Elsa Nilsson
Band of Pulses — contemporary jazz from Brooklyn
Swedish flutist and composer Elsa Nilsson leads a New York quartet that listens for rhythm and melody in speech, breath and the world around it — and turns what it hears into composed and improvised music.
Band of Pulses began with Dr. Maya Angelou’s reading of On the Pulse of Morning. The quartet built an eight-part suite on the pitch and phrasing of her voice; Pulses (ears&eyes, 2023) was supported by a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works grant and premiered at National Sawdust in Brooklyn. In 2024 the band played Winter Jazzfest in New York as part of the Keychange showcase.
Their new album, Liminal (Adhyâropa Records, June 2026), turns inward: eight pieces about the space between an ending and a beginning. All About Jazz gave it four stars and called it “a high bar in the flautist’s growing body of work.”
Elsa Nilsson flutes, effects · Santiago Leibson piano · Marty Kenney bass · Rodrigo Recabarren drums
Elsa Nilsson
Flutist and Composer
Elsa Nilsson grew up in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is based in Brooklyn. She won the National Flute Association’s Jazz Flute Competition in 2018 and teaches at The New School. Liminal is her fifteenth release as a leader.
“She stands among the defining jazz voices of the 21st century.” — Paris Move
Liminal
New Album, June 2026
Eight pieces about the space between an ending and a beginning — in her words, “an exploration of the processes involved in decision making.” Released on Adhyâropa Records in June 2026, with Santiago Leibson, Marty Kenney and Rodrigo Recabarren.
“A high bar in the flautist’s growing body of work.” — All About Jazz ★★★★
