STAN HASSELGÅRD
Genres: Bop, Swing • Sweden

Greatly influenced by Benny Goodman, Stan Hasselgård was an ill-fated Swedish clarinetist who focused on swing in the late '30s and '40s, but started exploring bebop toward the end of his life. In fact, he was among the first musicians to play bop on the clarinet. The jazzman was born Ake Hasselgård in Sundsvall, Sweden, but grew up in the small town of Bollnas. Hasselgård was given a clarinet for his 16th birthday. At 19, while he was attending the University of Uppsala in Uppsala, Sweden, he joined a small group called the Royal Swingers. Hasselgård joined bassist Arthur Osterwall's quintet in 1945, which was also the year in which he helped form a new Royal Swingers lineup. By the mid-'40s, the clarinetist had become well-known in Swedish jazz circles, and 1946-1947 found him being featured prominently on recordings by the Swingers, as well as the sextet of bassist Simon read more...