Fredrik Ljungkvist, Yun Kan 5

Yun Kan 5 was formed in Stockholm in 2003 by the then thirty-two year-old composer, saxophonist and clarinettist Fredrik Ljungkvist. The band developed out of the trio Yun Kan 3 that consisted of Fredrik and Mattias Welin on bass and Jon Fält on drums. Later the pianist Klas Nevrin and the tubaist Per-Åke Holmlander joined the band.

Fredrik and Yun Kan 5 received the Jazz in Sweden award in 2004 and their debut album Yun Kan 12345 was released in the spring of 2004. The album was followed by a lengthier tour that not only took the band to large parts of Sweden but also included concerts in Norway, Britain, China, Slovenia and France.

In April 2005 Fredrik and Yun Kan 5 were appointed jazz group of the year by Swedish Radio and at the same time Fredrik himself was appointed jazz musician of the year. During May 2006 their sophomore album Badaling was recorded. The album comprise eight compositions by Fredrik, tunes that manifests Fredrik Ljungkvist as one of Sweden’s most prominent jazz composers and not least one of Sweden’s most original saxophone and clarinet players.

Besides Yun Kan 5, Fredrik can also be heard playing with the world famous Norwegian/Swedish band Atomic. The other band members play with bands like Bobo Stenson Trio (Fält), Ken Vandermark’s Territory Band (Ljungkvist, Holmlander) and Peter Brötzman Tentet (Holmlander).