Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra

About the Performance

The Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra (UUJO ), conducted by Erik Tengholm, pays tribute to two of jazz’s foremost stylists – trumpeter MilesDavis and saxophonist John Coltrane, both of whom would have turned 100 this year. Their importance for the development of jazz, especially in the 1950s and 60s, was enormous, and to this day, audiences and practitioners around the world still hold them up as their favorite artists and role models in jazz history. Neither of them led their own big band, but at this concert we will hear their music in big band format!

In addition, UUJO will be joined by the ever-present saxophone veteran Håkan Broström, who has been one of the strongest voices on the Swedish jazz scene for many years, both as a soloist, composer and arranger. He also happens to be one of the country’s foremost Coltrane connoisseurs!

Participants

Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra

Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra (UUJO) is Uppsala University’s own big band. The orchestra was formed in 2004 as Sweden’s first credit-bearing university big band on the initiative of the then Rector Magnificus Bo Sundqvist and the artist/bandmaster Ulf Johansson Werre. UUJO was then made permanent as a “performing band” within the university’s live music and was given Musicum as its home together with the Royal Academic Orchestra.

The UUJO rehearses and performs regularly and organizes its own theme concerts every semester. In addition, UUJO performs at university events, for companies, at cultural events, jazz festivals and is hired for dance evenings.

Håkan Broström – saxophone

Håkan Broström was born in 1955 in Motala and is one of Sweden’s most important saxophonists, composers and arrangers in jazz and contemporary music. His playing is characterized by a strong personal tone, great stylistic breadth and sensitive musicianship – with equal parts precision, power and lyricism.

After studying in Malmö in the early 1970s, with saxophonist and arranger Helge Albin as his teacher, Broström quickly developed his own expression and became a sought-after musician in many different contexts. He has played with Eje Thelin, co-founded the quartet Equinox with Tomas Franck and has been heard with artists and ensembles such as Peps Persson, Gustavo Bergalli and the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra. For many years he was also a member of the Norrbotten Big Band, where meetings with international guests such as Phil Woods, Bob Berg, Maria Schneider and Joe Lovano became important artistic imprints. In parallel, he has worked as a bandleader and composer, including with the big band New Places Orchestra, and continues to make a clear mark on the Swedish jazz scene through his expressive music-making and his elaborate arrangements.

Erik Tengholm – trumpet and orchestra leader

Erik Tengholm was born in 1996 in Uppsala and studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm 2015-2019. Despite his young age, he is well established on the Swedish jazz scene as a trumpeter, arranger, composer and bandleader, and also tours extensively internationally. He can be heard in a wide range of bands and contexts, both large and small constellations and in various subgenres of jazz.

In August 2024, Erik took over the artistic leadership of UUJO after the retirement of Honorary Doctor Ulf Johansson Werre. Erik also leads his own groups and has released two albums under his own name, “Stories From the Club” (2021) with his quintet and “Blue And Green With a Touch of Brown” with the Tengholm Ullberg Big Band (2023). In the spring of 2025, he also released a third album under his own name, “Stickin’ Together”, together with bassist and brother Johan Tengholm and various guests.

Date and time: 12 May 2026, 19:00 – 21:30