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Listen to Jan Johansson, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!

Jan Johansson

Jazz

View Artist

Top Songs By Jan Johansson

Listen to Gammal Bröllopsmarsch by Jan Johansson, see lyrics, music video & more!
Gammal BröllopsmarschJan Johansson
Listen to Visa Från Utanmyra by Jan Johansson, see lyrics, music video & more!
Visa Från UtanmyraJan Johansson
Listen to Embraceable You by Jan Johansson, see lyrics, music video & more!
Embraceable YouJan Johansson
Listen to Berg-Kristis polska by Jan Johansson, see lyrics, music video & more!
Berg-Kristis polskaJan Johansson
Listen to Emigrantvisa by Jan Johansson, see lyrics, music video & more!
EmigrantvisaJan Johansson
Listen to Brudmarsch Efter Larshöga Jonke by Jan Johansson, see lyrics, music video & more!
Brudmarsch Efter Larshöga JonkeJan Johansson
Listen to Polska Från Medelpad by Jan Johansson, see lyrics, music video & more!
Polska Från MedelpadJan Johansson
Listen to Visafrån Rättvik by Jan Johansson, see lyrics, music video & more!
Visafrån RättvikJan Johansson
Listen to Gånglek Från Älvdalen by Jan Johansson, see lyrics, music video & more!
Gånglek Från ÄlvdalenJan Johansson
Listen to Polska Efter Höök Olle by Jan Johansson, see lyrics, music video & more!
Polska Efter Höök OlleJan Johansson

More albums from Jan Johansson

Listen to Jan Johansson in Hamburg (with Georg Riedel) by Jan Johansson
ALBUMJan Johansson in Hamburg (with Georg Riedel)Jan Johansson
Listen to Musik i Donkyrkan Goteborg by henrick Cervin, Goteborgs Domkyrkokoren, Gustavikoren, Ann Mari Rydberg-Fernlund, Ann-Marie Rydberg, Rubert Granberg & Jan Johansson
ALBUMMusik i Donkyrkan Goteborghenrick Cervin, Goteborgs Domkyrkokoren, Gustavikoren, Ann Mari Rydberg-Fernlund, Ann-Marie Rydberg, Rubert Granberg & Jan Johansson
Listen to Musik Genom Fyra Sekler/New Version by Jan Johansson
ALBUMMusik Genom Fyra Sekler/New VersionJan Johansson
Listen to Jazz På Svenska by Jan Johansson
ALBUMJazz På SvenskaJan Johansson
Listen to Folkvisor - Jazz på svenska by Jan Johansson
ALBUMFolkvisor - Jazz på svenskaJan Johansson
Listen to Barnvisor by Jan Johansson
ALBUMBarnvisorJan Johansson
Listen to Blues by Jan Johansson
ALBUMBluesJan Johansson
Listen to Musik Genom Fyra Sekler by Jan Johansson
ALBUMMusik Genom Fyra SeklerJan Johansson
Listen to Jazz På Ungerska/In Pleno by Jan Johansson & Svend Asmussens
ALBUMJazz På Ungerska/In PlenoJan Johansson & Svend Asmussens
Listen to Longing by Jan Johansson & Swedish Radio Jazz Group
ALBUMLongingJan Johansson & Swedish Radio Jazz Group
Listen to Blaus by Jan Johansson & Red Mitchell
ALBUMBlausJan Johansson & Red Mitchell
Listen to Den Korta Fristen by Jan Johansson
ALBUMDen Korta FristenJan Johansson
Listen to Nielsen: 4 String Quartets / String Quintet by Philipp Naegele, Jan Johansson & Kontra Quartet
ALBUMNielsen: 4 String Quartets / String QuintetPhilipp Naegele, Jan Johansson & Kontra Quartet
Listen to 300000 by Jan Johansson
ALBUM300000Jan Johansson
Listen to Jazz På Ryska by Jan Johansson
ALBUMJazz På RyskaJan Johansson

About Jan Johansson

Listen to Jan Johansson, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
Hometown
Sweden
Born
September 16, 1931
Genre
Jazz
Although not well known in the U.S., Jan Johansson was among Sweden's top jazz pianists of the 1950s and '60s and commanded tremendous respect in Scandinavian jazz circles. Johansson (who also played guitar, organ, and accordion) was born and raised in Soderhamn in Sweden's Halsingland province, where he studied classical piano as a child before becoming interested in swing and bebop as a teenager. As a high school student in the late '40s, he played locally with various Soderhamn swing and dance bands, including Gerhard's Orchestra, the Five Swingers, and the sextet of the Benny Goodman-influenced clarinetist Gunnar Hammarlund. After serving in the military, he moved to Goteborg (Sweden's second-largest city) in the early '50s and went on to be employed as a sideman on sessions by big-band leader Kenneth Fagerlund in 1954-1955, and bassist Gunnar Johnson in the mid- to late '50s. Johansson's first sessions as a leader came in 1956, although he continued to be a member of Johnson's quintet until its breakup in 1959. It was also during the '50s that Johansson came to the attention of Stan Getz, who spent a lot of time in Scandinavia and went on a six-week tour with Johnson's quintet in 1958. Getz loved the melodic nature of Johansson's playing, and the two had a strong rapport when playing or recording together in the late '50s and early '60s. Other Americans that Johansson shared the stage with ranged from bassist Oscar Pettiford to singer Helen Merrill, whom he backed during a two-week engagement at Copenhagen's Cafe Montmartre in 1960. Johansson was quite prolific in the '60s, when he continued to play bop but also explored the possibilities of modal post-bop, third stream and avant-garde jazz. In 1962, the pianist recorded his most famous album, Jazz pa Svenska. Translating to "Jazz in Swedish", the album underscored Johansson's love of traditional Swedish folk and (according to writer Erik Kjellberg) has sold more than 200,000 units over the years. In fact, one of the things Johansson became known for was his ability to provide jazz interpretations of Swedish folk songs. Tragically, Johansson's career came to an end on November 9, 1968, when he was killed in a car crash on a Swedish expressway. On December 16, 1968, a memorial concert was held at Stockholm's Concert Hall. Interest in Johansson's work remained long after his death. Heptagon (a label that his sons Anders and Jens founded in 1994) has reissued much of the pianist's work on CD, and in 1998, Kjellberg's Johansson biography, Jan Johansson: A Visionary Swedish Musician, was published in both English and Swedish. ~ Alex Henderson

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