Håkan Lewin
As a jazz saxophonist, Håkan Lewin has toured in large parts of the world, from California in the west to Siberia in the east.
Jazz saxophonist Håkan Lewin is a strong contributing factor to the fact that the atmosphere from the legendary dance venues Bal Palais and Strömsborg is now re-emerging together with Gugge Hedrénius' mythical and blues-saturated jazz music!
New constellation in 2023
Mr. Blues is a new hard-swinging, blues-saturated quartet, whose members have many years of experience in concert activities both nationally and internationally. The quartet can be booked from 2023.
Here, Håkan Lewin gathers some of Sweden's somewhat legendary musicians.
The repertoire includes e.g. music by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn and Hank Crawford where some of the songs and arrangements were accompanied by Håkan from his time with Gugge Hedrénius' Big Blues Band. The group has the opportunity to adapt the repertoire to attract both jazz and blues audiences.
Group members
Vocals: Ann Kristin Hedmark and/or Claes Janson
Kettil Medelius: Keyboard
Hasse Larsson: Bass
Jonas "Wasa" Backman: Drums
Håkan Lewin: saxophone
About Håkan
Håkan himself played with Gugge Hedrénius 'Big Blues Band from the beginning of the 70's until Hedrénius' death in 2009. Shortly before he died, Hedrénius entrusted Håkan with the folder that contained his musical heritage - his arrangements. During the past ten years, Håkan has not done anything with the folder - until now.
At Brewhouse, Håkan, as conductor of the eight-member band Blues and Swing Crew formed for the purpose, will perform parts of the contents of the folder on selected Sundays. At Brewhouse Ballroom, there will be room for everyone - whether you want to sit and order food, hang out at the bar or dance to the fantastic music as if there was no tomorrow. Just like it did at the Bal Palais., Strömsborg and the clubs in New York, where Hadrénius took inspiration for his blues-saturated jazz.
Today, Håkan's saxophone playing can also be heard in three other, regular groups: The Storyteller (together with pianist Tommy Kotter); Lewin & Landgren Duo (with organist Johannes Landgren); and Made in Gothenburg (together with Tommy Kotter, bassist Yasuhito Mori and drummer Jon-Erik Björänge).
Håkan and concert organist Johannes Landgren, have achieved great success with their music in Europe and the USA. Bl.a. The duo was engaged in 2004 to play a concert at Martin Luther King Day in St. Petersburg. Peters Church in Manhattan, New York. Furthermore, in addition to the concert activities in Sweden, many tours have been carried out all over Europe. The duo has also on five occasions participated in the festival "Jazz and Pipe Organ" in Chelyabinsk, Russia. In 2005, Håkan and Johannes co-founded the association Music Against Violence.
In 2007, Håkan Christer Boustedt received the scholarship, one of the most prestigious awards for jazz musicians in Sweden.
In 2013-2014, Håkan carried out the project "Gaza Singing for Peace" within the framework of the association Music Against Violence. This project was a collaborative project between MAV and the Palestinian organization SYF (Save Youth Future) in Gaza. The project was funded by the Folke Bernadotte Academy and aimed to convey a message of humanity, coexistence and peace with music.
For many years he played lead saxophone in the Sandvik Big Band and in the legendary Gugge Hedrénius Big Blues Band. In 1987, Håkan was Sweden's representative in the European Radiounion Orchestra. This year the orchestra was located in Amiens, France. He has also on several occasions participated in the Swedish Radio Jazz Group.