Jan Johansson (jazz musician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jan Johansson
|
|
|---|---|
Johansson in 1965
|
|
| Background information | |
| Born | 16 September 1931 Söderhamn, Hälsingland, Sweden |
| Died | 9 November 1968 (aged 37) Sollentuna, Sweden |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1948–68 |
| Labels | Rosa Honung, Dot |
Jan Johansson (born September 16, 1931 – died November 9, 1968) was a famous Swedish jazz pianist. He is best known for his album Jazz på svenska (which means Jazz in Swedish). This album is the best-selling jazz record ever in Sweden. It has sold over 250,000 copies and has been played more than 50 million times online.
Jan Johansson was also the father of two well-known musicians. His sons are Anders Johansson, who was a drummer for the band HammerFall, and Jens Johansson, a keyboardist for Stratovarius. They now run a record company called Heptagon Records. This company helps keep their father's music available for everyone to enjoy.
Contents
Jan Johansson's Life Story
Jan Johansson grew up in Söderhamn, a town in Sweden. When he was a child, he learned to play classical piano. He also became very good at playing the guitar, organ, and accordion. As a teenager, he started to love and play swing and bebop, which are types of jazz music.
While he was at university, he met a famous saxophonist named Stan Getz. Jan decided to leave his studies to play jazz music full-time. He worked with many American jazz musicians. He was even the first European musician asked to join a famous jazz tour called Jazz at the Philharmonic.
His Famous Music Albums
From 1961 to 1968, Jan Johansson created many classic albums. These albums helped define his special style of music. He would take old European folk songs and mix them with jazz. Some of his most famous albums from this time include Jazz på svenska (Jazz in Swedish) and Jazz på ryska (Jazz in Russian). These albums are still very popular today.
Jazz på svenska is a special album. It features Jan playing variations of sixteen Swedish folk songs. He played with Georg Riedel, who played the double bass. Jan also made several recordings with a group called Radiojazzgruppen. He won a Grammy award for his albums Musik genom fyra sekler (Music from the past four centuries). These albums also used traditional Swedish melodies but with larger groups of musicians.
Music for TV and Film
Jan Johansson also wrote music for movies and television shows. One of his most famous songs is "Here Comes Pippi Longstocking" ("Här kommer Pippi Långstrump"). This was the theme song for the popular Swedish TV series, Pippi Longstocking. The words for the song were written by Astrid Lindgren, who created the Pippi Longstocking character. The song was sung by the young star of the show, Inger Nilsson. This song was one of the last pieces of music Jan Johansson created.
His Passing
In November 1968, Jan Johansson sadly died in a car accident. He was on his way to play a concert in a church in Jönköping, Sweden.
How Jan Johansson Influenced Others
Jan Johansson's music has influenced many other artists. An American hip hop group called Non Phixion used a part of his song "Bandura" in their own song "Skum." The Swedish band Opeth has also said that Jan Johansson's music influenced them. They mentioned him as an influence on the title track for their album Heritage.
Images for kids
-
A robot icon, representing information for kids.
See also
In Spanish: Jan Johansson para niños
