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Niklas Winter is a finnish jazz guitarist and composer. Winter has made 8 records as a leader and has been active as a sideman in several bands. He also runs his own jazzlabel Abovoice. During the years Winter has performed with; Kenny Wheeler, Ulf Wakenius, Kirite Kanawa, Jesse Van Ruller, Cameron Brown, Henry Lowther, Ted Curson, Lars Jansson, Jukkis Uotila, Teemu Viinikainen, Karl-Martin Almqvist, Fumio Yasuda, Ino Nobuyoshi, Jani Moder, Morten Lund, Jesper Bodilsen, Severi Pyysalo and many more..
Winter has a fresh, modern sound. This is original and very exciting music and Niklas Winter Quartet has surely been a great experience at many festivals. Tor Hammerø /Jazznyt (Norway)
‘Missä hyvänsä Niklas Winter soittaa, hänen herkästi kaipailevan kitaransa tunnistaa. Winter tuntuu etsivän käsitteiksi taipumatonta, jotain vielä ja ehkä pysyvästi näkymätöntä. Soundi on ollut samanlainen vuosia. Kari Salminen / Turun Sanomat (2.9.22)
Winter is a true sophisticated original on the guitar in Finland. Timo Vähäsilta /Rytmi (Finland)
Niklas Winter’s poetic playing shows great knowledge of improvisational skills. Jörgen Östberg /Orkester Journalen (Sweden)
” In Winter’s playing listener can hear plainness and intelligence. Winter’s improvisations and harmonies look back to the history of jazz but also expresses the atmosphere of today.”Hiroki Sugita/Jazz Life (Japan)
Trust in fact, was key, as was a fundamental sense of good time. Without a drummer or a bassist, and with the two guitarists sometimes dissolving into spare sections where time was, at best, suggested, it became even more essential that the two could internalize that time and know where it was, without it being explicitly there. It’s in the context of the duo that an artist is at his/her most exposed; not only are their abilities, instincts and improvisational élan laid bare, but their communication skills—or lack thereof—are impossible to disguise. Viinikainen and Winter needn’t have worried, as it was clear, from their Tampere Jazz Happening performance, that this was a duo communicating at a very deep level, playing relatively quiet music that was, nevertheless, thoroughly captivating.
JOHN
KELMAN / ALL ABOUT JAZZ (USA)
NEW ALBUM OUT ON THE 15TH OF JANUARY 2023
ON ALL MAJOR STREAMING PLATFORMS!
Niklas Winter GRADUALE
The album consists of Winter original compositions combined with his arrangements of the oldest written music in Finland.
Henry Lowther – trumpet and fluegelhorn, Niklas Winter – guitar, Severi Pyysalo – vibraphone, Juho Laitinen – cello, Utopia Chamber Choir.
Buy the new album from here! Link below to his record label homepage. The physical CD will come out soon!
UPCOMING CONCERTS 2023
Look at ’ concerts ’ for a full list of upcoming and past performances.
22.2 Juttutupa, Helsinki, Finland.
Niklas Winter Quartet with Fredrik Nordström (SWE) – tenor saxophone, Filip Augustson (SWE) – bass, Markku Ounaskari – drums.
Modern mainstream jazz with elements of free jazz. Presenting material from the upcoming album ’Escalate’.
23.2 Rica Bar, Turku, Finland.
Niklas Winter Quartet with Fredrik Nordström (SWE) – tenor saxophone, Filip Augustson (SWE) – bass, Markku Ounaskari – drums.
Modern mainstream jazz with elements of free jazz. Presenting material from the upcoming album ’Escalate’.
19.3 Korsnäs Library, Korsnäs, Finland.
With Mariah Hortans – vocals.
31.3 Doobop Jazz Club, Vasa, Finland.
With Mariah Hortans – vocals.
news
1/2023
The release of my new album Graduale is getting close! The release date on all major streaming platforms is on the 15th of January 2023. The physical CD will be released soon after that. You can can buy the album on www.abovoice.com.
Had a blast recording the new Hess Winter Huntley Trio album in Austin , Texas in December. We recorded cool versions of Hank William’s compositions and compositions by others not often associated with jazz. I’ll get back to this later. The project’s name is Scandinavian Skies.
In February I will do a couple of gigs with my Swedish/Finnish Quartet. We will also record some stuff and hopefully we’ll have enough material for a new album. Our last album ’Live in Stockholm’ was released back in 2006 so it’s about time to do a new one!
Cheers,
Niklas