Swedish Trumpeter Peter Asplund Profiled at AAJ

Peter Asplund, one of Sweden's most talented jazz trumpeters, gets his inspiration from giants like Louis Armstrong, Clifford Brown and Miles Davis but funnels it through his own, very Nordic filter. “I don't pretend to sound like an American trumpeter," he says. “I'm Swedish and that has to come across. As I see it, you have to be uncompromisingly yourself, pursue your own musical vision." He pauses and smiles ruefully. “Then of course you have to get people to like what you do--that's the hard part!"

A part that got a whole lot easier with the 2004 Prophone release of Lochiel's Warning, featuring a quartet fronted by Asplund. It contains a stunning mix of originals and standards, including a hauntingly beautiful ten-minute version of Duke Ellington's “In a Sentimental Mood." The disk won the prestigious Golden Record award presented annually by OJ (Orkester Journalen), the world's longest-running jazz magazine (first published in November, 1933) and was hailed as “an instant classic" by Dagens Nyheter, Sweden's leading daily newspaper.

AAJ contributor Chris Mosey spoke with Asplund about his quartet, his musical upbringing and his belief that, while undoubtedly conversant in the American jazz tradition, Asplund views himself as a distinctly Swedish trumpeter.

Check out Peter Asplund: In a Swedish Way at AAJ today!