Armand van Wijck
– heartfelt harmonica and suling
“An original and acclaimed artist with a warm and communicative way of interpreting the music he performs.” – Anders Jormin
Armand’s Indo-Dutch-Creole heritage has always fueled his interest in blending contemporary jazz with diverse musical traditions. His music has been called ‘very atmospheric folk-jazz’ and also ‘modern jazz with Nordic sounds’ in the Scandinavian press. For Armand himself music is all about celebrating our shared stories and finding harmony in our differences.
Originally from the Netherlands, Armand van Wijck has made a mark with his chromatic harmonica performances in his home country, playing at places such as the North Sea Jazz Festival. When he moved to Sweden his modern jazz project evolved and a debut album with his quartet, full of storytelling compositions, was released on Swedish label Howling Jazz in April 2024.
Nothing to Declare reflects on Armand’s personal experiences with migration, the search for identity and adaptation. Renowned Swedish jazz magazine Orkesterjournalen wrote about the record: ‘Very atmospheric folk-jazz (...) a multi-dimensional sound (...) awakes an interest in the versatile possibilities of the harmonica.’
Furthermore Armand has a flourishing Swedish folk-jazz duo with violinist Magdalena Eriksson and even contributes to electro-acoustic projects, such as Johan Björklund's Pjäxeröd 2.0 with a.o. Arve Henriksen. He also has become an in-demand player on the suling, a traditional Indonesian bamboo flute he started playing in Sweden to reconnect with his roots.
'Armand is an original and acclaimed artist with personal aesthetics and with a warm way of interpreting the music he performs. His mastery on the harmonica, his understanding of the jazz tradition and - not the least - his musically communicative skills are remarkable.' – Anders Jormin, ECM Records artist
‘He is very good, ridiculously good.’ - French harmonica star Jean-Jacques Milteau, Open Jazz, Radio France
