Mattias Svensson

Swedish bassist and composer Mattias Svensson was born in Landskrona in 1967. Still residing in Sweden, he plays around the world. He did his studies in Malmö, Sweden, as well as at the New School in New York, where he spent two years in the early nineties, studying with Gary Peacock, Eddie Gomez, Reggie Workman a.o., as well as participating in Betty Carter’s first Jazz Ahead program.

A professional musician since 1994, he has toured and recorded extensively with a host of Swedish and International bands and artists.

His debut recording as a leader, Head Up High, with Bill Mays and Joe La Barbera, was released in 2009. And… RIGHT NOW, Jan 2026, his second CD ”Embrace”, with Bill Mays and Morten Lund, is released.

His other current activities include being a member of the Jan Lundgren Trio, Viktoria Tolstoy Band, GeJoMa (with Georg Wadenius), as well as freelance work.

He has played and/or recorded with people like:
Johnny Griffin, Toots Thielemans, Clark Terry, Lee Konitz, Benny Golson, Ernie Watts, Randy Brecker, Conte Candoli, James Moody, Billy Harper, Eric Alexander, Joey Alexander, Joe La Barbera, Pat La Barbera, Victor Lewis, John Guerin, Alvin Queen, Phillip Wilson, John Tchicai, Nils Landgren, Ulf Wakenius, Putte Wickman, Arne Domnerus,

About his musical upbringing:

”I grew up in a musical family. Both my parents listened to classical music, and took me to concerts from an early age. My father played a little violin, and my mother was an elementary school teacher, who sang and played a little piano and guitar at school. At family gatherings on my mother’s side, there was always music being played, and everybody participated, whether they could play or not. There was always an instrument to pick up. So it was a very allowing atmosphere. I started taking piano lessons at age 7, augmenting with guitar, drums, violin, and electric bass, before starting with the upright bass at age 18. Always hungry for different kinds of music, I also started early on to explore early 70’s rock with my friends, leading through a zig zag path to the discovery of soul and funk in the late 70’s. This was my main focus for a number of years, and probably the reason for me choosing the electric bass as my main instrument at the age of 15. On my favorite records at the time, there was often the occasional jazz-influenced tune with exciting chords and solos. This led to the exploration of fusion, and eventually acoustic jazz. At 19, in 1986, after having played upright bass for six months, I was at my first summer jazz camp. During a listening session at the camp, I heard McCoy Tyner’s ´Rebirth´, and was totally blown away. Now there was no turning back!”