- Lars Jansson (composer)
Lars Jansson (born 1951,
Sweden ) is apianist andcomposer .Life
Jansson grew up in
Örebro , Sweden, where he was bored by his lessons at the community music school. In his early teens, a relative lent him records ofMiles Davis ,Ben Webster , andMose Allsion . During the 1960s, he followed the fashion and developed an interest in the organ. He listened toKjell Öhman play with theTelstars , to Jimmy Smith andJack McDuff , and to Hammond organ music. DrummerSjunne 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 withOve Johansson ,Jan Forslund ,Conny Sjökvist ,Gilbert Holmström ,Gunnar Lindgren , and others, and he discoveredHerbie Hancock ,McCoy Tyner ,Paul Bley ,Bill Evans ,Lennie Tristano ,Keith Jarrett , andChick Corea .Lars became a member of
Björn Alke 's quartet, withGunnar Bergsten . He also played with theArild Andersen Quartet. He went on to play withRadka Toneff and various Norwegian musicians, includingKnut Riisnaes andJan Garbarek , and then withHawk 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 wereAnders Jormin andAnders Kjellberg .Lars Danielsson succeeded Jormin as the trio's bass player in the mid-1980s, and since January 2005 he has been succeeded byChristian Spering .=Works=A Window Towards Being This disc, recorded in 1991, was a breakthrough moment. It was recorded at the Rainbow Studio in Oslo, where the sound is fantastic. A window towards being was nominated for a Swedish musical award. [http://www.lars.jp/e/disc.html]
Jansson must be considered one of the foremost big band arrangers of today. He has collaborated with
Bohuslän Big Band on several records of outstanding quality. [http://www.lars.jp/e/cd-temenos.html]His collaboration with fellow west-coaster
Ulf Wakenius resulted in some very exciting music on the record First Step. [http://www.lars.jp/e/cd-first.html] One of Jansson's compositions, "To the mothers in Brazil", has been arranged for mixed choir and optional instruments by the Swedish choir conductor and composer professorGunnar Eriksson .
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