Ingi Garðar Erlendsson takes the helm of the Love Letter playlist this week. He dedicates the list to all the brilliant musicians performing at the Reykjavík Jazz Festival, currently in full swing.

Ingi Garðar is a true jack-of-all-trades who has left a lasting mark on Icelandic music over the years. He is the shellacjockey Herra Hljóðgeimir, a tuba player with the brass quintet Brassgat í bala, a member of the Society of Aggressive Composers Around Reykjavík (S.L.Á.T.U.R.), and of course conductor of the Vesturbær & Miðbær School Band – a project that earned him the title Reykjavík Resident of the Year earlier this summer.

Two offspring of the Vesturbær & Miðbær School Band will appear at a special family concert at the Reykjavík Jazz Festival this Sunday. Performing will be Litla sveit – a newly formed band playing their own music – and the SVoM Big Band conducted by Samúel Jón Samúelsson. Joining them are Djazzkrakkar, a group of young people from Mosfellsbær aged 10–15 who improvise with great joy and playfulness.

The concert takes place at Iðnó on Sunday, 31 August at 4 pm. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.

Like the Reykjavík Jazz Festival itself, Ingi Garðar’s Love Letter playlist keeps both feet firmly on the ground while his head drifts in the clouds – the perfect snapshot of the city’s lively and playful jazz scene.

Have a wonderful weekend! 

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