Brandqvist - Relations

Martin Brandqvist Quartet is a Swedish jazz group playing original compositions by composer, drummer and multi- instrumentalist, Martin Brandqvist. The music is lyrical Nordic jazz colored by influences from film music and African roots music. The band includes, in addition to Brandqvist on drums, Inge Petersson Lindbäck (saxophone), Mattias Hjorth (Bass), Johan Ohlsson (Piano). Martin Brandqvist grew up in a home characterized by jazz. Martins father, Håkan Brandqvist, is a composer and a jazz musician. Already at the age of 17, Martin played at the legendary jazz club Nefertiti in Gothenburg. Later he became an educated percussionist, in Sweden as well as in New York. He has a Bachelor of art in music from Malmoe University and at Drummers Collective in New York Martin met the legendary percussionist Frank Malabe and studied the Afro-Cuban and Brazilian tradition on drums. This resulted in a long period where Martin played with different bands all in the world music arena. Martin has toured with Vusi Mahlasela in South Africa and with Simbi on festivals in Haiti, Canada and France. As a composer, Martin has written the music for TV-series and movies, to which prizes have been awarded. His cooperation with the Swiss drawer Ted Sieger has resulted in several movies, among others The Fourth King and Molly and the Christmas Monster. In 2016 Martin formed his own jazz quartet with some of the most skilled and willful improvisers of Sweden today. The critically acclaimed debut album Reflections, was released. The reaction from the leading Swedish jazz press was strongly positive. The record was included in the Orkesterjournal's vote of the Golden Disc 2016 and received from 150 albums the second most of the listeners' voices.