Viktoria Tolstoy

Crystal clear, dynamic, vibrating, earthy and not always completely tame, Viktoria Tolstoy is perhaps the most brilliant of all Scandinavian vocalists.

When Viktoria sings, it’s not just a song she interprets. She creates new, shapes and makes it her own. There is an artistic streak in Viktoria Tolstoy’s family. Her maternal grandfather was the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.

Young Viktoria hit like a bomb in Stockholm’s jazz life with leading musicians such as Svante Thuresson and Putte Wickman. In 1994, at the age of 20, she made her first record. Two years later, with the album För Älskad, she became Sweden’s big pop sensation overnight. She went on to start a collaboration with Esbjörn Svensson, who produced and wrote the music for White Russian, the first Scandinavian album released on the legendary Blue Note. At that time Viktoria also collaborated with Nils Landgren and in 2003 she followed Nils and Esbjörn as an exclusive artist for ACT Records. Since then, Viktoria has established herself internationally as one of the leading voices in today’s jazz.

Together with his weapon bearer, the versatile and masterful guitarist Krister Jonsson, Viktoria offers us a telepathic, dizzying journey between seriousness and fun, crying and laughter.

Read more at Viktoria’s homepage.

Photo: Gregor Hohenberg