Joakim Milder Interviewing Staffan Odenhall. English translation by Isabel Thomson.

Since a rather long time has passed since the interview I have updated and changed some parts of the original text.

What is the origin of these pieces?
I had known Christer Johnsson since studying at the Royal University College of Music in Stockholm. We met by chance in 1997, and I asked him if he would be interested in my writing a saxophone concerto for him, and to my delight he said yes.
My idea was that all the instruments would start on middle C, caught in that note, and that the piece would grow from there via the soloist. The saxophone part liberates itself after a while and adds new sounds, but the first violins soon join the hunt, acting in canon following the saxophone. The ending is a kind of dancing musical development that I reached intuitively. The second movement is a quiet contrast that I teased out on the piano. The hunt is taken up again in the last movement, culminating in a cadenza. I was thinking ”this'Il really put Christer through his paces”.

I wrote the trumpet concerto from the year 2000 very quickly, basically in a week! I had been talking to Peter and was so inspired that I walked to the piano and directly played what was to become the opening of the concerto. I had long wanted to write an orchestral piece with an improviser, and I felt that Peter would fit the bill perfectly. We have played together in big bands and known each other for a long time, due to our common links to Södertälje.

The concertos are quite different in nature, but there are some common features. Is there anything in your language that is common to them?

I wanted to write rather traditional concertos with a clear formal language and a calm second movement. The saxophone concerto is completely scored, but I have tried to give it an improvisational feel. Rune Bergmann also discovered the "Staffan chord”, for instance: A-D-Eb-G, which you can find in most of what I've written, including these two concertos. For me as a composer it is important to do something that is personal so that you get the impression that — ”I have never heard this before” — and at the same time as a listener it is important to be able to appreciate the music.

I think you can hardly avoid being personal...

Probably not. Everything is an imprint of your personality, but perhaps it's more about not being afraid to let your ideas out, to go the whole way.

… and not be so worried about what your colleagues will think.

Exactly. It isn't always easy!

Both concertos have a clear, delineated and constant pulse. Is this a typical Odenhall feature?

Probably, yes. I come from a tradition of rock and jazz. I like Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa at the same time as I like Stravinsky, Mahler and Magnus Lindberg.

I suppose it becomes a mix of what I like. That's probably how it is for anyone who writes music. The first time I heard The Rite of Spring was a very great experience to me. It is classical music that is also, in some way, jazz and improvisation. So this probably stems from the fact that I like exciting sounds as well as rhythm and swing.

What was your thinking regarding the old conflict of combining composition and improvisation in the trumpet concerto? As an improviser, you want to feel that there is room for your impulses, and the composer generally wants tight control of form and Structure.

The improvisation should not feel like mere ornamentation. I wanted to write music that was thoroughly composed, but would still give Peter the space and the possibility to counterbalance the orchestra. The pianist Jakob Karlzon should also be seen as a soloist. His role was to create a bridge between Peter and the orchestra. This grew out of rehearsals when I realised how well Jakob played and reacted. This is also true for the drummer Johan Löfcrantz. At first there were no jazz drums in the concerto, only classical percussions. I still had the thought that a drum kit would be fun, but not just a traditional groove. I wanted someone who could fill in and comment on what Peter and Jakob were playing.

Are there any others you think have found this equilibrium between compositlon and improvisation?
I really like the Norwegian saxophonist Marius Neset. In his compositions and way of playing you never know if it is noted or improvised. Often both at the same time… Another band that is cool is the American group ”Kneebody” where they have phrases as signals on where to go with the playing and improvisations. Then there is the American group ”Knower”  an amazing and innovating duo.

Can you tell us anything about the recording itself?
Everything worked out really well! I was very impressed by the level and attitude of the musicians! Under the direction of the conductor, Rune Bergmann, all the contributing musicians did an amazing job. The orchestra, wind instruments, percussion and strings (Stockholm Session Strings) were basically ready to record after a 20-minute rehearsal!

The producer, Håkan Elmqvist is fantastic, and I am really pleased that I could hire Åke Linton as recording engineer. It was an intense week, but after all the hard work, it felt almost unreal to access the resources provided by Phono Suecia