Our popular Summer Jazz Series returns to Scandinavia House, with live concerts! This summer we’re presenting performances from some of Scandinavia’s most talented jazz musicians, composers, and singers on Thursday evenings in June. On June 9, see flute player, composer and educator Elsa Nilsson perform her work Thyme in a celebration of our ecosystem with fellow musicians Santiago Leibson (piano), Marty Kenney (bass), and Rodrigo Recabarren (drums).
Tickets to this event must be purchased in advance online at the link above. Attendees are required to follow all Scandinavia House safety protocols, including wearing masks at all times during the program and observing social distancing rules in signage. Please read our full safety protocols here.
About the Musicians
Flute Player, Composer and Educator Elsa Nilsson was born and raised in Gothenburg, Sweden and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. She can often be found playing at The 55 Bar, Bar Bayeux and other New York Jazz venues. Nilsson approaches music with an attitude of inclusiveness. She believes there is a space to be found in music that gives us the freedom to be exactly who we are. This leads her to make some unconventional choices as an improviser and composer where the lines between styles become blurred and rules get bent in order to serve the ultimate goal of sincere communication. Nilsson draws inspiration from every aspect of life and music that moves her, combining them through the lens of Jazz to create a deeply personal expression that she hopes is universally relatable. Nilsson is on Faculty at The New School College for Performing Arts.
Santiago Leibson is a Brooklyn based, Argentinian born jazz pianist and composer. His music is situated in the frontier of jazz, improvised music, classical and contemporary music. As a bandleader, he has released five records: Amon (2014), Pendular (2015), Out of Orden (2016), Episodes (2018) and Little Pieces (2020). JazzTrail says about Episodes: “Episodes is a swinging album with abundant evocations of past grandeur. Thence, the trio of performers lay bare their solid command of time and space to create new narratives”.
Based in New York City, Marty Kenney is among his generation’s most versatile and in demand upright and electric bassists. Originally from Palmer, Alaska, Marty received his bachelor’s degree at the University of Northern Colorado. He relocated to New York City in 2012, where he completed his Master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music, studying under bassist Jay Anderson. Marty has performed with musicians such as Art Lande, Billy Drummond, Rich Perry, Steve Slagle, Allan Harris, Rez Abbasi, Brandon Seabrook, Brian Krock’s Big Heart Machine, David Berkman, and the New York Standards Quartet featuring Tim Armacost and Gene Jackson.
Born in Santiago de Chile, Rodrigo Recabarren studied music at the PUC in Chile (BA) and NYU in NYC (M.M.), but also learned the craft in many other places and with the help of many friends during his life. Rodrigo has been playing music professionally since 2011 and throughout these years has been extremely fortunate to be able to share the musicing process with some of the most incredible artists, some of them are: Guillermo Klein, Claudia Acuña, Perico Sambeat, Brad Shepik, Melissa Aldana, Camila Meza, Rafal Sarnecki, Angel Parra, Raimundo Santander, Pablo Menares, Carlos Vera L. Akira Ishiguro and Jeff Miles among many others.”
Sponsor
This program has been supported by Finlandia Foundation.
Summer Jazz Series
This summer we’re presenting performances from some of Scandinavia’s most talented young jazz musicians, composers, and singers from June 2 through June 23.