Martin Sjöstedt

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Martin Sjostedt was born in Uppsala in 1978. At the age of five he began playing the piano. Because of his father's keen interest in jazz, Martin was exposed to the recordings of Armstrong, Basie, Ellington and Miles Davis at an early age. He was introduced to playing the double bass by a friend of the family who loaned him his instrument. Already at the age of sixteen he began playing the bass in the Uppsala region with local professional musicians such as trumpeter Bosse Broberg, pianists Ulf Johansson Were and Gösta Rundquist and singer Claes Janson.
In 1997 Martin moved to Stockholm to study at the Royal College of Music. However, the demands for his services as a bass player were so heavy that he was unable to complete his studies. He became the regular bassist with the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra and in consequence had the opportunity of playing with such international guest stars as Bob Mintzer, Joe Lovano, Jim McNeely, Maria Schneider. Since then Martin has been working with, just to meantion a few, Jimmy Cobb, Randy Brecker, Peter Erskine, Deborah Brown, Jukkis Uotila, Philip Harper, Chris Potter.
In 2002 Martin formed his own group "Martin Sjöstedt Band" with Magnus Lindgren, pianist Jonas Östholm and drummer Daniel Fredriksson. Martin Sjöstedt's conception of bass playing is focused very much on the acoustic sound of the instrument. With his firm and impressive technique he is rooted in the American tradition of Jimmy Blanton and Ray Brown. Since 1998 he has taken part in around 50 released recordings.
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