Renato Diz and Elsa Nilsson duo
This brand new project is getting their feet wet with tasty grooves and hip ideas for any occation. Please contact me with any questions!
- Red Currant
- Best Left Alone
- Merlin's Sneath
- Glädjen's Blomster (Flower Of Joy)
- Pocket Sanitizer
- Visa Från Utanmyra
- Shining
Best Left Alone
"Best Left Alone", is profoundly playful and the band interactive. Well worth a second listen. Original music and arrangements of
swedish folk music.
Elsa Nilsson - flutist, composer, educator.
Swedish born Flute player Elsa Nilsson’s music is profoundly playful and widely influenced. She believes that the beauty of music is how it transcends cultural boundaries, and Nilsson accentuates this in her music by mixing cultures. Nilsson believes that all folk music has a common thread, (she considers jazz to be a folk music as well) and that by mixing them a deeper understanding between cultures is reached. The Elsa Nilsson Quintet plays jazz like Vikings who ventured out of the cold and fled to Brazil. Their shows are a tour de force featuring arrangements of Swedish folk music, complex funky originals with odd meters that feel good. In her playing Nilsson takes the flute to its fullest potential employing everything from folk styles to extended classical techniques creating a sound that is lyrical and warm.
Elsa Nilsson was born and raised in Gothenburg, Sweden, where she started her love-affair with music at the early age of 2. Her father placed her in front of a microphone with his all Swedish ex-navy sea shanty’s band and said “sing child, sing“. By the time she was 4 she was singing harmonies with her younger brother Albin. She started playing piano at age 5 and by the time she was accepted to Hvitfeldtska gymnasium (a classical conservatory style program in Gothenburg) at age 14 she had been playing flute for 3 years, teaching herself how to improvise by listening to jazz records.
Nilsson moved to Brooklyn, New York, in September 2010. She has been performing and teaching in the area ever since. She has studied with Chris Potter, Peter Bernstein, Kenny Werner, Jean-Michele Pilc, Robert Dick, Jamie Baum, Brad Shepik and many more in the process of attaining her Masters degree from NYU’s Jazz Program. Nilsson has performed with Kenny Werner’s and Brad Shepik’s NYU ensembles, The Jim Knapp Orchestra, Jovino Santos Neto, Ben Thomas, Chuck Deardorf, Dawn Clement, Michael Owcharuk, Darrius Willrich and more.
In 2009 Elsa released her first full length album "Gläns". Playing on it is Elsa Nilsson (flute and alto flute), Michael Owcharuk (piano), Nate Omdal (electric bass), Burt Boice (upright bass) and Cody Rahn (drums and cymbals). It was recorded by Hans Brehmer, Mixed by Elsa Nilsson and Jake Perrine and mastered by Jake Perrine. Michael Rioux did the artwork.
Elsa's second record, Best Left Alone, was released in 2010. It is profoundly playful and the band interactive creating an exciting mix of personality and tradition. It is well worth a second listen. This offering provides original music and heavily arranged swedish folk music featuring Alex Olesen-guitar, Aaron Jenkins-sax, Jason Gray-bass, Cody Rahn-drums and cymbals and Elsa Nilsson-flute and alto flute. It was mixed By Cody Rahn and mastered by Jake Perrine. Daniel Nilsson did the artwork.
Teaching Experience
