Adam Forkelid | Dreams | October 24, 2025
Stockholm-based pianist and composer Adam Forkelid, a longtime mainstay of the Scandinavian jazz scene, presents a deeply personal solo record born from a single improvised concert that became something extraordinary.
Dreams is set for release on October 24th, 2025.
Over the past two decades, Forkelid has established himself as one of Sweden’s most distinctive pianists and composers. From his early breakthrough with the influential trio Lekverk, to collaborations with Maria Schneider, Nils Landgren, Viktoria Tolstoy, and the Norrbotten Big Band, he has consistently pushed the boundaries of Scandinavian jazz, whether in adventurous large-ensemble settings, forward-leaning projects like Soundscape Orchestra, intimate trios such as the Svante Söderqvist Trio, and international collaborations with the likes of Pedro Martins and Gavin Bryers.
On a quiet October night in 2024, Forkelid sat down at his beloved Fazioli F278 grand piano in the intimate 50-seat venue Krematoriet. With no fixed plan beyond a few sketches and original song ideas, he let the atmosphere and familiar faces in the room guide his playing. As the performance unfolded, Forkelid and the audience collectively drifted into a state of reverie – suspended in time in a shared stream of consciousness.
Four of the six album tracks are completely improvised. Another arises from a loose idea retrieved from an old phone recording, and the final piece is a reinterpretation from his 2024 quartet release Turning Point. The result feels imperfect, shifting, curious by nature, a shared musical experience shaped in real time.
Dreams captures the rare alchemy of the pianist’s intuitive relationship with his instrument, the charged yet calming energy of the space, and the transformational power of music made in the moment. It’s a line between dream and reality, and each listener gets to decide what it means for them.
Line up
Adam Forkelid | Grand Piano
Track Listing
Dream no. 1: Liminality
Dream no. 2: Unfold
Dream no. 3: Time
Dream no. 4: Repose
Dream no. 5: The Quiet Above
Dream no. 6: Strive
PR Quotes
Jazzflits (NL)
“he dared to play purely intuitive improvisations for just over an hour—with a wonderfully beautiful end result.”
Paris-move (FR)
“If there is a single truth this recording offer, it is that Adam Forkelid must now be recognized among the most important musicians of the 21st century, a pianist whose work is not confined to Sweden or Europe, but speaks to the ongoing global conversation about what music can be, and why it matters”
Jazz.sk (SK)
“The depth of the tones and their meanings truly encourage meditative perception, which introduces us to rare states of inner peace and balance”
Lira (SE)
“Dreams is a dream album, a mirage, a story about something lost and something found again. What it is remains open.”
Esensja (PL)
“A completely new quality has been created, in which the contemplative melody, reminiscent of classical music, is supported by jazz and blues phrases.”
La Habitacion del Jazz (ES)
“A personal album, full of seductive and elegant music, not lacking in strength and contained intensity. Beautiful work”
Jazz Journal (UK)
“These pieces, as with Dream No. 5: The Quiet Above, allow his quicksilver fingers to dance or pause, to arabesque or relax and to simply be.”
Era Jazzu (PL)
“Dreams,” reveals the extraordinary alchemy of the pianist’s intuitive relationship with his instrument, the charged yet soothing energy of space, and the transformative power of music created through expressive improvisation.”
Musikreviews (DE)
“a poetic nocturnal journey.”
Mainly Piano (USA)
“Quiet, thoughtful and somewhat mysterious, the piece feels very relaxed and open to me, but is never simplistic or trite”
Making a Scene (USA)
“It’s a line between “Dreams” and reality, played by a master pianist”
Musik an sich (DE)
“Dreams is for me a source of peace, tranquility, and beauty, a place to linger and reflect—yes, those are beautiful dreams…”
Jazz Weekly (US)
“melding economy and space with passion“
Cuttings
