Four is a winner: that was the unanimous opinion of critics and audiences alike on the first album from German-Swedish supergroup 4 Wheel Drive. The eponymous debut disc from this band of bandleaders went straight to the top spot as best-selling jazz album in Germany for2019. And the media didn’t hold back with their praise either: “Four first-league jazz musicians with pure joy of playing and a love of good pop music”, said ZDF’s “heute-journal” about this spirited and enjoyable group, which combines trombonist/singer Nils Landgren, pianist Michael Wollny, bassist/cellist Lars Danielsson and drummer Wolfgang Haffner. AllAboutJazz, a leading American jazz website, asked whether this album might be worth adding to a listener’s collection, and answered the question succinctly:”4 sure”.

Laura Marti's new album "Africa - Tribute to Lars Danielsson" is a beautiful homage to the legendary European jazz musician. Recorded in Germany's Bauer Studios during the intense conflict in Ukraine, the album is a testament to the importance of supporting Ukrainian music in European cultural life. The album features 9 tracks, including 8 of Danielsson's well-known compositions and a special track written by him for the project, called "For Laura," in which he also participated. Marti invited renowned Ukrainian jazz pianist and composer Natalia Lebedeva to create the arrangements for the songs, and talented Ukrainian jazz musicians Yakiv Tsvietinsky, Yuriy Natsvlishvili, and Dima Litvinenko joined the project. This album is a must-listen for any jazz lover looking to explore the intersection of European and Ukrainian jazz.

Swedish bassist/cellist Lars Danielsson is a master improviser, who completely engages listeners by taking them on journeys of both pleasure and wonder, with themes which are always expressive and song-like. He is far too classy and refined a musician to indulge in superficial virtuosic display. Danielsson's well-honed, naturally lyrical improvisational lines remain at the service of the flow of the music, something particularly noticeable when he steps forward and takes on the role of soloist. These core traits are also there in his extensive and much-praised work as arranger, composer and bandleader.

The trio format has always been something of an ideal for Jan Lundgren. That particular buzz when communication between the musicians in a trio is direct, immediate and ever-present…when the trio keeps a constant sense of forward motion and development…when the players collectively remain open to the inspiration of every millisecond. These are the virtues which Lundgren sees as the recipe for the kind of openness, freedom, subtlety and excellence of a trio at its best.

Over the past few years Swedish bassist, cellist, composer, and arranger Lars Danielsson has matured into one of the most important voices in European jazz. He has played alongside such international stars as Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker, John Scofield, and Charles Lloyd, led his own quartet, worked as musical producer for Caecilie Norby, Viktoria Tolstoy and the Danish Radio Orchestra, and, most importantly, recorded three CDs under his own name for ACT. These recordings reveal Danielsson’s unmistakeable originality, his music’s amazing openness, and his wide-ranging creativity.
Tarantella (2009) is more multi-layered than Danielsson’s previous projects. Whether they are atmospheric, suspended musical images full of movement (this is already implied in the names of the title piece, along with “Ballet”, and Ballerina”), spherical hymns reminiscent of Swedish church music…

Good things are worth waiting for. Lars Danielsson had recorded just a few tracks for a new Liberetto album in late 2019. So, when a window appeared in September 2020 between the lockdowns across Europe, he seized the opportunity to bring his fellow band-members back to his studio near Gothenburg to finish what they had started.