Rebecka Törnqvist / Rebecka Tornqvist

Rebecka Törnqvist was probably the most important artist in raising the interest in young female jazz vocalists in Sweden in the '90s, though her solo albums weren't pure jazz, but rather pop with heavy jazz influences. Apart from getting a number of followers in this style, she also revitalized the interest for the whole genre. This was not only her work, but artists like Per "Texas" Johansson have her to thank for increasing the commercial potential for Swedish jazz. Törnqvist's debut album, A Night Like This, was released the same year as Bo Kaspers Orkester released their successful jazzy debut. The albums were similar in some aspects, but where Bo Kaspers Orkester took a witty, ironic stand in jazz music and stretched out towards R&B, Törnqvist lacked the irony and her approach was serious, mature, and smooth. In 1993, Törnqvist made her debut with the album A Night Like This. Backing her was a big part of the Swedish jazz elite, including names like Esbjörn Svensson, Anders Widmark, and Per "Texas" Johansson, and the combination of jazz and pop proved very successful, not least commercially. Törnqvist's next album, Good Thing, was definitely pop, but also showed influences from slick soul and blues. In 1996, she released her first pure jazz album, Stockholm Kaza Session, together with saxophonist Per Texas Johansson and two years later, Tremble My Heart, which was a return to the mix of pop and jazz. The next year she was one of the members in the supergroup Gloria, formed by Lars Halapi, where Törnqvist sang together with singer/songwriter Sara Isaksson. The group released a self-titled album in 1999. In 2001, Törnqvist released a new solo album, this time produced by Halapi, who had also produced Gloria. Vad Jag Vill was her first album in Swedish and was also a step further away from the laid-back jazz-pop that had made her well-known. ~ Lars Lovén, Rovi