Bobo Stenson
One of the most sophisticated and rewarding jazz pianists on the planet, even in a jazz age containing so many remarkable ones
John Fordham, The Guardian
Born in 1944 in Sweden, Bobo Stenson received his first musical inspiration from his parents. As a child, Stenson studied classical piano under Werner Wolf Glaser, a German-born Swedish composer, conductor and pianist who became his teacher and mentor for 15 years.
In the early 70s, Stenson toured Africa with saxophonist Stan Getz and played with other eminent jazz musicians, among them Sonny Rollins and Gary Burton, before, in 1971, Bobo took part in Jan Garbarek's Sart, one of the earliest recordings on ECM. A month later saw the release of his own ECM leader-debut Underwear, with Arild Andersen on bass and Jon Christensen on drums – two players who Bobo would collaborate with frequently on ECM [...]
One of the most sophisticated and rewarding jazz pianists on the planet, even in a jazz age containing so many remarkable ones
John Fordham, The Guardian
Born in 1944 in Sweden, Bobo Stenson received his first musical inspiration from his parents. As a child, Stenson studied classical piano under Werner Wolf Glaser, a German-born Swedish composer, conductor and pianist who became his teacher and mentor for 15 years.
In the early 70s, Stenson toured Africa with saxophonist Stan Getz and played with other eminent jazz musicians, among them Sonny Rollins and Gary Burton, before, in 1971, Bobo took part in Jan Garbarek's Sart, one of the earliest recordings on ECM. A month later saw the release of his own ECM leader-debut Underwear, with Arild Andersen on bass and Jon Christensen on drums – two players who Bobo would collaborate with frequently on ECM henceforward.
Bobo also toured with the American trumpeter Don Cherry (1936-1995) and became closely associated with him and various contexts throughout the trumpeter’s long period of residence in Sweden, until Cherry’s untimely death. With ECM they appear together on Dona Nostra (1994).
With Jan Garbarek, Bobo appeared on the two quartet albums Witchi-Tai-To and Dansere, with Palle Danielsson on bass and Jon Christensen on drums, followed by his part, again with Garbarek and Palle, in Keith Jarrett’s seminal albums Belonging (1974) and My Song (1978).
In the 90s Bobo was part of Charles Lloyd’s quartet, appearing on the albums Fish Out of Water (1990), Notes From Big Sur (1992), The Call (1993), All My Relations (1995) and Canto (1997). He also played in Tomasz Stanko’s band at the time, recording the albums Matka Joanna (1995), Leosia (1997) and Litania (1997).
In the same period, Bobo reignited his trio activities, again with drummer Jon Christensen but this time Anders Jormin on bass. Between 1993 and 2000 the trio recorded Reflections, War Orphans and the double album Serenity. Goodbye (2005) saw Bobo paired in trio with Paul Motian on drums and Anders Jormin on bass.
In 2008 Jon Fält took the drum seat in Bobo’s trio, the first recording in the new configuration being Cantando. The album received the Swedish award for best jazz music. Indicum (2012) and Contra La Indecisión (2008) followed and likewise garnered much praise (and a Grammy nomination). The trio’s most recent album Sphere was released in March 2023.
“We don't have a way of playing ‘ready-made’. Things crystallise in the moment and we adjust to that. And that's the quintessence. That's the joy of playing together, to never do the same thing twice and to be determined about that.”
Bobo Stenson
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