Mats Olof Gustafsson (born 29 October 1964) is a Swedish

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

saxophone player.

Career

Gustafsson came to the attention of lovers of

improvised music Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of immediate ("in the moment") musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous ...

as part of a duo with Christian Munthe (started in 1986), as member of Gunter Christmann's Vario project and the band Gush (started in 1988). He later played widely with

Peter Brötzmann Peter Brötzmann (born 6 March 1941) is a German saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Early life Brötzmann was born in Remscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He studied painting in Wuppertal and was involved with the Fluxus movement ...

Joe McPhee Joe McPhee (born November 3, 1939) is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist born in Miami, Florida, a player of tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, the trumpet, flugelhorn and valve trombone. McPhee grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, and is ...

Paul Lovens Paul Lovens (born 6 June 1949) is a German musician. He plays drums, percussion, singing saw, and cymbals. He has performed with the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra and Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. He was born in Aachen, Germany. In the early ...

Barry Guy Barry John Guy (born 22 April 1947, in London) is an English composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of orchestras ...

Yoshimi P-We Yoshimi (born on February 18, 1968) is a Japanese musician best known for her role as the longest consistent drummer in the Japanese rock band Boredoms. Alongside her drum playing skills with Boredoms, she performs the vocals for the all female ...

, Derek Bailey, Magnus Broo,

Otomo Yoshihide is a Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist. He mainly plays guitar, turntables, and electronics. He first came to international prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the experimental rock group Ground Zero, and has since worked in ...

, Pat Thomas, Jim O'Rourke,

Thomas Lehn Thomas Lehn (born 1958 in Fröndenberg) is a German piano and synthesizer player active in free improvisation and contemporary music. Lehn has recorded with Marcus Schmickler, Keith Rowe, John Butcher, Phil Minton, Phil Durrant, Radu Malfatt ...

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...

Misha Mengelberg Misha Mengelberg (5 June 1935 – 3 March 2017) was a Dutch jazz pianist and composer.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 459. Oxford University Press. A prominent figure in post-WWII European Jazz ...

, Zu, The Ex and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

. Since the early 1990s Gustafsson has been a regular visitor to the United States, forming a particular affinity with Chicago musicians

Hamid Drake Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Afr ...

Michael Zerang Michael Zerang (born November 16, 1958) is an American jazz percussionist and drummer. Career Zerang's parents both emigrated to the United States from the Middle East; his father is Iranian and his mother Iraqi.Ken Vandermark Ken Vandermark (born September 22, 1964) is an American composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered compos ...

and recording for

Okka Disk Okka Disk is an independent American jazz record company and label founded in Chicago by Bruno Johnson in 1994. Okka began as a rock music label, but Johnson soon changed direction to record free jazz.

. He was awarded the 2011 Nordic Council Music Prize. Gustafsson has worked extensively with artists from the worlds of dance, theatre, poetry and painting. He has lived in

Nickelsdorf Nickelsdorf ( hu, Miklóshalma or Miklóshalom, hr, Mikištrof) is a town in the district of Neusiedl am See in the Austrian state of Burgenland. Geography Nickelsdorf is the only town in the municipality. It has an important border crossin ...

, Austria since 2011.

Festival curator

Gustafsson curated the Perspectives festivals in Västerås, Sweden in 2004, 2007 and 2009. This festival of musical improvisation is noted for its cross-genre character and creative atmosphere among musicians. The festival slogan for 2004 was "Fight Global Stupidity", 2007 "Fight Local Stupidity" and for 2009 it became "Fight (y)our stupidity". Gustafsson was also joint curator of the 2010 Konfrontationen festival in Nickelsdorf, Austria.

Gallery

Photos Image:Mats-Gustafson01.jpg Image:Mats-Gustafson02.jpg Image:Mats-Gustafson03.jpg Image:Mats-Gustafson04.jpg Image:Mats-Gustafson05.jpg Image:Mats-Gustafson06.jpg Mats Olof Gustafsson DSC0205

Discography

As leader

* 1991: ''Nothing to Read'' (Blue Tower), with

* 1995: ''Parrot Fish Eye'' (

) * 1995: ''For Don Cherry'' (Blue Tower), with

* 1996: ''Mouth Eating Trees and Related Activities'' (Okka Disk), with

* 1997: ''Frogging'' (Maya), with Barry Guy * 1997: ''Impropositions'' (Phono Suecia) * 1999: ''The Education of Lars Jerry'' (Xeric) * 1999: ''Windows _The Music of Steve Lacy'' (Blue Chopsticks) * 1999: ''Hidros One'' (Caprice), with Nu-Ensemblen * 2000: ''Port Huron Picnic'' ( Spool), with Kurt Newman & Mike Gennaro * 2002: ''The School Days and Thing'' (Anagram), the music of Norman Howard presented by Mats Gustafsson * 2003: ''Blues'' ( Atavistic), with David Stackenäs * 2004: ''Hidros 3'' (Smalltown Supersound), Sonic Youth With Friends * 2005: ''Slide'' (Firework Edition) * 2005: ''Catapult'' (Doubtmusic) * 2007: ''It Is All About...'' (Tyfus) * 2007: ''Words on the Floor'' (Smalltown Superjazzz), with

* 2008: ''Mats G Plays Duke E'' (Qbico) * 2008: ''Cosmic Debris Volume IV'' (Opax), with My Cat Is An Alien * 2008: ''The Vilnius Implosion'' (NoBusiness) * 2008: ''Mats G Plays Duke E'' (Qbico) * 2009: ''Mats G. Plays Albert A.'' (Qbico) * 2009 ''You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago'' (Rune Grammofon) with Fire! * 2011 ''Released'' (Rune Grammofon) with Fire! & Jim O'Rourke * 2011 ''Uneleased'' (Rune Grammofon) with Fire! & Jim O'Rourke * 2012 ''In the Mouth a Hand'' (Rune Grammofon) w with Fire! & Oren Ambarchi * 2012: ''Baro 101'' (Terp ), with

Paal Nilssen-Love Paal Nilssen-Love (born 24 December 1974) is a Norwegian drummer and composer in the jazz, free jazz and free improvisation genres. (in Norwegian) Early life Nilssen-Love was born in Molde, Norway. His parents ran a jazz club in Stavanger, and ...

& Mesele Asmamaw * 2012: ''Mats G. Plays Gullin'' (Sagittarius A-Star) * 2012: ''Birds'' (dEN ), with John Russell &

Raymond Strid Raymond Strid (born 1956 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish drummer in the genre of free jazz and the new European improvised music. Biography When Strid picked up drumming, he was inspired by musicians like Han Bennink, Paul Lytton, and Ton ...

* 2012: ''Bengt'' (Utech) * 2013 ''Without Noticing'' (Rune Grammofon) with Fire! * 2013: ''Eissalon (Live)'' (Rock Is Hell ), with Didi Kern * 2013: ''Vi Är Alla Guds Slavar'' (Otoroku), with

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moo ...

* 2014: ''Hidros6 Knockin' '' (Not Two), with NU Ensemble * 2014 ''Enter'' (Rune Grammofon) with Fire! Orchestra * 2015 ''Exit'' (Rune Grammofon) with Fire! Orchestra * 2015 ''Second'' ''Exit'' (Rune Grammofon) with Fire! Orchestra * 2015: ''Hit The Wall!'' (

Smalltown Superjazzz Smalltown Superjazzz is an independent record label based in Oslo, Norway, that concentrates on new forms of jazz. It is a subsidiary of the label Smalltown Supersound. The catalog includes albums by Free Fall, Mats Gustafsson, The Thing See ...

), with Thurston Moore * 2016 ''MG 50_Peace & Fire'' (Rune Grammofon) & Friends * 2016 ''She Sleeps She Sleeps'' (Rune Grammofon) with Fire! * 2016: ''Piano Mating'' (Blue Tapes and X-Ray) * 2016 ''Ritual'' (Rune Grammofon) with Fire! Orchestra * 2018 ''The Hands'' (Rune Grammofon) with Fire! * 2019 ''Arrival'' (Rune Grammofon) with Fire! Orchestra * 2020 ''Actions'' (Rune Grammofon) with Fire! Orchestra * 2021 ''Defeat'' (Rune Grammofon) with Fire! With AALY Trio +

Ken Vandermark Ken Vandermark (born September 22, 1964) is an American composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered compos ...

* 1998: '' Hidden in the Stomach'' ( Silkheart) * 1998: '' Stumble'' (Wobbly Rail) * 1999: '' Live at the Glenn Miller Café'' (Wobbly Rail) * 2000: ''I Wonder If I Was Screaming'' (Crazy Wisdom)

As sideman

;With Per Henrik Wallin & Kjell Nordeson *1995: ''Dolphins, Dolphins, Dolphins'' (Dragon) ;With

Jaap Blonk Jaap Blonk (born 1953, Woerden) is a Dutch avant-garde composer and performance artist. Blonk is primarily self-taught both as a sound artist and as a visual/stage performer. Jaap Blonkat Allmusic He studied physics, mathematics, and musicology f ...

*1997: FJF: '' Blow Horn'' (Okka Disk) *2013: ''Verses'' (Corbett vs. Dempsey) ;With Jim O'Rourke *1999: ''Xylophonen Virtuosen'' (Incus) ;With

David Grubbs David Grubbs (born September 21, 1967) is an American composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. He was a founding member of Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr del Sol. He has also played in Codeine, The Red Krayola, Bitch Magnet and The Wingdale ...

*1999: ''Apertura'' (Blue Chopsticks) *2002: ''Off-Road'' (Blue Chopsticks) ;With

Lee Ranaldo Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, writer, visual artist and record producer, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth (guitar and vocals). In 2004, ''Rolling ...

Steve Shelley Steven Jay Shelley (born June 23, 1962) is an American drummer. He is best known as the longtime drummer of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth, for whom he played from 1985 until their 2011 disbandment. Biography Shelley was born in Midland, ...

*2000: ''New York – Ystad'' (Olof Bright) ;With Greg Goodman & George Cremaschi *2002: ''They Were Gentle and Pretty Pigs'' (The Beak Doctor) ;With Agustí Fernández *2005: ''Critical Mass'' (psi) ;With

*2005: ''Splatter'' (Smalltown Superjazzz) ;With

Merzbow is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by , best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists. The name Merzbow comes from the German dada ...

*2008: ''Andre Sider Af Sonic Youth'' (Sonic Youth) ;With Pat Thomas and Roger Turner (The Articles) *2008: ''Goodbye Silence'' ;With

Solo/Duo *2009: ''Sinners, Rather than Saints'' (NoBusiness) ;With the

New Orchestra *2001: ''

Inscape–Tableaux ''Inscape–Tableaux'' is an album by bassist Barry Guy. It was recorded on May 18 and 19, 2000, at Rote Fabrik in Zürich, Switzerland, and was released in 2001 by Intakt Records. On the album, which features a seven-part composition by Guy, he pl ...

'' (Intakt) *2005: ''

Oort–Entropy ''Oort–Entropy'' is an album by bassist Barry Guy. It was recorded in May and July, 2004, at SWR Studio in Baden-Baden, Germany, and was released in 2005 by Intakt Records. On the album, which features a three-part composition by Guy, he plays ba ...

'' (Intakt) ;With

and

*1996: '' You Forget to Answer'' (Maya) ;With Gord Grdina Trio *2010: ''Barrel Fire'' (Drip Audio) ;With

Kieran Hebden Kieran Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting UK albums such as '' Rounds'' ( ...

& Steve Reid *2011: ''Live at the South Bank'' (Smalltown Superjazzz) ;With The Sons of God *2011: ''Reception'' (Firework Edition) ;With

Masami Akita is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by , best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists. The name Merzbow comes from the German dada ...

& Jim O'Rourke *2011: ''One Bird Two Bird'' (

Editions Mego Mego was an experimental electronic music independent record label based in Vienna, Austria. The label has been superseded by a new company, Editions Mego, which was set up both to keep Mego albums in print and to issue new albums, run by Peter ...

) ;With

Colin Stetson Colin Stetson (born March 3, 1975) is a Canadian-American saxophonist, multireedist, and composer based in Montreal. He is best known as a regular collaborator of the indie rock acts Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Bell Orchestre, and Ex Eye. In additio ...

*2012: ''Stones'' (

Rune Grammofon Rune Grammofon is a Norwegian record label founded in 1998 by Rune Kristoffersen. Rune Grammofon's reputation for lovingly issued experimental electronic music, jazz, and improvised music by Norwegian artists has grown over the years with its art ...

) ;With Ich Bin N!ntendo including Christian Skår Winther, Joakim Heibø Johansen & Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard *2012: ''Ich Bin N!ntendo & Mats Gustafsson'' (Va Fongool) ;With The Ex *2013 '' Enormous Door'' (Ex Records) ;With Agustí Fernández & Ramon Prats *2013: ''Breakin the Lab!'' (Discordian) ;With Correction *2013: ''Shift'' (Otoroku) ;With Merzbow &

Balázs Pándi Balázs Pándi (born 6 August 1983) is a Hungarian drummer and journalist. He has worked and toured with various acts from all around the world including Venetian Snares, Otto von Schirach, To Live and Shave in L.A., The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz E ...

*2013: '' Cuts'' (RareNoise) *2015: ''Live in Tabačka 13/04/12'' (Tabačka) ;With Merzbow, Balázs Pándi & Thurston Moore *2015: '' Cuts of Guilt, Cuts Deeper'' (RareNoise) ;With

Craig Taborn Craig Marvin Taborn (; born February 20, 1970) is an American pianist, organist, keyboardist and composer. He works solo and in bands, mostly playing various forms of jazz. He started playing piano and Moog synthesizer as an adolescent and was ...

*2015: ''

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

'' (Clean Feed)

Bibliography

* T. Millroth: "Aaly Trio", Orkester journalen, lvi/4 (1988), 11 . * M. Chaloin: "Mats Gustafsson", Improjazz, no.19 (1995), 6. * W. Montgomery: "Mats Gustafsson: Flow Motion", Wire, no.164 (1997), 18. * J. Hale: "Mats Gustafsson", Coda, no.288 (1999), 17.

References

External links

Official site

(1999) (unavailable?)

(1999) ncl. discography
J. Guthartz: discography and index of compositions
(2000). {{DEFAULTSORT:Gustafsson, Mats 1964 births Living people 21st-century Swedish male musicians 21st-century saxophonists Free jazz musicians Male jazz musicians Male saxophonists Swedish jazz saxophonists The Thing (jazz band) members Incus Records artists Rune Grammofon artists Smalltown Supersound artists Utech Records artists Atavistic Records artists NoBusiness Records artists RareNoiseRecords artists Okka Disk artists