Welcome and Guest Introduction

Geoff 0:01

Hello Podcats, Geoff Gascoyne here. Hope you're well. Today I'm lucky enough to be talking to a world-class guitar player from Sweden, whose name is Ulf Wakenius. Ulf has played with all the greatest jazz musicians: Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Michael Brecker, to name a few. Yeah, what a player, god. So here we go with my chat with the great Ulf Wakenius.

Announcement 0:44

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Geoff 0:53

Ulf, how are you?

Ulf 0:54

I'm fine.

Geoff 0:55

We arrived in London yesterday.

Ulf 0:56

Yes, sir.

Geoff 0:57

Refreshed?

Ulf 0:57

I'm refreshed and looking forward to playing tonight.

The Path to Oscar Peterson

Geoff 1:00

Yeah, we're playing tonight at the Pizza Express. Here we are on the stage in the Pizza Express. Playing with the great Sarah Mackenzie, we played with many times before. Can we start talking about how you went from a small town, a medium small town in Sweden, to playing with the most famous jazz piano player in the world? How did that happen?

Ulf 1:17

To break it down, I would say I did a record with Ray Brown. Everything is like a voyage, a journey, right? But I I did a Europe tour with Ray Brown, and then Ray brought me to New York and recorded with him two CDs. And one of those CDs caught Oscar Peterson's ear. And so that was like the first opening. And at that time, uh the bass player was uh Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen from Denmark with Oscar. And Oscar needed a new guitar player, and he recommended me. So actually, it was NHOP who was instrumental getting me into the group. But Ray was like kind of a little door opener.

Geoff 2:02

So you knew him from Scandinavia, do you think?

Ulf 2:04

Exactly. And I had worked with Niels for 10 years, and I was kind of preparing unknowingly for the gig with Oscar because we played hard swinging stuff, you know. That's actually how it came about, you know. And uh like everything in music business, connections and word of mouth, you know.

Geoff 2:23

But I guess you have to be in the right place at the right time, don't you?

Ulf 2:26

Yeah, definitely.

Meeting Ray Brown and Recording

Geoff 2:27

So, how did you meet Ray Brown in the first place then?

Ulf 2:29

Uh actually, we uh got in touch with him, uh, me and the piano player, Niels Lan Doky, and and we brought him over for a Europe tour with Billy Hart on drums. And and we did that was with Birken Hopper actually.

Geoff 2:43

Right.

Ulf 2:43

And uh so we did a Europe tour, and and Ray returned the favor by calling me and asking me if I wanted to record. So I can tell you a little about that in recording because it's exceptional, you know, how Ray works in the studio. So he called me and I went over record in CBS Studios, New York, uh, with Greg Hutchinson and and Benny Green.

Geoff 3:10

I think you're talking about the Seven Steps to Heaven album, are you?

Ulf 3:12

Exactly.

Geoff 3:13

So let me just butt in there.

Ulf 3:14

Yeah, please

Geoff 3:15

It's the sound of that record. Yeah, is I think it's one of my favourite recorded sounds. The whole thing is impeccable, isn't it?

Ulf 3:23

I I would agree, and I would say I have never had a better guitar sound in my life.

Geoff 3:29

Not only the guitar, the bass is I mean, everything is just immaculate.

Ulf 3:35

It is, it is also my maybe my favourite of all times, you know.

Geoff 3:39

So that's the first album you did with Ray, is it?

Ulf 3:41

That's the first one, and and I'll tell you the story what went down in the studio because it it's it's so so I'm uh coming over and uh it's CBS Studios in New York, and in it's like two threes, it's like Sony or CBS Studios. So one of the studios we are in, in the other studio, they're mixing Miles Davis, Plugged Nickel. You know, it's it's like a dream, you know.

Geoff 4:05

Crazy.

Ulf 4:06

And you're with Ray Brown. And then uh Ray asked me, What do you want to play? Ask me something on a recording date. Yeah, he asked me, What do you want to play? So I'm like, mm-mm, what about you know? I'm coming in from Sweden, it's like a dream. For instance, I said what like some standard, you know, and he said, Give me a minute. He goes in to the corner and hums for himself. He comes out, he had done a head arrangement, he said to Benny, Benny, you play this, Greg, you play this, Ulf, you play this. Ten minutes later, he said, We're rolling and we're record.

Geoff 4:38

Crazy.

Ray Brown’s Fast Studio Magic

Ulf 4:39

It's it's so he was uh he was nicknamed the Lone Arranger.

Geoff 4:43

Lone Arranger, you've heard that before, yeah.

Ulf 4:45

Yeah, so so it the way of working, you know, it's kind of like um a bungee jump, you know, you just throw yourself out. Yeah, but but I mean it it was one of the most impressive uh things I ever encountered in my life.

Geoff 5:00

How many days did you take to record that record then?

Ulf 5:02

I think it was one day.

Geoff 5:04

Is that right?

Ulf 5:05

Yeah, one day, yeah.

Geoff 5:06

I see. I remember what I remember also about the album. There was an arrangement at Seven Steps of Heaven where it was like the arrangement flipped on its head, wasn't it?

Ulf 5:14

He did it. That's a very good example. Yeah, because Greg played ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, do, yeah, and then we come in to do do do do do do do. So he flipped it. Yeah. And a typical Ray. And and he kind of refreshes it, it becomes a new tune, you know.

Geoff 5:33

It's so lovely to hear that. I mean, what it's just such a brilliant story, isn't it? How someone like that can be so fresh and creative in the studio.

Ulf 5:40

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Geoff 5:41

Amazing. So, was that your first time visiting the States? That's the first time you went over there.

Ulf 5:46

Uh I had been there before, but but uh it was one of the first times, you know, and definitely, I mean, in that league, you know, to to step in with the Ray, you know.

Geoff 5:56

And how did you feel? Were you did you feel like you were ready? Did you feel confident enough to to hang with the big boys?

Ulf 6:03

You actually never ready. Or I mean totally ready, right? Yeah. You go in there and it's kind of, you know, as I said, a bungee jump or or uh survival mechanism kicks in, you know. Yeah. What what really helped was what we talked about, the sound, you know, of the record. I never forget the sound I got there, you know. I had a little Polytone, you know, and my old Aria guitar, you know, hundred bucks, you know. And and and and the the engineer, I can't remember his name, but he just fixed that fantastic and the bass sound out of this world.

Geoff 6:38

I mean everyone should have this record. It's it's one of the best recorded sounds for jazz, yeah, ever.

Ulf 6:44

Very natural.

Home Base in Sweden and Family

Geoff 6:45

In my opinion, yeah. Yeah, so amazing. Yeah. Wow, that's incredible. Do you live in Sweden?

Ulf 6:49

Yeah.

Geoff 6:50

And you've always lived in Sweden. You never thought of it.

Ulf 6:52

No, I stayed, I have stayed in Gothenburg because I I always think like if you're close to a good airport, you know, it's because you still have to, I mean, uh access the big hubs, you know. So so so I I have stayed in Gothenburg with my family, you know. So yeah, yeah.

Geoff 7:09

And you're married, you have kids?

Ulf 7:10

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I have uh have my wife Anna-Lena and I two sons. And I I was fortunate to tour with my oldest son, he plays guitar also.

Geoff 7:19

How lovely.

Ulf 7:20

So we have done some tours, you know. So yeah.

Geoff 7:22

That's great. How old are your children?

Ulf 7:24

My oldest son, Eric, is uh 34, and my youngest Carl Ludwig is 24.

Geoff 7:29

I have a son who's 21 now, who's studying, he plays bass as well.

Ulf 7:32

He's great.

Geoff 7:33

Third year in his in The Guildhall School of Music now.

Ulf 7:35

Fantastic.

Geoff 7:36

And same thing, you know, very proud. I have four children, they're all creative and it's very proud. Did you ever feel the pressure to move out, to move to America or anything like that?

Ulf 7:47

No, actually not, because you know, uh, when I went over and played with uh with Oscar, I mean, then we were a lot in the States. We always started up in Canada, you know. So I came over to Toronto, you know, and Niels came over to we often travel with Niels, you know, over to Toronto, you know. And then we stayed close to Oscar's house, like a base. And then we just you know went to the States, you know, from there.

Geoff 8:14

Lovely, yeah. Would he do typically do quite long tours or were they fairly short?

Ulf 8:18

I I would say medium, because we had that as a base Toronto, and we maybe we did like you know three weeks at the most, you know. I mean, of course, when we went to Japan and did a tour in Japan, it became a little longer, you know. So so but but basically not more than three weeks, I would say, you know. Yeah, yeah.

Ten Years With Oscar Peterson

Geoff 8:39

Fantastic. Wow, what an experience. And you were with him for 10 years, right? Yeah, yeah. Right, right until right until the end.

Ulf 8:45

Yeah, you know when you have the gig, this is the peak, you know. You know it, you know, and and you're very humble, you know, and uh you kind of enjoy every second of it, you know. Because it's and it's also, I want to fill in a very uh interesting thing with Oscar and that generation is that they they had such a courage, you know, they just went up and did it, you know, and and it was their way to keep it fresh, you know, and and uh you know the old saying, keep the band on the toes, partly, but also partly to keep themselves on the toes, you know. So very interesting to work with those like Ray and Oscar, you know.

Geoff 9:26

I've worked with quite a lot of older musicians as well, and and I I found that a lot of them tend to play the same set quite a lot. Did Oscar do that too?

Ulf 9:34

No,

Geoff 9:34

so he keeps keep it fresh?

Ulf 9:36

He keep it fresh. And it's a little anecdote there, you know, that in the beginning, you know, we always got a set list, you know. And you look, ah, that's cool, I know that, you know, you gotta, you know. And then uh his wife got Oscar the set list, and you see he goes like sits down at the piano and he drops the set until he starts to play something else.

Geoff 9:58

Oh, that's great.

Ulf 9:59

So I learned that, you know, and by time I I really loved it, you know, because uh it became what it became, you know.

Geoff 10:06

Yeah. Last night I was watching your interview with Rick Beato. Yes, yes. How was how was that? Was that was that fun to do?

Ulf 10:16

It was, it was, and and I think it's it's I have to say, uh Rick is a blessing in today's music world because he he brings everything in. And also he grew up, his father was uh listening to a lot of jazz like Oscar and Joe Pass. So he he got that, you know, in his blood, so to speak. Uh and I I I can only praise Rick for what he's doing, you know, in this. Yeah. So I think he is he's like an antidote to a lot of stuff going on, you know. So so I praise him, you know.

Geoff 10:50

Did he did he reach out to you or did you contact him? How did the interview come about?

Ulf 10:55

I I think we just started he started to react on some clips I put out, you know, and and he and then it f he knew me. I mean, he had followed me for many years, he said, you know. So it we kind of gradually got in in touch, you know, and then I said I'm gonna be in the state, blah blah, you know, like in uh September. And and he said, Yeah, could you consider coming down to Atlanta, you know, and do yeah. So that's so I went down to Atlanta and did the interview, you know, hang out with him, you know.

Geoff 11:24

I mean you can't really see from the video, but he looks like he's got a great studio.

Ulf 11:27

Yeah, he's a great studio, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of guitars, a lot of guitars, a lot of drums, you don't see it, but he has like a room full of drums. He's so he's like guitar player, drummer, and keyboard

Geoff 11:39

Producer, right?

Ulf 11:39

Producer, anything. I mean, he's a multi multitasking guy, you know.

Geoff 11:43

So yeah. I guess he's quite a rich guy now as well, isn't he?

Ulf 11:47

I would maybe, maybe, yeah, because I think also it it generates uh a lot of money. The YouTube when you come up in that, you know, league, you know, it becomes a big uh earner for you.

Jazz Standards and Practice Tools

Geoff 11:58

Amazing. I started this podcast because I have a big interest in in jazz standards.

Ulf 12:10

Yeah.

Geoff 12:11

And I created my play-along apps to replace the Jamey Aebersold things, which I I was totally reliant on when I was coming up, you know. Yeah. Did you use the Aebersold play-alongs at all?

Ulf 12:23

Absolutely.

Geoff 12:24

Right.

Ulf 12:25

And and uh I I I mean some of uh the Jamey Jamey Aebersold had Ron Carter, you know, and Ben Riley, Kenny Barron. I think they were crucial in that in that sense, you know.

Geoff 12:38

When you were starting out, how important were playing jazz standards in your development as a jazz?

Ulf 12:43

It it was, you know, very important. How I look at it is, you know, I mean you can't learn every standard because it's an ocean, you know. And and also they some cats say to to really know a standard, you should be able to play it in 12 keys, you know, and you know, you can keep on forever. I think it's a limit, you know. You have to find your repertoire, you know. And uh I played with the Jim Hall and I played with a lot of great cats. Their repertoire wasn't so big.

Geoff 13:16

That's right.

Ulf 13:17

You know, they didn't know every standard, you know. I think a guy like Ray knew every standard. Yeah, Oscar also, you know. They are another generation, you know. So so I came up, you know, I'm a little, you know, several generations later. So I I think it was very important, but it wasn't everything. For them, it was kind of everything. It wasn't everything for me, you know. But it was very important. Yeah.

Geoff 13:43

And are there favorite standards that you like to go to?

Ulf 13:46

No, but I mean Skylark or you know, you I mean uh In A Sentimental Mood. Uh and I always like to play Ber nie's Tune.

Geoff 13:56

Bernie's Tune, okay.

Ulf 13:58

Because it's modal and it has a bridge.

Geoff 14:01

Yeah.

Ulf 14:01

It's this kind of you know, some standards have this, you know, uh, what should I say? They're very playable, you know.

Geoff 14:07

Yeah, yeah. So I mean isn't it? Very lots of lots of D minor.

Ulf 14:12

It is. And I you know, also I like rhythm changes, you know. And sometimes I get the feeling that uh guitar players are not really diving into it, they don't really know it, you know. And it's it's uh rhythm changes is the is the most important form after blues, and and and it's really important, you know.

Geoff 14:32

Sure, absolutely.

Ulf 14:33

So I think you you really have to. I mean, if you should call yourself a jazz guitar player, you have to embrace, you know, blues, rhythmn changes, ballads, medium, uh, you know.

Geoff 14:45

Yeah, sure.

Ulf 14:46

You know what they call the mother tunes, you know.

Playing Bernie’s Tune Play Along

Geoff 14:49

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So speaking of uh Bernie's Tune, I asked you about playing a tune today.

Ulf 14:53

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Geoff 14:54

Fancy playing some Bernie's Tune for us.

Ulf 14:56

Yeah, cool.

Geoff 14:57

Now let me just get this uh backing track lined up and some headphones and uh okay, so here we go. So two choruses of Bernie's Tune, first chorus in two, second chorus in four, and eight bar intro. Here it comes.

Ulf 15:10

Yeah, right.

Geoff 16:39

Wow, that's amazing. I know you're playing so well from listening to that album, that Seven Steps to, the album. Yeah, oh

Ulf 16:46

thank you.

Geoff 16:47

Fabulous, fabulous.

Ulf 16:48

Thank you.

Geoff 16:48

Yeah, how did it feel playing with that? With the backing track?

Ulf 16:51

Nice, very nice.

Geoff 16:51

It's a real it's a real backing track.

Ulf 16:53

Very good backing track.

Geoff 16:54

Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Ulf 16:55

First class.

Improvisation Roots and Oscar’s Sound

Geoff 16:56

First class, there we go.

Ulf 16:57

Very nice.

Geoff 16:57

So can you give me a couple a few examples of kind of ideas that you play? This there's a lot of blues in what you play.

Ulf 17:04

Yeah, yeah. Sometimes, you know, I I try to emulate, you know, like uh Miles Davis, you know, like with with uh you know the the the squeaks, you know, the the Yeah, yeah, from that you know golden era, you know, like so what and all other, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah. Kind of Blue. And uh and then I just play a lot of you know mixed things, impressions of different saxophone players, you know, like Sonny Rollins, Coltrane, you know, like you know, and um and I also play a lot of, you know, I'm very based on the Oscar style, you know.

Geoff 17:57

What would you say was the Oscar style in?

Ulf 17:59

The Oscar style, I would say tremendous swing, tremendous time, and also he could make the piano roar, so to speak. You know, he could be like a big band, he could and he could also play extremely beautiful, delicate, you know, like uh like I see that. You know, like his touch was sublime, you know. And I'll never forget uh we played at Hollywood Ball and he started up a ballad. And and I have talked about this before, but in every note it was like 50 years of jazz history, you know, and so delicate, and and at the same time, the touch is you know incredible the best.

Favourite Albums and Dream Partners

Geoff 18:43

Absolutely incredible. Right, okay. I've got some questions everyone. Yeah. Um, question one What's your favourite album?

Ulf 18:54

That's always a hard one, you know. Because you can talk about if you're a guitar player, you can talk about Wes Montgomery at the Half Note with you know Paul Chambers and Winton Kelly. You can never bypass Kind of Blue. I mean, it's an obvious answer, but it it it's kind of you know, and then you can't it's it had to be a multitude of answers because you then you have like you know, Oscar uh Night Train, you know, and uh I mean it's it's very hard.

Geoff 19:25

It's a hard one, I know.

Ulf 19:26

Yeah, you can't single out. I don't have one, you know.

Geoff 19:29

I have certain albums I I that I remember where I was when I first heard them. Yeah, yeah. Do you have anything like that that springs to mind that you can you you know, close your eyes and I can see the room where I'm in when I first heard that?

Ulf 19:40

Yeah, yeah. I remember I I heard Night Train, you know, actually in Germany of all places, you know, right in in a jazz club, you know, and and I never forget that. I I it was I heard, you know, like four or five tunes, you know, and it was very special for me. Yeah, yeah.

Geoff 19:58

I have that with um Stan Getz with Oscar Peterson Trio playing Move. Uh huh. Yeah. What a great tune. Stan's solo on that. I remember where I was, I remember the room I was in. I was in a room in Hampstead at a friend's house. Yeah. And I can see the curtains. I can see I could everything is is like it's like synesthesia or something.

Ulf 20:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Geoff 20:25

Do you know?

Ulf 20:25

Yeah, yeah.

Geoff 20:26

What a great feeling that is, isn't it?

Ulf 20:27

Great tune, dance your best.

Geoff 20:29

Yeah, absolutely.

Ulf 20:29

English drummer.

Geoff 20:30

All right. Question two. Is there a musician alive or dead that you'd like to play with that you haven't got?

Ulf 20:36

Yeah. It's the same. Many, you know. I would love to play with Stevie Wonder if you go, you know, like the pop stuff. Uh and uh let me see. I mean, I I played with Herbie, so that that's

Geoff 20:48

what was that like?

Ulf 20:50

Fantastic. I'll tell you a story.

Geoff 20:51

Oh my god.

Ulf 20:52

Yeah, I played I played uh uh a gig with Herbie and we we played uh he started up, you know, a tune like a little funky, you know, Hang Up Your Hang-ups, you know, like uh you know he played the first solo, I played the guitar solo, he played in the middle, and then the saxophone player played and he played the third solo. Three solos in the same tune. Every solo was like a complete voyage, you know. It was fantastic.

Geoff 21:21

Amazing.

Ulf 21:21

Yeah, wow, totally amazing. So so I was fortunate to play with Herbie a couple of times, you know, and it as I see it, he was like he was the closest to Oscar, as I see it, you know. Right, uh more close than Chick and Keith and all those cats, you know, even if they all owe something to Oscar, you know.

Geoff 21:43

His name has come up so much on this podcast. Everyone wants to play with him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, right, right. Legend, yeah.

Ulf 21:49

Sonny Rollins.

Geoff 21:51

Okay, so this is this question three is a is kind of ridiculous, I think, because you've played with so many great players. But my question is what would you say was the highlight of your career?

Ulf 22:01

Yeah, and it's what I said before, it can only be Oscar. Because you know it's a guitar player's dream, you know, and you I'll tell you a little anecdote, you know. I don't know if I told that one with Rick, but I it's short. I went to the the Concert House in Gothenburg and I heard Joe Pass, Niels-Henning, and Oscar Trio, you know. And uh I was blown away. I was like 17, and what I thought was peculiar was like Oscar said in a very harsh voice, you know, take a bow, you know. And he pointed at Joe Pass and he stood up very cordially and took a bow, you know. Same with Niels, you know. And then like 25 years later, I hear from the piano, take a bow. And he pointed at me. So it's like full circle, you know. Amazing. So the answer of the question is like, I knew it was the peak with Oscar, and it is nowhere to go, you know, after that. You know, it's it's my was my dream, you know.

Weaknesses Nerves and Being Starstruck

Geoff 23:01

Incredible, incredible. Question four. What would you say was your musical weakness?

Ulf 23:05

I mean, you have many weaknesses, you know, you work on, you know. I think I was always quite natural with time, you know. And I would say I had a lot of weaknesses, but I I worked on them, you know, like harmonically, you know, and and yeah, I I think I identified a lot of weaknesses, but I kind of worked with them. And the best way to work with the we with different weaknesses is to play with other musicians. So you you kind of know exactly what you have to work on, you know. So I I think uh my weakness was maybe to move around freely harmonically, you know, which I worked on.

Geoff 23:44

Is that necessarily a weakness?

Ulf 23:47

No, it's not, I wouldn't say so. It sounds like I'm bragging, like no. I had a lot of weaknesses, but I kind of took on them, you know, and and worked with them. And and as I always learned, you know, the best way is not to sit at home, you know, it's playing with others and then go home and and fix up what you couldn't deliver, you know. So so that's so I I gradually I I I came, you know, I I got hold of the most of this.

Geoff 24:16

Advice, yeah. Great. Question five. Do you ever get nervous on stage?

Ulf 24:21

Not really, but I mean, uh I don't have this, you know, stage fright or or any but I mean I'm human. What really can make you nervous is if something breaks, you know, if a chord starts to you know, you know, or the amp that really throws you, you know. Otherwise, I don't get that nervous anymore, you know.

Geoff 24:44

Okay. Have you ever been starstruck?

Ulf 24:47

Yeah, definitely. Uh I was starstruck the first time I met Oscar, you know, of course, you know. Such a sh a charisma, you know. And and uh I mean, once in a while you we all get starstruck, you know. It's it's it's a part of the game, you know.

Geoff 25:03

Are there some people that you're still in awe of? People that you would be starstruck now if you met him. Yeah, yeah. Like Stevie Wonder, if you met him, obviously, like, whoa.

Ulf 25:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh and I I I think it starstruck is when you love a person so much and you want to play with him, you know, and you're afraid of getting rejected, you know. That's the kind of starstruck. Yeah, if if the person is uh is not important for you, you don't get starstruck. So it's somebody you really admire. Yeah, it's true. I'll tell you a funny story, you know, because I started before jazz, you know, I started when I was 12. I loved Led Zeppelin, you know. Right, you know, yes, and I still love them, you know, because I think the riffs are genius. Yeah, it's a lot of jazz in it, you know. And and um I met Robert Plant, you know, on a festival in in Yassavienne in France, you know. And I was started because I became 12 again, you know. So I didn't dare to go and talk to him.

Geoff 26:00

So you know you didn't speak to him?

Ulf 26:02

No, no,

Geoff 26:02

so admired him from afar. Just leave him there on the pedestal.

Ulf 26:06

Exactly, exactly. I was 12 again, you know.

Geoff 26:08

Amazing. Well, that's a great feeling, though, isn't it?

Quickfire Favourites and Touring Life

Ulf 26:10

It is, yeah. It's fantastic.

Geoff 26:13

Okay, so a few other non-music related questions. What's your favourite sandwich?

Ulf 26:18

Uh favorite sandwich would be Italian New York style, you know, which we I I got on Birdland the last time I played with all the Italians, Frank Vignola and all those cats, you know. So, so and they they brought, you know, a big plate of Italian sandwich. Fantastic, you know.

Geoff 26:36

Like Carnegie Deli, you know that place?

Ulf 26:38

Yeah, exactly. I love it, I love it, I love it.

Geoff 26:41

What's uh, do you have a favourite movie?

Ulf 26:44

Yeah, Once Upon a Time in America. Okay. I love. And and the Godfather movie. I have a little weakness for that uh American Italian culture, you know. Yeah, sure. I always go down to Mulberry Street and a little anecdote when I was playing at Blue Note with Oscar, which I stayed on I stayed on holiday in in Chinatown. And so I wake up in China, I went one street away, you know, and I was having breakfast in Italy, Little Italy. So that's that's New York, you know.

Geoff 27:14

It's a very uh romantic image, isn't it? It is fantastic. Incredible. I know you've played everywhere in the world, but is there a favourite venue that you can you could name?

Ulf 27:23

I I would say, I mean, because of of its weight, Carnegie Hall, New York, of course, you know. Fantastic. And uh I love Royal Albert Hall and uh Hollywood Bowl. Those, you know, that's special, you know.

Geoff 27:38

And the Pizza Express in Soho.

Ulf 27:40

That's the best.

Geoff 27:40

Of course, of course, of course.

Ulf 27:42

This is a lovely.

Geoff 27:43

It's not , a great room, isn't it?

Ulf 27:45

Yeah, I love it.

Geoff 27:45

And you traveled a lot. Do you have a favourite city that you like to visit?

Ulf 27:48

I have many cities. In Asia, it's Seoul and Tokyo, you know. And uh I I love Paris, you know, I love London, you know. It's many cities. New York, maybe New York.

Geoff 27:58

If there was one place that you would move to, is would that be New York?

Ulf 28:00

New York.

Geoff 28:01

Despite the American culture and

Ulf 28:03

uh I know. Um I moved to New York 30 years ago.

Geoff 28:07

Yeah, nothing. In your head, you know.

Ulf 28:09

Yeah, yeah, not now, you know.

Geoff 28:10

Okay, window or aisle?

Ulf 28:12

Uh aisle.

Geoff 28:13

Okay. Cats or dogs?

Ulf 28:16

Dogs.

Geoff 28:16

Do you have a dog?

Ulf 28:17

Uh I grew up with a boxer. Okay. That was fantastic. So I I'm a dog lover. I I totally, you know.

Geoff 28:23

Excellent. That's the right answer. Yeah. What's your most used app on your phone?

Ulf 28:28

So many apps, you know. I could I couldn't single out one, you know. The last one was Ryanair.

Geoff 28:36

Do you use social media much? Do you do that much?

Ulf 28:38

Yeah. Yeah. Uh totally.

Geoff 28:40

What's your main platform?

Ulf 28:42

I work with uh Facebook, I work with Instagram, you know, and everything. And I kind I have like five Facebook pages, you know.

Geoff 28:50

Do you?

Ulf 28:50

So I I'll reach a lot of people, you know. And it's kind of social media became name of the game.

Geoff 28:56

Right.

Ulf 28:57

A long time ago, you know.

Geoff 28:58

Right. Well, you're obviously playing it very well, right?

Ulf 29:00

As long as it's fun, you know. It's, you know, I think it's fun. So it's

Geoff 29:04

Fabulous. Yeah. And the last question what's your favourite chord?

Ulf 29:09

Let me see.

Geoff 29:10

I mean, you can play as many as you like.

Ulf 29:11

Yeah, yeah, but uh it's this is the beautiful voicing of E minor. It's like 13. Okay. Also, it's like E minor 13.

Geoff 29:27

That's lovely, yeah.

Ulf 29:28

Yeah. So in in guitar just finally it's you're always looking for the open strings. Yeah. You know.

Geoff 29:38

Well, you put the open strings in the middle of the chords.

Ulf 29:41

You can do that also, and it's kind of you know a variation in the voice things, you know, like Bill Evans, you know. And so forth, you know?

Geoff 30:18

Gorgeous, gorgeous.

Ulf 30:19

Yeah.

Closing Thanks and Subscribe Message

Geoff 30:20

There you go. Well, it's been great. I could talk to you all day, but um, you need to get back to your hotel and and freshen up before the concert.

Ulf 30:27

Yes, sir.

Geoff 30:28

Thank you so much for your time.

Ulf 30:29

Yeah.

Geoff 30:29

And I'm looking forward to playing together tonight.

Ulf 30:31

Yeah, it would be great. Yeah. Thank you, man. Thank you.

Geoff 30:33

Thank you so much.

Ulf 30:34

Thank you. Thank you.

Announcement 30:35

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