JAN JOHANSSON

Swedish jazz pianist, arranger and composer, born 16 September 1931 in Onsäng, Söderala parish, Hälsingland, died in a car accident 9 November 1968 in Sollentuna, Stockholm County. His album "Jazz på svenska" is the best selling jazz album in Sweden having sold over a quarter of a million copies and has been streamed more than 10 million times on Spotify. from discogs 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 read more...