Erik Tengholm was born in Uppsala, Sweden, in 1996. From a very early age, he was exposed to the records of some of the greatest jazz artists, such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, and has been completely attached to the music since then.
Erik started his studies at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm in 2015 and quickly became very active on the Swedish jazz scene. Today, Erik is working with many of the top jazz musicians and bands in Sweden as a trumpet player, band leader, composer, arranger and piano player. Occationally, Erik is hired as a guest soloist with different big bands. However, jazz is not the only genre Erik plays. He regularly plays classical music and pop at funerals, church events and weddings.
Three albums has been released under Erik's name. The first one with his quintet, Stories From the Club came in 2021, the second with his big band Tengholm Ullberg Big Band, Blue And Green With a Touch of Brown, was released in 2023 and the third one with his double bass playing brother Johan Tengholm featuring several guest musicians, Stickin' Together, came 2025.
In 2021, Erik founded together with his double bass playing brother Johan Tengholm, record label TengTones. About 30 albums has been released since the start of the label. More info at tengtones.com.
Erik is also a popular teacher, working with students at all levels on the trumpet, improvisation, ensemble playing, arranging and piano.
In 2024, Erik was selected as the new artistic director of Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra after honorary doctor Ulf Johansson Werre, who retires from the position after leading the the band for 20 years. The orchestra is a big band connected to Uppsala University, performing at open concerts, events, releasing albums, and has its basis at Musicum, Uppsala.
Erik has been awarded several prizes, such as Jazz Club Fasching Society Scholarship, Louis Armstrong Award, Ola Carlsson Scholarship and Bengt Säve-Söderbergh Scholarship.
Below, you'll find a selection of the different bands and projects Erik is working with.
Bands and projects
Erik Tengholm Quintet
A smoking hot jazz quintet consisting of some of Erik's favorite jazz players in Sweden. With this band, Erik released his debut album, Stories From the Club, which is getting great reviews:
"You can hear that every note comes from the heart and the musicians passion for the music" - Jazzreporter.com
"Frisk och luftig musik. Fylld av framåtlutad munterhet och ett uns av fräckhet [...] En riktigt bra platta totalt sett." - Orkesterjournalen/Jazz
Buy digital download or CD here.
Johan Christoffersson, saxophone
Mattias Lindberg, piano
Johan Tengholm, double bass
Jonas Bäckman, drums
Tengholm Ullberg Big Band
This band was formed at the Royal College of Music and thus consists of the youngest generation of top jazz musicians in Sweden. The leaders, Erik and trombone player and arranger Lars Ullberg put the band together as an examination project. After a couple of more praised concerts outside of the conservatory, there was no doubt that the band had to make an album record out of the music. TUBB went into the studio in November 2020 and the result can be heard on the new album, Blue And Green With a Touch of Brown, which was released in January 2023.
Buy digital download or CD here.
Sebastian Mattebo, Leonard Werme, Björn Bäckström, Samuel Muntlin, Emma Josefsson - reeds
Isac Åberg, Max Stark, Linnea Jonsson, Emma Granstam - trumpets
Lars Ullberg, Agnes Darelid, Hannes Junestav, Simon Skogh - trombones
Mattias Olofsson, guitar
Anna Gréta Sigurdardóttir, piano
Johan Tengholm, double bass
Oscar Johansson Werre, drums
Jesper Söderqvist, vibraphone
Lovisa Jennervall, vocals
Photo: Björn Arkö
Mainland Jazz Collective
Jazz sextet formed in 2015, inspired by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. More info at mainlandjazzcollective.com.
Leonard Werme, saxophone
Hannes Junestav, trombone
Mikael Wilhelmsson, piano
Johan Tengholm, double bass
Oscar Johansson Werre, drums
Photo: Elvira Glänte
Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra
Uppsala University's own big band was founded in 2004 by Ulf Johansson Werre, who led the band for 20 years. In 2024, Erik was selected as the new artistic director of the band, as Ulf retired from the position. The orchestra consists of students and employees at Uppsala University, and performs regularly in Uppsala, often with different guest artists, and tours and releases albums occasionally.
https://www.uu.se/uppsala-university-jazz-orchestra
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt
Mimmi and the Original Blue
Swing band based in Stockholm, fronted by singer and super star swing dancer Mimmi Gunnarsson Bringlöv. The band has a unique touch with the classic swing music of the 30's and early 40's, playing both standard tunes from the era and original music written in the same style. Debut album with the band, excuse me, but this is my place!, was released on September 18, 2021.
Mimmi Gunnarsson Bringlöv, vocals
Björn Bäckström, saxophone/clarinet
Jonny Ek, piano
Johan Tengholm, double bass
Oscar Johansson Werre, drums
Photo: Sakarias Larsson
Leon Falk Satchmo Tribute
A Louis Armstrong tribute band, with an instrumental formation identical to the Louis Armstrong Hot Five band - trumpet/cornet, clarinet, trombone, banjo and piano. More info at leonfalk.se/satchmo.
Leon Falk, trombone/vocals
Adam Falk, clarinet/saxophone
Uno Dvärby, banjo
Sara Karkkonen, piano
Cannonball Adderley Tribute
Five of Sweden's most active jazz musicians gathers due to their shared passion for
the music of legendary saxophone player Cannonball Adderley. The band delivers
a real shower of jazz, with a great amount of blues and soul to it.
Axel Mårdsjö, alto saxophone
Jonny Ek, piano
Tomas Sjödell, double bass
Jonas Bäckman, drums
Erik Tengholm Swing Time
A band that is specialized on swing dance music, and plays regularly at Stockholm's main swing dance scene, Chicago. The band consists of different musicians depending on the situation.
Tengholm 2
A duo constellation with brother Johan Tengholm on double bass. Their album Stickin' Together was released in 2025. The album features four guest musicians joining the duo - Gustav Lundgren on guitar, Hampus Adami on trombone, Lina Lövstrand on flute and Ulf Johansson Werre on piano.
Photo: Noa Lundgren
Hellkvist/Tengholm/Johansson Werre
In this intimate trio setting, Andreas Hellkvist, who usually plays the hammond organ, treats the piano and bass pedals. The group formed in 2020 during corona pandemic and gathered around a wide repertoire of jazz, funk, latin rhythms and everything in between.
Andreas Hellkvist, piano and bass pedals
Oscar Johansson Werre, drums
Stockholm Hot 7
This hard swinging septet lead by guitar player Pål Nyberg is specialized on the Duke Ellington repertoire, all the way from the 20's to the 60's. The band plays transcribed and adapted arrangements from Ellington's repertoire as well as new original arrangements by the members of the band, in the same style. Their album Yeet's Blues was released in November 2023.
Axel Mårdsjö, alto and baritone saxophone
Linus Lindblom, tenor saxophone and clarinet
Hampus Adami, trombone
Pål Nyberg, guitar
Jon Henriksson, double bass
Jonas Bäckman, drums
AlgoRhythm
A party band that only plays the very best hits in the history of pop music.
Matilda Edgren, lead vocals
Truls Ingvoldstad, trumpet and choir
Amalia Lundholm, saxophone and choir
Oscar Olsén, guitar and choir
Jonny Ek, keys and choir
Joel Hulander, bass and choir
Oscar Johansson Werre, drums and choir
Ekdahl Bagge Big Band
Sebastian Jonsson (Mattebo) Journey On the Styx
Lovisa Jennervall Wind Ensemble
Swingharmonic Orchestra
Glenn Miller Orchestra Scandinavia
Ulf Johansson Werre Dixie Nouveaux
Lönnkrogen Orchestra
Brooklyn Funk Essentials
James Bradley Junior Quartet
Leif Kronlund Orchestra
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