Abba Jazz Live

When Viktoria Tolstoy sings, it is her personal background, the things that have made her who she is, that resonate above all. Her choice of songs is rooted in her own experience, whether it be a deep attachment to her native country ("My Swedish Heart"), the quest for her Russian heritage – she is the great-great-granddaughter of Leo Tolstoy – ("My Russian Soul"), a desire to pay an affectionate tribute to Herbie Hancock ("Letters To Herbie"), or to interpret great film songs ("Meet Me At The Movies"). These thematic threads give Viktoria Tolstoy a way of singing songs which is hers and hers alone. And her voice has something truly special and individual too: there might be a hint of melodrama, or perhaps a certain sadness which is nonetheless underpinned with joy, or happiness, yet with an urgent and dramatic undertone. This innate sense of how to establish an emotional connection also helps to explain why Tolstoy has become one of the most successful singers in jazz from Scandinavia.

"Unbreakable" is the 11th studio release from Swedish band the Nils Landgren Funk Unit. The brainchild of trombonist Nils Landgren, this record features legends such as Ray Parker Jr., Randy Brecker, and Tim Hagans, making for an undeniably funky listen. The album was recorded in November 2016 in the legendary Atlantis Studios in Stockholm, also the recording site for artists like ABBA, Scorpions, Elvis Costello and Esbjörn Svensson.

As empathic as strong-voiced she gives this catchy song that connects several generations a musically new, brilliant robe. With the vocal sequences sung by her in Finnish, she sets a statement to her Finnish origin – a wonderful variety of the classic scat singing. And totally Tuija Komi.

Dance is more than movement to music. Dance is passion and pure lust for life. Celebrations call for dancing. That was as true in the palaces and the taverns of the 18th century as it is today in the techno temples of the new era. This is the surging river that ECHO-Klassik winners Spark have set out to bridge in their project "On the Dancefloor". The Classical Band throws an arch from the spirited ballet music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to the chamber techno penned by contemporary composer Sebastian Bartmann, finding that two seemingly contrasting worlds actually fit very well together.