Jens Christian Kofod Kwella

Associate Professor, Guitar, Ensemble Teaching

Jens Christian Kwella earned his diploma degree with a major in jazz guitar from the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus in 2000. Since 2001, he has been teaching at the same institution and has also been invited as a guest lecturer at conservatories in Italy, South Africa, Norway and Sweden.

Kwella has worked as a professional guitarist since 1986 and has extensive experience in nearly all genres of jazz—from traditional jazz to experimental and electronic jazz.
He performs approximately 100–130 concerts annually in Denmark and abroad, both with his own projects and as a sideman.

Among the artists he has performed with are Curtis Stigers (US), Randy Brecker (US), Marc Johnson (US), Eliane Elias (BR), Aarhus Jazz Orchestra, Palle Mikkelborg, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Sønderjyllands Symphony Orchestra, Ginne Marker, Karmen Roivasepp, Uffe Steen, Nana Rashid, Jesper Løvdal, John Stowell (US), Ulf Bandgren (SE), Gimo Mendes (MZ), Blood Sweat Drum and Bass Big Band, Gregory Boyd (US), Mageshen Naido (SA), and many others.

As an educator in guitar, ensemble and music theory, Kwella has helped educate many of the musicians and soloists currently at the forefront of the Danish music scene in both jazz and pop.
Among his former students are soloists such as Ginne Marker, Karmen Roivasepp, Svaenborg/Kardyb and Rikke Thomsen, and many are active as musicians with artists such as Rasmus Seebach, Andreas Odbjerg, Lis Sørensen, Aarhus Jazz Orchestra, Abekejser, and many others.

In his role as associate professor of guitar, Kwella has for many years organized and participated in the concert series GuitarRama in Aalborg, which invites professional guitarists from Denmark and abroad—spanning a wide range of genres—to perform with students from the conservatory.

Kwella has recorded and released seven critically acclaimed albums under his own name—the most recent in April 2023, GuitarRama Jazzical, featuring duets for classical and electric guitar.
He has also contributed to numerous critically acclaimed albums, including Slowing Down The Tune with Kwella/Bjørnskov (2018), The Science of Meetings with Etnolab (2017), Creatures with Organic Picnic (2015), Milonga Triste with TangoJazz (Gateway, 2014), and In The Spirit Of with Blood Sweat Drum and Bass Big Band featuring Palle Mikkelborg and Dave Liebman (Biem).