When Bo Kaspers Orkester appeared in the early 1990s, jazz music was often regarded as “fancy dinner music,” not going much farther than that. In other words, background noise. The album Söndag i sängen completely changed this opinion of the genre. During the bands long and successful career their playful jazz, with a never-ending line of influences of many music genres, has made Bo Kaspers Orkester a vital part of the Swedish musical canon.

The band came about during a time in Swedish music where bands like Popsicle ruled the charts. Popsicle’s ironic approach to the music business was in contrast to the more serious pop jazz of Bo Kaspers Orkester. But despite this, the band had something that made people love what they were about. Their realistic, socially reflecting lyrics in the early years perhaps had something to do with it.

Front figure Bo Sundström is one of the most inconspicuous front men in the Swedish music industry. His lyrics and voice are an incredible addition to a style of music that often does fine on its own, without the addition of vocals. However, in the case of Bo Kaspers Orkester, all band members are equally important. A unity. When it comes to performing live, Bo Kaspers Orkester are probably one of the greatest live bands in Sweden, often sounding even better live than on record.

Words by David Johansson

Bo Kaspers Orkester is at Cirkus on March 27.