Trombonist & Arranger
JOAKIM TOFTGAARD
About
Joakim Toftgaard is a trombonist from Stockholm, Sweden. He is an active performer, studio musician, arranger, and educator based in Los Angeles.
As a founding member of the group Dallas Horns, Toftgaard spends a lot of his time in the studio, arranging and recording music in a variety of genres. He is currently the trombonist and horn arranger for multi-Grammy® award winner A. R. Rahman, performing internationally with his band. He also performs with various groups in Los Angeles as a freelance artist.
In recent years, Toftgaard has had the opportunity to perform or record with a number of prominent musicians including A. R. Rahman, Bobby McFerrin, Patti LaBelle, Ruben Studdard, Ranjit Barot, Louiz Banks, Arturo Sandoval, Wayne Bergeron, Frank Greene, Denis DiBlasio, Billy Harper, Chuck Findley, Don Chelton, Doc Severinsen, Marvin Stamm, Wycliffe Gordon, Andy Martin, Michael Dease, and Tom 'Bones' Malone.
Toftgaard has been working as a freelance musician and arranger since 2005, with engagements spanning a multitude of genres. He has performance and arranging credits on jazz, funk, pop, rock, and singer-songwriter albums. He was recently featured as a performer and arranger on a track recorded in 2017 with legendary Indian drummer Ranjit Barot. He was subsequently invited to perform and arrange music for the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa, India in December of 2017, along with several performances in Mumbai. He also performed on the Patti LaBelle album Home for the Holidays with Friends, released in 2017. Toftgaard's arrangements and solo playing can also be heard on the 2016 Dallas Horns album Christmas. During 2016 and 2017, Toftgaard was the youngest member on the jazz faculty at The University of Texas at Arlington, where he taught jazz trombone lessons, brass pedagogy, and directed the UTA jazz trombone ensemble.
Toftgaard earned an undergraduate degree from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden, and a Master's degree in Jazz Performance from the University of North Texas in Denton. While at North Texas, he enjoyed a two-year residency with the One O'Clock Lab Band. He is featured as a soloist on albums Lab 2014, and Grammy- nominated Lab 2015. Toftgaard also directed two of the school's big bands and taught jazz trombone classes.
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