Ulf Wakenius
Swedish guitar virtuoso Ulf Wakenius commands a legendary status in the global jazz landscape, most famously cemented by his decade-long tenure holding down the guitar chair in the final Oscar Peterson Quartet—stepping into a lineage of royalty previously occupied by Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, and Joe Pass. Boasting an astonishingly fluent technique and deeply expressive, swinging phrasing, Wakenius has graced the world’s most prestigious stages from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl. His extraordinary pedigree is further distinguished by extensive touring and historic recordings alongside bass titans Ray Brown and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, as well as high-profile collaborations with icons like Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, and Michael Brecker. A prolific leader and standard-bearer for the ACT Music label, Wakenius seamlessly blends the fiery intensity of modern bebop with lyricism and worldly rhythms, making his presence a premier highlight for traditional jazz purists and contemporary enthusiasts alike.
