About us

A Well Noted Jazz Company

The history of Bohuslän Big Band goes back to the early 1800s when they were one of many military orchestras in Sweden under the name of Bohus Battalion. From the mid-1950s, the band developed into one of Sweden’s only two fully professional big bands and consisting of sixteen full-time musicians.

From swing to avant-garde, Bohuslän Big Band covers the entire spectrum of jazz, as well as crossing over into other genres with top Swedish artists. Over the years, the big band has performed with international jazz giants such as Quincy Jones, Gregory Porter, Christian McBride, Danilo Pérez, Luciana Souza, Carla Bley, Joe Lovano, Maria Schneider, Avishai Cohen, Vince Mendoza, and Nils Landgren, among others.

Albums and international tours

Since 1992, Bohuslän Big Band has has recorded over 40 albums with a wide range of Swedish and international artists including Lew Soloff, Nils Landgren, Lars Jansson, Ale Möller, Steve Swallow, Anders Jormin, Lina Nyberg, Kathrine Windfeld and Danilo Pérez.

In 2001, Bohuslän Big Band became the first Swedish big band touring in Japan and China and subsequently returned to Japan in 2003, 2008 and 2018. In addition to this, the big band has been touring in England, Scotland, Denmark, Germany, Egypt, and performed at the House of Sweden and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC in the USA.

A part of Vara Concert Hall

Since 2004 Bohuslän Big Band has been a part of the organsiation of Vara Concert Hall, continuing touring both nationally and internationally. They are also dedicated to education and development with several projects each year for younger audiences and musicians. Bohuslän Big Band work closly with Sweden’s top music conservatories and are mentors tothe young musicians in Vara Concert Hall’s award winning youth jazz orchestra, Next Generation Big Band.

Festivals and collaborations

Bohuslän Big Band performs about 80-90 concerts each year and has participated in prestigious festivals such as the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Jazz Baltica Salzau, Jerusalem Jazz Festival, Yamaha Jazz festival, Ystad Jazz Festival and Stockholm Jazz Festival.

The big band remains dedicated to the task of disseminating live music of the highest quality and discovering new exciting collaborations with musicians, composers, and arrangers through a broad spectrum of genres. Bohuslän Big Band preserves and moves forward the genre while giving the listener an overall experience with the best that a big band has to offer.

Between 2021-2024, guest conductor and arranger with Bohuslän Big Band has been mulit-Grammy Award winner, Vince Mendoza. He has arranged and directed Bohuslän Big Band on several projects and the artistic visionary behind programming including Storytellers with vocalist Luciana Souza and Jazz on Film with Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and saxofonist Joe Lovano.

Working with Bohuslän Big Band means working alongside Scandinavia’s top professional musicians and a highly dedicated team. The big band continually strives to push the envelope in contemporary music while still keeping the roots of jazz close at heart.