Leading a new era of jazz
Loke S. Risberg
Loke S. Risberg is a celebrated, award-winning guitarist and composer from Gothenburg, Sweden. Having performed with a wide variety of musicians and artists such as Nils Landgren, Ellen Nisbeth, Marit Bergman, Fredrik Ljungkvist, Maria Schneider, Mats Gustafsson, Svante Thuresson, Miriam Bryant, Blue House Jazz Orchestra among others, received numerous awards, and toured worldwide with his own groups Susanna Risberg Trio and Susanna Risberg Vilddjur Septett, Risberg has already earned his place in the music world.
At the age of 10, he got his very first guitar. Inspired by his hero Jimi Hendrix, he formed a blues/rock trio which soon developed into a quartet. Having great success around Sweden, the group performed vigorously at blues festivals and clubs. Being a 15-year-old guitarist at the time and always on the search for new challenges, Risberg got more and more entrenched in the study of jazz which led to substantial attention in the media.
In 2005, Risberg was awarded a Scholarship from the Albin Hagström Fund for guitarists. The following three years, he performed relentlessly as a soloist with Blue House Jazz Orchestra led by Magnus Lindgren, as well as in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Gävle Symphony Orchestra, and Mölndal Big Band in a collaboration with Svante Thuresson. He also formed his own trio group, which performed at jazz clubs all over Sweden.
In 2008, he was accepted to Berklee College of Music on a scholarship. During his time at Berklee, he studied with Mick Goodrick, David Fiuczynski, Hal Crook, Tim Miller among several others.
Photos by Mai Nestor.
Risberg has also won a variety of awards, including the prestigious Jimi Hendrix Award, Jazzkatten award in the category of Newcomer of the Year from the Swedish Radio, and the Best Composition Award for his song "Lunde" at Sibiu International Jazz Competition.
As a bandleader and composer, Risberg has released four albums: Susanna Risberg Trio (2013), Utfall (2015), Vilddjur (2018)", and his most recent album, Boiler Room (2021, CAM JAZZ), all consisting mostly of original compositions.
Besides performing as a jazz guitarist, Risberg has also had a career in composing for modern art music ensembles and has had his works performed by Ellen Nisbeth, Bohuslän Big Band, and The Gothenburg Combo, among others. He has also composed music for the celebrated play, Leif, starring Leif Andrée, directed by Ole Anders Tandberg, and also performed in it as a one-person orchestra.
Sälen Jazz Natural
Sälen ventures into a new realm
The Sälen Jazz takes a whole new direction – both visually and sonically – with chambered Mahogany body capped with solid Maple top and Mahogany veneer, Mahogany neck with Rosewood fretboard, F-hole, and a pair of the new .strandberg* MF Classic humbuckers. One of the most versatile .strandberg* guitar models ever with its unmatched ability to explore various shades of clean and low-to-medium gain sounds, the Sälen Jazz can also bark and roar like a true rock-and-roll machine in high gain settings. Hyper responsive to your picking attack and touch, the Sälen Jazz covers a wide spectrum of classic and modern electric guitar sounds to suit a wealth of playing styles and musical genres.
"Strandberg Sälen Jazz is not only the most beautiful thing I've ever seen but also a revolutionary guitar. It has been revolutionary for my playing and it is revolutionary among guitars in general."
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