic of the album work live: With a good 100 celebrated concerts in the last two years, the “Jacob Karlzon 3” are among the most sought-after and successful live acts of their kind. The new album “Shine” profits audibly from the experience gained on stage by the now savvy and extremely tight band. Karlzon pursues the vision of his own sound more directly than ever before; one of an acoustic trio interacting at the highest level, merging together to form a single homogeneous whole. And on “Shine”, Karlzon further consolidates and concentrates his concept of instrumental songwriting, as he notes “This time I wanted to take it a step further. This album uses pop production methods even more, and integrates an even greater range of aesthetics to accentuate the character of each individual song, without losing sight of a well-rounded, coherent overall style. It is altogether clearer and more uncompromising; both the song-writing and the playing.” It all culminates in nine songs that run the gamut from groovy and gripping, to delicate, fragile and touching, and that together form a perfectly rounded album. The title track “Shine” epitomises the album, from the very first note it snake-charms its way into the ears and down to the legs. Synth-particles shimmer and gleam over the driving groove and irrepressible melody, and the intensity knows no way but up. From his first solo, Karlzon lets us know what real piano-playing is all about. To shine is the central motif in this record, as Karlzon explains: “From a musical standpoint, a constantly changing glow permeates the entire album. It varies from the morning Sun and the light of spring to the bittersweet shimmer of evening, autumn and winter. I hope that this music helps each and everyone who hears it to shine a little in their daily life. It would be great if people were to listen to my music in totally different situations, if they were to dance to it, relax to it or just sit back and devote their entire attention to it.” Alongside eight of his own compositions, the U2 classic “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For“ is also on the record. In this fragile, achingly beautiful solo-piano version, Karlzon brings a central theme of his artistry to the fore: “The jazz tradition was never my reason for playing improvised music. What excited me was the opportunity to communicate with other people using its extraordinarily broad spectrum. It is of paramount importance to me to do so without any prejudices; both as a musician and as a human being.”Credits: Music composed by Jacob Karlzon, except 03 by U2 Produced by Jacob Karlzon & Lars Nilsson Recording, sound design, mixed and mastered by Lars Nilsson at Nilento Studio,Gothenburg, March 2014. Nilento Studio production team: Michael Dahlvid, Jenny Nilsson and Joakim Nilsson. Additional recordings at ChassRoom, Malmö Cover art: Embroidered Explosion © by Jiri Geller, 2001 

Viktoria Tolstoy - A Moment Of NowCD / digital Viktoria Tolstoy vocals Jakob Karlzon Steinway grand piano, pump organ, celesta, Fender Rhodes Special Guest on Send One Your Love: Jocke Bergström vocalsThough there are many beautiful singing voices in jazz today, Viktoria Tolstoy is one of a kind. A great melodramatist of jazz who is also bipolar, she makes happiness sound fragile and threatened, and bitterness sweet and enchanting. She has framed and perfected this art on a conceptual level since becoming an ACT artist in 2003, whether concentrating on material from Esbjörn Svensson – whose e.s.t. began to some extent as her accompanying trio – or, most recently, on Herbie Hancock, classical originals, Swedish standards or repertoire from Russia, the home of her ancestors. Her latest album "A Moment Of Now" is her most frank recording yet – for one simple reason: "Jacob [Karlzon] and I are the concept this time," says Viktoria. Indeed it is an intimate album by the duo that focuses on their musical partnership. Karlzon has been Tolstoy's trusted companion on her band projects for almost 15 years now, his playing thrives on nuances, transitions, ambiguities – be they inspired by classics such as Ravel or hard rockers the likes of KoRn. It is a partnership that shows no signs of abating, despite Karlzon’s own highly successful trio that bears his name. "We each generally know in advance what the other is thinking and is going to do, without either of us having to say anything. It's almost a bit spooky," says Tolstoy of the intuitive understanding between the two. Their style depends on melodies like a fish depends on water, and 14 of the best are brought together on "A Moment Of Now". As Tolstoy explains, they are "songs we've heard a lot in recent years, and that imposed themselves on us, but also some that were entirely new to us and were really a challenge”. This has resulted in a selection that sounds entirely coherent and as if created especially for these two musicians, even though its component parts come from the most diverse, stylistic, and often surprising backgrounds. From the classical "Apres Un Reve" by the Frenchman Gabriel Faurè, to Stevie Wonder's soul-pop "Send One Your Love" – on which Tolstoy invited Jocke Bergström, a new face in these climes, to share in a vocal duet that simply takes your breath away – to the jazzy "Shadow And Light" by Joe Zawinul. Thanks to Tolstoy's father, who suggested Phil Collins' "Against All Odds", the entire history of Genesis is represented, so to speak, with "Taking It All Too Hard" and Peter Gabriel's "Red Rain" also rebooted on the album. Beyond global hits like these or Alanis Morissette's biggest success "Hand In My Pocket", the album also includes new discoveries like "Satisfied" from the almost-forgotten funk virtuoso Lewis Taylor and "Deep River" from Norwegian jazz saxophonist Benedik Hofseth. Among the pieces, three were originally instrumentals; namely "Apres Un Reve" (based on Faurè's "Apres Un Reve"), the Pat Metheny revamp "A Moment Of Now", and Karlzon's own composition "Scent Of Snow”. For these, Anna Alerstedt, the fantastic songwriter who Tolstoy discovered in 2008 for "My Russian Soul", once again pens profound and memorable lyrics. The ease with which Viktoria Tolstoy and Jacob Karlzon can change the fundamental character of songs that otherwise seem to be set in stone is quite spectacular. The best example of this is their interpretation of Mark King's "Lessons In Love", transformed from a loud up-tempo song by the funk band Level 42 into a melancholy ballad. There’s also Cole Porter's classic "I Concentrate On You", which rings out as a Nordic anthem, and which in the middle section is even reminiscent of Esbjörn Svensson's "Love Is Real". But above all, what the songs all have in common is an overwhelming quietude and power. The weighty and complex sounds light and easy – just note the jumps and key changes on "Satisfied", where the subtle nuances and vocals change and shape the music. There is a calmness and strength in the music that comes from experience and draws from the tried and trusted. For example, Nils Landgren returns as the producer, while the album was recorded with the familial team at Nilento Studios in Goteborg. "I felt safe and well looked after at every moment,” Tolstoy recalls, “Never change a winning team!". This is how a fascinating and completely unique moment in her and Karlzon's oeuvre was born—and it is one that will remain.  Credits: Produced by Nils Landgren Co-produced by Jacob Karlzon and Lasse Nilsson Recorded, sound design, mixed and mastered by Lars Nilsson, April 22 – 24, 2013 at Nilento Studio, Gothenburg Production team: Jenny Nilsson and Michael Dahlvid

70 minutes of the best jazz infotainment through the current ACT line-up at a special price.

Jacob Karlzon piano, keys, synths & programmingHans Andersson bassJonas Holgersson drums  "Keith Jarrett should watch out - Jakob Karlzon from Sweden, a generation younger, could soon dispute his exceptional status." (Mannheimer Morgen) Credits:Produced by Jacob Karlzon & Lars Nilsson Executive Producer: Siggi Loch Recorded, mixed and mastered in April &May 2012 by Lars Nilsson at Nilento Studio, Gothenburg. Assistant engineer: Michael Dahlvid. Additional recordings at ChassRoom, Malmö. 

On "Imaginary Room" you forget every violin stereotype and witness Bałdych's impressive virtuosity, expressivity and variability. Not for nothing did Ulrich Olshausen finally write in the FAZ that Bałdych is "undoubtedly the greatest living violin technician in jazz. You can expect everything from him." - And what you can expect from him is impressively demonstrated on his ACT debut!

"This album is worth it" - AUDIOPHILE HIGHLIGHT (STEREO)