Anders Jormin

Sweden’s Anders Jormin is a progressive bassist with a bent toward atmospheric classical and folk-influenced jazz. Emerging in the 1970s, Jormin came into his own working alongside such well-regarded luminaries as Bobo Stenson, Don Cherry, Charles Lloyd, and Tomasz Stańko. He is both a highly regarded performer and educator, having taught for over 30 years at Gothenburg’s Musikhögskolan. Born in Jönköping, Sweden in 1957, Jormin was first introduced to music via his jazz musician father, who helped him (and his brother, percussionist Christian Jormin) learn standards at a young age. Later, Jormin studied classical piano and bass at the University of Gothenburg, where he graduated in 1979. Also during the ’70s, Jormin found work performing with such established acts as Mwendo Dawa and Rena Rama, the latter of which featured longtime Jormin associate Stenson. By the early ’80s Jormin was an established jazz sideman, appearing on albums by pianist Lars Jansson and singer Claes Janson. In 1984, he made his debut as a leader with Nordic Light on Dragon. He then followed up with several more outings for Dragon, including Eight Pieces (1988), Alone (1991), Jord (1995), and Silvae (1998). During the ’90s, Jormin also collaborated on albums by a bevy of highly regarded forward-thinking artists, including pianist Stenson, trumpeter Cherry, saxophonist Lloyd, and trumpeter Stańko. In 2001, Jormin made his solo ECM debut with Xieyi, an impressionistic, classical-influenced production showcasing his four-piece brass ensemble arrangements. Two years later he delivered his sophomore ECM album, In Winds, in Light, which featured accompaniment from pianist Marilyn Crispell and vocalist/violinist Lena Willemark. The 2000s also found Jormin appearing on works by such similarly minded musicians as guitarist John Abercrombie, bassist Eberhard Weber, drummers Jon Christensen and Paul Motian, trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, keyboardist Kristian Blak, and others. In 2011, he joined percussionist Marilyn Mazur for the ECM date Celestial Circle, followed a year later by his haunting, eclectic effort Ad Lucem, featuring vocalists Mariam Wallentin and Erika Angell along with clarinetist/saxophonist Fredrik Ljungkvist. In 2013, the bassist was joined again by Wallentin for the chamber choir album Anders Jormin: Between Always and Never. That same year he paired with his brother, percussionist Christian Jormin, for the quiet duo album Provenance. In 2015, Jormin appeared with Willemark and Japanese 25-string koto player Karin Nakagawa on the ECM release Trees of Light. Two years later, he delivered Titok, a trio album with guitarist Ferenc Snétberger and drummer Joey Baron, also on ECM. The classical-leaning Tantum with organist Karin Nelson and flutist Jonas Simonson followed in 2018. ~ Matt Collar