Maria Kvist

(born in Kälarne Jämtland, 1971, resident Enskede, Stockholm) is a Swedish pianist and composer in the jazz field. She grew up in a small village in Ede, Jämtland. Music was an integral part in her family and she began to sing and perform at an early age with her father, an accordionist. Her education began with piano lessons when she was six years old. During high-school Maria started to sing and play keyboard professionally in a local band, and was touring all over Sweden. The interest for jazz began in the last year of high-school when her classical piano teacher Sven Erik Johansson introduced some music by Oscar Peterson and George Gershwin. At Birka Folk Folkhögskola she studied classical piano and jazz in ensembles. In 1993 Kvist went to Berklee College of Music for a year. There she studied jazz piano with Bill Davies and composing with Jeff Friedman. When she returned to Sweden she attended The Royal College of Music in Stockholm and studied jazz piano with Ove Lundin. During that time Kvist toured and recorded with the jazz-pop band Blå Kongo. She also started Lynx, a jazz quartet playing original music exclusively, which toured frequently throughout Sweden. Since then, she is a working musician in different bands and has appeared as session pianist on various recordings. Kvist has performed with artists like Svante Thuresson, Cecilia Wennerström, Peo Jönis, Jakob Stadell, Karin Hammar, Peter Johannesson and Sixtus. She is also a member of the sextet ELC (CD-release 2009 Consequences) and has done many concerts with the tribute show to late Swedish jazz singer Monica Zetterlund called Zetterlund i Våra Hjärtan together with Lina Bergvall at Mosebacke in Stockholm during the past years. Maria formed a quartet in her own name in 2007 including the members Linus Kåse on alto saxophone, Sven-Eric Johansson on double bass and Isak Andersson on drums. She writes most of the repertoire for the group.
Selected recordings: I Read a Review 2008, Wide Meadow music; Lemon Man 2010, Wime Records; Superficial, 2013, Wela Records.
Awards, selection: 2001 STIM's (the Swedish Performing Rights Society) grant; 2012 SKAP (Swedish Composers of Popular Music).

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