Eje Thelin

Eje Thelin (Eilert Ove Thelin) (September 9, 1938 - May 18, 1990) was an innovative Swedish trombonist, widely admired among fellow trombonists for his facile technique and rhythmic intensity. He was, perhaps, the first jazz trombonist to translate that technique into the so-called "sheets of sound" style that characterized much of the music of tenor saxophonist John Coltrane and, in general, Free Jazz of the late 1960s and 1970s.

Thelin started his own quintet in 1961. From 1969 to 1972 he was on the faculty of the Music Academy in Graz, Austria. For the rest of the 1970s, he led his own Eje Thelin Group in Sweden. In the 1980s he expanded into composition, writing commissioned works for large European orchestras, sometimes featuring himself as soloist. In spite of the attention given to the obvious technical side of his playing, Thelin was also known for his warm approach to traditional ballads, a somewhat retro-romanticism that comes through in his later playing.

Partial discography

*"So Far-Eje Thelin Quintet" (1963) Columbia EMI Swenska AB
*"Eje Thelin Quintet at the German Jazz Festival" (1964) Dragon of Sweden DRCD 374
*"Eje Thelin with Barney Wilen" (1966) Dragon of Sweden DRCD 366
*"Rolf & Joachim Kühn: Monday Morning" (1969) HörZu; with Rolf Kühn, John Surman, Joachim Kühn, Barre Phillips, Stu Martin, Jacques Thollot
*"Joachim Kühn/Eje Thelin Group- In Paris" (1970) Metronom; with Adelhard Roidinger, Jacques Thollot
*"Eje Thelin Group" (1974) Caprice CAP 1091
*"Eje Thelin Group-Live" (1976) Caprice CAP 2007:1-2
*"Eje Thelin Group-Hypothesis" (1978)
* Kenny Wheeler "About six" (1979) with Evan Parker, Tom van der Geld, Jean-François Jenny-Clark, Edward Vesala - ECM
* Clarinet Summit "You better fly away" (1980) with John Carter, Gianluigi Trovesi, Theo Jörgensmann, Bernd Konrad, Perry Robinson, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, Didier Lockwood, Stan Tracey, Kai Kanthak, J. F. Jenny-Clark, Günter "Baby" Sommer, Aldo Romano
*"Eje Thelin-Bits and Piece" (1980) Phono Suecia PSCD 9
*"Eje Thelin-Polyglot" (1981) Caprice CAP 1291
*"Eje Thelin-E.T. Project" (1986) Dragon of Sweden DRLP 128

References

Richards Cook's "Jazz Encyclopedia" London 2006

Links

* [http://www.ejethelin.com/ Eje Thelin's official website] (under construction)