From the harsh chill of his native land comes warm music that springs from the rich and varied traditions of Swedish folk music,, hymns and native composers. The art of improvisation melts this Swedish legacy with the Jazz tradition, giving him a unique vehicle of expression.
MATTiAS NILSSON // The Swede with the warm Nordic touch
The internationally acclaimed Swedish jazz pianist MATTIAS NILSSON possesses ”an enormous degree of energy and musical flexibility, as well as a very personal and appealing melodic sense…” (Skånska Dagbladet). He is also fully capable of spellbinding an audience simply by swinging like mad while paying respect to the timeless traditions he has absorbed. Nilsson’s point of departure is the great tradition of classic jazz piano, eternalized by such greats as James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, Art Tatum, Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson, Ellis Larkins, Teddy Wilson and Dave McKenna as well as Brad Mehldau and Swedish greats Bengt Hallberg, Nils Lindberg & Jan Johansson. There is however another element to his palette of musical colors: the equally rich and varied traditions of Swedish folk music and psalms, combined with original compositions as well as other Swedish composers.
Nilsson has been widely praised by jazz journalists, and in 2008 he received the prestigious ”Kulturpris” from the city of Lomma. Skånska Dagbladet, a major southern Swedish newspaper, named him Jazz Musician of the Year in 2007 and 2008.
MATTIAS NILSSON was born 
in Karlskrona in the south of Sweden on October 20th 1980. He was raised in Bjärred, Skåne and began playing the piano at the age of 3 to 4 years old. Mattias was given classical piano lessons from his father Jan-Åke Nilsson, who at an early stage found out that Mattias wanted to improvise instead of playing what was written. At the age of 8, Mattias made his debut by accompanying the famous Swedish operetta singer Sonja Stjernquist.
As a child Mattias was always surrounded by all kinds of music, as his father loved listening to a wide range of music, especially jazz and classical music. Father and son used to play a lot together in a playful way and with the attitude that it should be fun making music. This attitude is something Mattias still cherishes to this day.
After diverse studies in the African American music and tradition Nilsson began his freelancing career as a musician, playing in a lot of different groups as well as playing in various musical styles, such as jazz, blues, gospel, latin, rock and pop. He was offered a place at the Musical Academy in Malmo 2004 but turned it down as he chose to go his own way, to learn from his own experiences.
Nilsson started to attend various jam sessions and to organize new live scenes in Malmo. Between the autumn of 2006 and summer 2008 he held his weekly “Stompin´ at the Savoy – Live Jazz with Mattias Nilsson and guests”, at The Savoy in Malmo. This turned out to be a great success; by doing so he created a new meeting place for live jazz as well as for people of all ages.
In 2006 he took part in Sweden’s largest competition for ”Classic Jazz” together with female vocalist Elin Wrede. The Group won first place as well as “Vote of the public”. The concert was recorded live by Swedish National Radio.
In 2007 The Mattias Nilsson Trio went on tour to Chile. The trio performed 15 concerts in 17 days and the trio received a very warm reception everywhere they performed. The following year, in 2008, Nilsson got an invitation to perform at the famous Grand Jazz Party in Lund. Later that year he was awarded with Lomma Culture Prize and he was also appointed Jazz musician of the year in Skåne for the second time (also voted in 2007) by Jan Olsson, Skånska Dagbladet.
The Jazz club “The Way WE Play” was opened by Nilsson in the autumn of 2007. Without any financial support, he managed to create a new live jazz scene in Malmo. With concerts and jam sessions every week, he offered local musicians a new scene and with the jam sessions; it eventually became the meeting place for musicians and creative people as well as for the growing and enthusiastic audience.
I January 2011, Mattias returned to Chile to play Swedish music with musicians living in the country. This was very appreciated by both the musicians that he played and the audiences who were affected by their fresh versions of the Swedish folk songs, ballads and hymns. In May the same year Mattias was invited by the Swedish Ambassady in Santiago to play at the Swedish Prime Minister first official visit to Chile.
Since the beginning of 2011 Mattias is primarily focusing on giving solo concerts or working in smaller groups. His first cd as a leader will be released in 2012/2013.