Jazz musician from Gothenburg
Mikael Godée, soprano saxophonist and composer in Gothenburg
Studies at the Academy of Music and Drama at Gothenburg University and has been touring with his music all over the world. Mikael Godée is one of the main ingredients of what we call the Swedish jazz. His involvement in groups Corpo and Änglaspel, where his lyrical and warm soprano saxophone creates a unique musical atmosphere, has been hugely important in today’s jazz scene. Mikael also won a Swedish Grammy and the price “Jazz in Sweden”.
New album 2025
NOTHING TO DECLARE a new album that showcases the lyrical beauty of Mikael Godée’s soprano saxophone, paired with the elegance of a string quartet.
Mikael Godée has long been a key figure in Nordic jazz, lending his talents to projects like Änglaspel, Corpo and Mikael Godée – Eve Beuvens Quartet.
On this new album, he presents a unique suite of compositions that have been brewing in his mind for quite some time, melding the expressive sounds of soprano sax and strings in a way that will captivate listeners from start to finish.
”The group’s (Corpo) leading figure is the soprano saxophonist Mikael Godée. With a soft, often chromatic voice in his melodies, he adds a lot of the Nordic sound to the group. That’s not to say that he reminds a lot about Jan Garbarek and the sacred Norwegian songs, patented by the record company ECM. Rather, Godée joins the jazz with a more earthly melancholic expression”
Corpo
”Their musical genre is jazz and improvisation with a touch of Swedish folklore and the "Nordic sound" , known for the beautiful melodies. All of their music is based on original compositions by Mikael Godée"
MEQ
One of the finest European jazz experiences of the moment: the combination of Belgian pianist Eve Beuvens and the Swedish saxophonist Mikael Godée. Two master chefs at work!" - Leuven Jazz Festival
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Mikael Godée with Strings
Mikael Godée with Strings brings together Mikael Godée’s lyrical soprano saxophone and a string quartet in music that blends jazz expression with chamber-music elegance. Centered on Godée’s own compositions, the collaboration focuses on melody, rich harmonies, and intimate interplay, creating a genre-defying sound rooted in Nordic lyricism.
Press releases – Nothing to Declare
Gothenburg’s own Mikael Godée plays nine of his own compositions with a string quartet. This is melodic and highly enjoyable chamber music with room for some soloist activity. Godée’s soprano sax occasionally takes off to soar above the soft string carpet, like a jazzy skylark with tidings of warm weather ahead. But most of the time, we are treated to the intimate and mutually attentive interaction between the five players where—highlighting one aspect in particular— the cello, viola, and soprano saxophone find a fruitful affinity in the lower registers.
“Godée’s soprano sax occasionally takes off to soar above the soft string carpet, like a jazzy skylark with tidings of warm weather ahead.”
Godée also invites some friction into the compositions, adding a touch of beneficial dissonance to the lush melodic flow. There is a barely perceptible sheen of folk music here and there, as in their variation of “En dejlig rosa” (understandably), but for the most part, the music is unwilling to be corralled into a genre. It’s exciting to hear Godée explore new musical contexts and take his music out on new paths. The mellow strings on Nothing to declare are played by Amelie Evmark and Annie Gunnarsson, violin; Leo Lövsén, viola; and Axel Vilborg, cello. Since the 1970s and 1980s, Mikael Godée has been a key figure in Nordic jazz, lending his talents to projects like Änglaspel, Corpo and the Mikael Godée – Eve Beuvens Quartet, and thereby reaching an international audience. One of many interesting collaborations is with Poland’s Kasia Pietrzko Trio, that features a rising jazz piano star Godée toured with last autumn.
Ulf Johansson, Lira – May 23, 2025
Soprano saxophonist Mikael Godée’s work in Änglaspel is familiar, and in Corpo as well, an ensemble that produces cool vibes with African influences, but on Nothing to Declare, Godée is inspired by classical music. Here, composition prevails over improvisation, as do delightful harmonies and melodies over dissonance; anyone looking for traces of Darmstadt will be searching in vain. The music is deftly arranged for the soprano sax and a string quartet and Godée makes the utmost of the tonal possibilities for this combination of instruments. With the exception of the hymn “Jag vet en dejlig rosa”, all the excellent compositions are his own. Such as “Rideau de douche”, an intriguingly tricky piece, and “Till barnet” with its repeated pizzicato passage that lends it a certain playfulness.
“To me, the most masterful piece of all is the eight-minute long ‘A Time to Remember’.”
The most beautiful of all is the title track, with a voicing that evokes Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings”. To me, the most masterful piece of all is the eight-minute long “A Time to Remember”, in particular because it has the most expansive register—between the tentative intro and the dreamlike ending, you are treated to both a moving meditative theme and a powerful and unruly rhythmic interlude.
Jörgen Östberg, Orkesterjournalen, June 2025
Wow! Mikael Godée with Strings! Music that touches the softest parts of the soul. Brilliant!
– Anders Ahlerup
”It’s a privilege to keep on playing my music dressed in new colours and textures”
– Jazz musician Mikael Godée, with a brand-new release: Nothing to Declare
His lyrical soprano sax has long spread its magic on Sweden’s jazz scene and for four decades, he and his band “Corpo” have fused Nordic melancholy with beats from southern latitudes. Other ensembles such as “Änglaspel” and the “Mikael Godée & Eve Beuvens Quartet” have also left an imprint at home and abroad. Though his love for jazz and improv has been his main musical compass since he was in his teens, Mikael is also fascinated by classical music and ten years ago, he began composing music for a string quartet and saxophone.
“I’ve always enjoyed string quartets, their tonal quality. Cello and violin in their lower range reminds me of the sound of my soprano sax. It’s a marriage made in heaven.”
The album Nothing to Declare features a string quartet with Amelie Evmark and Annie Gunnarsson on violin, Leo Lövsén on viola, and Axel Vilborg on cello.
Godée describes the encounter between strings and sax as playful, with a style that sounds classical, yet with a twist. He takes the liberty of occasionally leaving the strict, notated music for some improv and to find new inroads into the piece. “Sometimes you clash a little about phrasing – to me, that’s exciting, it should never be ‘by the book’ or square.” By dressing classical music up with organic segments of jazz and improvisation, Mikael Godée hopes to play venues rarely inhabited by jazz. But he has no particular message or theme in mind when he creates music: “You will perceive the music in your way, and I will perceive it in mine.”
Studies at the Academy of Music and Drama at Gothenburg University and has been touring with his music all over the world. Mikael Godée is one of the main ingredients of what we call the Swedish jazz. His involvement in groups Corpo and Änglaspel, where his lyrical and warm soprano saxophone creates a unique musical atmosphere, has been hugely important in today’s jazz scene. Mikael also won a Swedish Grammy and the price “Jazz in Sweden”.
Text: Ellinor Lennermo | Translation to English: Ingrid Eng