Tommy Lakso
Swedish guitarist, composer, and arranger rooted in jazz and Nordic folk music
TORNEDALEN TORNIONLAAKSO
New album exploring the music of Tornedalen
TORNEDALEN is a musical journey into the Finnish-speaking forest communities of Norrbotten, Northern Sweden. Rooted in songs and ballads collected between 1677 and 1984, this album brings centuries-old melodies into the present with deep respect and a personal artistic voice.
The material is drawn from Nurmen lintu (The Bird of the Meadow), a collection compiled by Hasse Alatalo, preserving songs passed down through generations in Tornedalen. In their original form, these melodies are short, unharmonized phrases—often only four to eight bars long.
For this recording, Tommy Lakso has composed all arrangements, creating introductions, harmonizations, solo sections, interludes, and codas for each piece, carefully expanding the melodies while keeping their raw character intact.
The result is a soundscape where tradition meets contemporary expression: guitar, double bass, marimba, and accordion intertwine to give new life to songs once carried only by memory and voice. Each track remains closely connected to its original singer and place, honoring the tradition bearers who kept this music alive.
TORNEDALEN is both an homage and a reimagining—an album that lets the past breathe in the present.
Tommy Lakso
Guitarist, composer, arranger and lecturer
Tommy Lakso is a jazz guitarist based in northern Sweden, active as a performer across a wide range of genres and musical settings. He previously served as a Senior Lecturer at the School of Music in Piteå, where he played an important role in jazz education for many years. In 2012, he received the prestigious award Jazz Educator of the Year in Sweden, in recognition of his significant contribution to the field.He has lectured and performed internationally, with concerts and educational engagements in Brazil, South Africa, Poland, Finland, Norway, the United States, Denmark, and Russia.
