Viktoria Tolstoy & Jacob Karlzon - Who We Are (2026)

Viktoria Tolstoy vocals
Jacob Karlzon piano, keyboards, programming

Vocalist Viktoria Tolstoy and pianist/keyboard player Jacob Karlzon have worked together as close musical companions and friends for nearly three decades. So, when they choose to call their album Who We Are, it is far more than just an album title: they are making a statement. What they are offering is a kind of musical self-portrait. They are aggregating and celebrating their shared experience and their mutual trust. Theirs is the kind of artistic language which only emerges after two people have been resonating on the same frequency for years. This duo’s journey began in the mid-1990s during one of Tolstoy’s UK tours. Since then they have performed together again and again, recorded six albums together, including Letter To Herbie (2011), a homage to Herbie Hancock, an idol for both of them, and A Moment of Now (2013) the first of their widely acclaimed duo recordings.

Viktoria Tolstoy and Jacob Karlzon’s close collaboration has reached the point where their story is no longer something they keep on needing to reinvent – these days they can simply tell it. Tolstoy describes in their interplay they have all the benefit of freedom, while also feeling completely secure: “What we do as a duo is really demanding – but it feels effortless. Jacob speaks my language completely; we follow and complement each other in a magical way.” This strong connection enables the duo to take constant risks, both in the studio and on stage – an essential part of who they are. Karlzon experiences this bond similarly: “Between Viktoria and me, there is no division between soloist and accompanist; we are simply two kindred spirits and we work on a completely equal footing.” This close communication forms the basis of the album – and perhaps the most precise answer to the title: Who We Are is that is a state of being. A mutual understanding. An authentic musical expression of “We”.

Karlzon uses a vivid metaphor to help explain this phenomenon. He notes that the songwriters whose work the duo interprets – Billy Joel, Tori Amos, Thom Yorke – are artists who both sing and play the piano. “In a way, that’s exactly what we are trying to do – except we do it as two people. Two individuals, but one musical organism.” This idea – finding expression which is two-voiced but also unified – runs like a uniting thread through the entire production. Who We Are often sounds on a bigger scale than a duo because Tolstoy’s soul-infused jazz vocals and Karlzon’s energetic, harmonically wide-ranging playing do not merely complement each other – they merge.

Alongside distinctive interpretations of songs by iconic songwriters, Who We Are also features a number of original compositions by Jacob Karlzon. On this occasion, and for the first time he has contributed not just the music but also written all the lyrics. Tolstoy, remembers being both surprised and deeply moved when she witnessed Karlzon taking this step: “After I’d received the music, suddenly lyrics for one song after another would begin landing in my inbox – and I was completely lost for words, they were so good!” Karlzon describes the writing process as a return to what he feels is at the root of all art: it’s not about a concept or aiming for commercial viability, but all about being truthful. The lyrics reflect personal experiences as well as observations – a patchwork that nonetheless carries a clear sense of purpose. Tolstoy, in turn, transforms these songs into her own stories. Because she knows Karlzon so well, as she says: “These are words that I can feel. Because I know exactly where they come from.”

Who We Are is a mature, warm, and self-assured album by two artists who know each other in all their complexity – and through that, have found the kind of freedom that is increasingly rare. They have produced a collection of work which isn’t trying to explain who they might like to be; it lets us understand who they truly are.