Oscar Utterström
Oscar Utterström is a Swedish trombonist, composer, arranger and educator based in Nashville, Tennessee. His versatile playing and experience in many styles make him an indemand session player on trombone, bass trombone and euphonium. He is very active on the live music scene in the southeastern United States. Internationally, he has performed in Canada, China, South Korea, and Europe. As a freelance trombonist, Oscar has performed and/or recorded with acts such as Kelly Clarkson, Johnny Reid, the Temptations, Jeff Coffin, the Four Tops, My Morning Jacket, Diamond Rugs, Cage the Elephant, Marc Broussard, Taylor Swift, Rachael Lampa, and Emily West. He can also be heard on Jack White’s music in the 2013 Walt Disney motion picture “The Lone Ranger.”
As a composer, Oscar mixes his Swedish roots with American and world music, giving the finished product a unique sound. He leads his own group, under his name, in which he plays electric trombone and keyboard. The group also features DJ Black Cat Sylvester on SynthTable. The group has released two albums, Home (2008) and Departure (2012), on the Right Turn Records label.
Oscar has written horn arrangements for many different artists, both for live use and recordings, including:
My Morning Jacket for their Bonnaroo shows 2008 and 2011 and their sold out New Years Eve at Madison Square Garden show in 2008. Oscar also played trombone on and arranged for MMJ’s Grammynominated album “Circuital” (2011).
Oscar played on two major tours of Canada with Canadian superstar Johnny Reid. He also played on and did horn arrangements for the PBS special “A Place Called Love, Live in Concert” DVD/CD (2011), and the Canadian Country Music Association awardnominated, Juno awardwinning, bestselling album in Canada two years in a row, “Fire it Up” (2012).
Oscar arranged “Someone to Watch Over Me” on Nashville Jazz Orchestra’s criticallyacclaimed Gershwinthemed album “It Ain’t Necessarily So” (2013).
Oscar is an active educator, giving master classes on playing, arranging and freelancing at colleges and high schools throughout the US. He is on the faculty at Tennessee State University and the Nashville Jazz Workshop.
Oscar started playing the trombone at the age of ten. He began his musical career at the music school in Växjö, Sweden. When Oscar was twelve, he moved with his family to Belgium where he continued playing in various bands, including blues bands, concert bands and fanfare orchestras.
Oscar studied trombone and arranging at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, where he majored in Music Business/Management. While at Berklee, he was mentored by the likes of Phil Wilson, Hal Crook, Jeff Galindo, Tiger Okoshi, Lin Biviano, and Charles Lewis.After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Berklee, Oscar moved to Nashville, where he worked as a Production Assistant at The Sessions Agency on Music Row before deciding to get his Masters of Arts in Jazz Studies at Middle Tennessee State University (Summa Cum Laude, 2005). While at Middle Tennessee State University, Oscar had the privilege to play with masters such as Jim McNeely, Benny Golson, Carl Allen, and Eddie Daniels.
