Linus Olsson is a guitarist, composer and arranger originally from Sweden now living in France. He grew up in Malmö where he took up the classical guitar at the age of ten. After discovering rock music he started playing the electric guitar, as well as piano and drums and then he fell in love with jazz. Still in his teens, Linus attended Fridhems Folkhögskola music academy in Svalöv and started doing local gigs in Malmö.

 

In 1992 Linus and his band travelled from Sweden to the Canary Islands to play six nights a week for 5 months at a Sunwing hotel. The following year he spent six months in Fort Lauderdale, Florida rehearsing and working with local musicans, where he also jammed with Lonnie Smith and Randy Bernsen.

 

In 1995 Linus moved to Nice, France to study French at the University and by 1996 he was also studying jazz guitar, ear training, piano and arranging at the Conservatory of Nice. Shortly after that he recorded his first album with a French group called Volume 5, the CD featured several of his own compositions. Getting more and more interested in composition and arranging he produced “Naima” in 2004 with his own sextet featuring the late trumpet player François Chassagnite among others. The following year he recorded “Infant Eyes” with singer/percussionist Isa Rabaraona.

 

More recently, Linus has played at several festivals in France, Sweden and Italy with Remi Vignolo, Christian Escoude, Jean-Marc Jafet, Thierry Eliez and Jean-Paul Ceccarelli among others. He has accompanied Swedish singer Lill Lindfors and Norwegian singer Isabel Ødegård. In 2009 he co-founded the “Bronkenstein Connection” with organist Erik Brinkman. That band produced their first CD in 2011 and their second in 2013. He has also recorded two albums with Franck Taschini’s band “R.O.G." and in 2012 he recorded his second album as a leader featuring Franck Amsallem, Jean-Marc Jafet and Nicolas Viccaro.

 

Today Linus teaches electric guitar and modern music combo at the Conservatory in Cagnes-sur-Mer, as well as keeping busy on the jazz scene all around the French Riviera, Monaco and Paris.