Jan Johansson (jazz musician)
Jan Johansson | |
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Background information | |
Born | Söderhamn, Hälsingland, Sweden | 16 September 1931
Died | 9 November 1968 Sollentuna, Sweden | (aged 37)
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Piano |
Years active | 1948–68 |
Labels | Rosa Honung, Dot |
Website | www |
Jan Johansson (16 September 1931 – 9 November 1968) was a Swedish jazz pianist. His album Jazz på svenska (Jazz in Swedish) is the best selling jazz release ever in Sweden; it has sold over a quarter of a million copies and has been streamed more than 50 million times on Spotify. He was the father of former HammerFall drummer Anders Johansson and Stratovarius keyboardist Jens Johansson, who run Heptagon Records which keeps their father's recordings available.
Biography
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Johansson was a native of Söderhamn, in the Hälsingland province of Sweden. Studying classical piano as a child, he would also go on to master the guitar, organ and accordion, before turning on to swing and bebop as a teenager. He met saxophonist Stan Getz while at university. He abandoned his studies to play jazz full-time, and worked with many American jazz musicians, becoming the first European to be invited to join the Jazz at the Philharmonic package.
The years 1961 to 1968, produced a string of classic albums, which would help define his style of re-imagining traditional European folk tunes via jazz and the avant garde. These included Jazz på svenska (Jazz in Swedish) and Jazz på ryska (Jazz in Russian) which are both available in an expanded form on CD. Jazz på ungerska (Jazz in Hungarian) together with Danish Jazz
The
With his career including film & TV music, Johansson is also best known as the composer of "Here Comes Pippi Longstocking" ("Här kommer Pippi Långstrump"), the theme song of the famous
In November 1968, Johansson died in a car crash on his way to a concert in a church in Jönköping, Sweden.
Influence
American hip hop group Non Phixion sampled "Bandura" for their song "Skum". The Swedish band Opeth has claimed him as an influence on the title track for their album Heritage.
Discography
As leader
Year recorded | Title | Label | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1959–60 | Younger Than Springtime | Artist | With Georg Riedel and Sture Nordin (bass; separately), Egil Johansen and William Schiöpffe (drums; separately)
|
1961 | 8 bitar Johansson | Megafon | Trio, with Gunnar Johnson (bass), Ingvar Callmer (drums) |
1962? | Innertrio | Megafon | Trio, with Georg Riedel (bass), Egil Johansen (drums)
|
1963? | Rörelser | Megafon | with Georg Riedel
|
1962–64 | Jazz på svenska | Megafon | Duo, with Georg Riedel (bass) |
1964 | In pleno | Megafon | With Georg Riedel (bass), Egil Johansen (drums), Rupert Clemendore (percussion)
|
1964? | Sweden Nonstop | DOT | |
1964? | Svenska folklåtar | Ais/Megarock | |
1966? | Dansa med TV | AB Megafon | |
1966 | Live in Tallinn | Heptagon | Trio, with Georg Riedel (bass); in concert[2]
|
1964–66 | Spelar musik på sitt eget vis | Megafon | With Andreas Skjold (trombone), Georg Riedel, Sture Nordin and Sture Akerberg (bass), Egil Johansen and Rupert Clemendore (drums)[2]
|
1966? | Barnkammarmusik | Megafon | with Bengt-Arne Wallin |
1967? | Jazz på ryska | Megafon | With Georg Riedel (bass), Egil Johansen (drums), Arne Domnérus (clarinet), Bosse Broberg (trumpet), Lennart Åberg (tenor sax) |
1964–68 | In Hamburg | ACT | Some tracks duo, with Georg Riedel; some tracks with big band[3]
|
1967–68 | 300.000 | Megafon | With Georg Riedel (bass), Egil Johansen and Rupert Clemendore (drums), Gote Nilsson (electronics); in concert[2]
|
1967–68 | Den korta fristen | Heptagon | With big band[2] |
1968 | Musik genom fyra sekler | Megafon | With Claes Rosendahl (clarinet, flute), Sven Berger (flute, oboe, bassoon), Georg Riedel, Arne Wilhelmsson and Sture Akerberg (bass)[2]
|
På skiva med Jan Johansson | Megafon | ||
Intervju med ett piano | Rosa Honung | ||
Blues | Heptagon | ||
Piano | Heptagon |
Collaborations
- With Svend Asmussen
- 1968: Spelar jazz på ungerska (Megafon Records)
- With Radiojazzgruppen
- 1969: Vårdkasar (Sveriges Radio)
- 1970: Frostrosor (Sveriges Radio), with Georg Riedel
- 1991: Den korta fristen (Megafon Records)
- With Alice Babs
- 2007: Illusion (Vax Records ), with Georg Riedels Orkester
- With Stan Getz
- Imported from Europe (Verve, 1958)
- Stan Getz at Large (Verve, 1960)
- 2011: Stan Getz At Nalen (Live In The Swedish Harlem) (Riverside Records)[4]
With Oscar Pettiford
- My Little Cello (Debut, 1960)
References
- ^ Pippi Långstrump, IMDB.com. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ^ Lindsay, Bruce (20 September 2011). "Jan Johansson with Georg Riedel: in Hamburg". All About Jazz. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- Discogs.com. Retrieved 7 November 2014.