Life is more than just music - Festspelen i Piteå

Life is more than just music - in memory of Georg Jojje Wadenius and Stefan Nilsson
 

A concert performance about love, grief, gratitude and friendship by Jojje Wadenius and Lotta Hasselquist Nilsson
Participants: Lotta Hasselquist Nilsson: piano and vocals Johan Granström: bass
 

The performance is about great love and a strong friendship that was born from a shared grief. And about the transforming power of love. Lotta tells the story of her and her husband Stefan Nilsson, as well as Jojje's, and the stories are interspersed with slideshows and music.
 

The performance will feature newly written songs by Jojje with lyrics by the poet Lotta Olsson, and perhaps even some of Jojje's legendary nursery rhymes. We will also hear some of Stefan Nilsson's most famous compositions, including music from films such as Pelle Erövraren, Den ofrifillige golfaren, Martin Beck and also music from the TV series Skärgårdsdoktorn.
 

The internationally renowned jazz and pop guitarist, songwriter, arranger and producer Georg Jojje Wadenius has been recognized in a large part of the world for his fantastic music.
In Sweden he is best known for his children's music and for having been a member of the well-known band Made in Sweden with Tommy Körberg, among others. For many years Jojje lived in the USA where he was a member of the band Blood Sweat and Tears and participated in the Saturday Night Live show in New York for much of the 80s. He was also active as a studio musician on a large number of the world's leading artists' recordings.
 

Stefan Nilsson is the composer behind hits such as the film Så som i himmelen with Gabriella's song, as well as Bille August's film Pelle Erövraren, Jerusalem, Moustache and Peas, Den Goda Viljan and others. He has also written music for another 80 films and TV series, been awarded a Guldbagge, composed and arranged for a long list of artists, and is also a highly regarded composer among choirs. Stefan also started the jazz-rock fusion group Kornet in the 70s. Jojje and Stefan played a lot together during the 70s and 80s in different constellations, and they also had a joint band - De gladas kapell.
 

Stefan's wife, the pianist and composer Lotta Hasselquist Nilsson is a music director, concert pianist and multi-instrumentalist and has also written a lot of choir music. She has worked as a conductor at, among others, Dramaten and Stadsteatern, accompanied choirs and soloists, played improvisational music, chamber music, silent film music and worked with opera and ballet. For many years she also did concerts and performances together with her husband Stefan Nilsson.
Jojje's tough and lonely upbringing strongly influenced his life until the day he met his great love. Then life finally changed. Jojje met the love of his life, Norwegian Brit in the 90s and eventually moved home to Europe and Norway. When Brit passed away after 30 years together after a period of illness, Jojje began writing music about their life and relationship. With this as a background, he has recently recorded an album together with Lotta, Life is more than just music, which also became the title of first his own and later now their joint performance.
 

Stefan's upbringing was also tough and has many common characteristics with Jojjes, with great loneliness and silence. When Lotta and he meet in 2008, his life changes in a similar way to Jojjes.
 

Almost at the same time as Brit passes away, Lotta goes through a similar situation when the love of her life Stefan passes away from ALS, just three months after diagnosis! They had just lived a wonderfully happy and colorful loving musician life and just recently they had bought their dream house together.
 

From Jojjes and Lotta's shared experience of grief an unexpected turn is created and a close and important friendship arises in life that continues. Long conversations, tears, music and joint performances become a great comfort for both of them. Until now, just recently, when Jojje also suddenly passed away.
 

The concert is included in the Festival Pass, making it easy to combine this musical experience with more highlights during the Festival.