Kustbandet is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

orchestra founded as a school band in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in 1962 by Christer Ekhé (né Jansson) and Kenneth Arnström. Originally named the Southside Kneewarmers, it played traditional New Orleans jazz and later

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

. Up to the mid-1970s Arnström was the musical leader of Kustbandet and no written music was used. In the late 70's Bent Persson joined the orchestra introducing his own charts and transcriptions from vintage recordings. Kustbandet perform regularly at concerts, dances and festivals and have toured extensively in Europe, Asia, Australia and The USA. Highlights have been three Nobel Prize Galas, Prairie Home Companion radio shows and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festivals. Kustbandet was formed in the wake of the "jazz war" between traditionalists and modernists in the early 1960s. With time these labels have become redundant, as jazz styles have become more homogeneous. This is also reflected within the orchestra nowadays moving freely between the early jazz styles. Kustbandet's concerts are labeled: "From Ragtime to Swing" presenting blues, ragtime, boogie woogie, Dixieland, swing, gospel, New Orleans brass band-style. The band has recorded more than 20 albums (LP, EP and CD), mainly for the labels Kenneth Records, Stomp Off, Circle Records and Sittel. In 1987 trombonist Jens "Jesse" Lindgren took over the leadership of the band.

References

{{Authority control Swedish jazz ensembles Stomp Off artists Musical groups from Stockholm