World’s longest jam session underway

A marathon jazz improvisation featuring over one hundred musicians started Friday afternoon at the Clarion Hotel in Stockholm.

The Swedes intend to continue playing for five full days, until the Stockholm Jazz Festival kicks off on the afternoon of July 16. This should easily beat the current record of two days and 10 minutes.

There can be no silent seconds or minutes during the “jazzathon” if it is to be officially recognized. That shouldn’t be difficult to establish, since the entire event is being streamed live at www.stockholmjazzathon.com.

A number of professional musicians are slated to take part in the Jazzathon, including Jonas Kullhammar, Martin Jonsson, Goran Kajfes and Ulf Åkerhielm.

But amateurs are also welcome to participate, Bobo Stensson, director of the Stockholm Jazz Festival told Svenska Dagbladet.

“Yes, all you have to do is to take your little saxophone to the hotel and sign up. We hope that some of the big international stars will also want to take part when they come to Stockholm at the beginning of next week.”