Going North

Grammy nominated and award-winning Norrbotten Big Band is a professional big band under the artistic direction of saxophonist and composer Joakim Milder. Based in the north of Sweden, the Norrbotten Big Band is part of Norrbotten county's music institution, Norrbottensmusiken. Goran Strandberg is a composer and arranger and has been a staple on the music scene since the early 1970s. He studied at the Stockholm School of Music, and then at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. A strong inspiration for him has been pianist and arranger Jan Johansson and his music. In 1978 he was awarded a Jan Johansson scholarship. In 1990 he started as a pianist in the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra where he also got the opportunity to compose and arrange for this formidable band. It resulted in "Lakes" (2000), "Sailing" (2004), "I'll be seeing you" (2008) and most recently "Ikaros" (2009). He is a house composer for the Norrbotten Big Band.