Lars Jansson (composer)
Encyclopedia
Lars Jansson is a jazz
pianist
and composer
.
, Sweden, where he was bored by his lessons at the community music school. In his early teens, a relative lent him records of Miles Davis
, Ben Webster
, and Mose Allison
. During the 1960s, he followed the fashion and developed an interest in the organ
. He listened to Kjell Öhman play with the Telstars, to Jimmy Smith
and Jack McDuff
, and to Hammond organ music. Drummer Sjunne Ferger became an important figure in his life, and together they formed a duo: "Takt & Ton" (Beat & Pitch).
In 1970, after graduation from upper secondary school, he took a semester off, planning to go on and study medicine. He ended up at dental school, but after a year and a half he decided to switch to music. He was accepted at the Göteborg College of Music, where all the professional musicians had their jam sessions at night. That gave him the opportunity to play with Ove Johansson
, Jan Forslund, Conny Sjökvist, Gilbert Holmström, Gunnar Lindgren, and others, and he discovered Herbie Hancock
, McCoy Tyner
, Paul Bley
, Bill Evans
, Lennie Tristano
, Keith Jarrett
, and Chick Corea
.
Lars became a member of Björn Alke's quartet, with Gunnar Bergsten. He also played with the Arild Andersen
Quartet. He went on to play with Radka Toneff
and various Norwegian
musicians, including Knut Riisnaes and Jan Garbarek
, and then with Hawk On Flight, Equinox
, Red Mitchell
, Joakim Milder, Crystal Eagle, and many other groups, both Swedish and Danish
. Today, the Lars Jansson trio is, and has long been, one of the most well-renowned jazz groups in Sweden. Originally, the other two members were Anders Jormin
and Anders Kjellberg. Lars Danielsson
succeeded Jormin as the trio's bass player in the mid-1980s, and since January 2005 he has been succeeded by Christian Spering.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Life
Jansson grew up in ÖrebroÖrebro
-Sites of interest:Örebro's old town Wadköping is located on the banks of Svartån . It contains many 18th and 19th century wooden houses, along with museums and exhibitions....
, Sweden, where he was bored by his lessons at the community music school. In his early teens, a relative lent him records of Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, Ben Webster
Ben Webster
Benjamin Francis Webster , a.k.a. "The Brute" or "Frog," was an influential American jazz tenor saxophonist. Webster, born in Kansas City, Missouri, was considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young...
, and Mose Allison
Mose Allison
Mose John Allison, Jr. is an American jazz blues pianist and singer.-Biography:...
. During the 1960s, he followed the fashion and developed an interest in the organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
. He listened to Kjell Öhman play with the Telstars, to Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith (musician)
Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument...
and Jack McDuff
Jack McDuff
"Brother" Jack McDuff was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era of the 1960s, often performing with an organ trio.-Career:...
, and to Hammond organ music. Drummer Sjunne Ferger became an important figure in his life, and together they formed a duo: "Takt & Ton" (Beat & Pitch).
In 1970, after graduation from upper secondary school, he took a semester off, planning to go on and study medicine. He ended up at dental school, but after a year and a half he decided to switch to music. He was accepted at the Göteborg College of Music, where all the professional musicians had their jam sessions at night. That gave him the opportunity to play with Ove Johansson
Ove Johansson
Ove Claes Johansson, born March 31, 1948, in Gothenburg, Sweden, is a former American football placekicker and the current holder of the record for the longest field goal ever kicked during an American football game, at ....
, Jan Forslund, Conny Sjökvist, Gilbert Holmström, Gunnar Lindgren, and others, and he discovered Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:...
, Paul Bley
Paul Bley
Paul Bley, CM is a pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing.-Biography:...
, Bill Evans
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
, Lennie Tristano
Lennie Tristano
Leonard Joseph Tristano was a jazz pianist, composer and teacher of jazz improvisation. He performed in the cool jazz, bebop, post bop and avant-garde jazz genres. He remains a somewhat overlooked figure in jazz history, but his enormous originality and dazzling work as an improviser have long...
, Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer who performs both jazz and classical music.Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music; as...
, and Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
.
Lars became a member of Björn Alke's quartet, with Gunnar Bergsten. He also played with the Arild Andersen
Arild Andersen
Arild Andersen is a Norwegian bass player.Born in Lillestrøm, Norway, he started out as a member of the Jan Garbarek Quartet , with Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen...
Quartet. He went on to play with Radka Toneff
Radka Toneff
Ellen Radka Toneff was a Norwegian jazz singer. She is still considered one of Norway's most outstanding jazz singers....
and various Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
musicians, including Knut Riisnaes and Jan Garbarek
Jan Garbarek
Jan Garbarek is a Norwegian tenor and soprano saxophonist, active in the jazz, classical, and world music genres. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war Czesław Garbarek and a Norwegian farmer's daughter...
, and then with Hawk On Flight, Equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
, Red Mitchell
Red Mitchell
Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell (September 20, 1927, New York City - November 8, 1992, Salem, Oregon, was an American jazz double-bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet. He was the brother of Whitey Mitchell....
, Joakim Milder, Crystal Eagle, and many other groups, both Swedish and Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Today, the Lars Jansson trio is, and has long been, one of the most well-renowned jazz groups in Sweden. Originally, the other two members were Anders Jormin
Anders Jormin
Anders Bertil Michael Jormin, born September 7, 1957 in Jönköping, is a Swedish bassist and composer.Jormin established a musical partnership with Bobo Stenson in the mid-1980s which led to international recognition playing with Charles Lloyd, in the early 1990s...
and Anders Kjellberg. Lars Danielsson
Lars Danielsson
Lars Danielsson is a Swedish jazz bassist, composer and record producer.-Biography:Lars Danielsson was educated at the Music Conservatory in Gothenburg. He plays double bass, electric bass and cello...
succeeded Jormin as the trio's bass player in the mid-1980s, and since January 2005 he has been succeeded by Christian Spering.
as leader
- In Search of Lost Time 2011 (Prophone)
- Temenos 2004 (Spice of Life)
- Witnessing 2003 (Imogena)
- Ballads 2002 (Imogena)
- Giving Receiving 2002 (Imogena)
as sideman
With Arild AndersenArild Andersen
Arild Andersen is a Norwegian bass player.Born in Lillestrøm, Norway, he started out as a member of the Jan Garbarek Quartet , with Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen...
- ShimriShimri (album)Shimri is the second album by Norwegian jazz bassist and composer Arild Andersen recorded in 1976 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...
(ECM, 1976) - Green Shading into BlueGreen Shading into BlueGreen Shading into Blue is the second album by Norwegian jazz bassist and composer Arild Andersen recorded in 1978 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...
(ECM, 1978)