Jan johansson biography

Swedish jazz pianist

Musical artist

Jan Johansson (16 September 1931 – 9 November 1968) was a Swedish jazz pianist.

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His album Jazz på svenska (Jazz in Swedish) is the best selling jazz release ever in Sweden; it has sold over a quarter of a million copies and has been streamed more than 50 million times on Spotify. He was the father of former HammerFall drummer Anders Johansson and Stratovarius keyboardist Jens Johansson, who run Heptagon Records which keeps their father's recordings available.

Biography

Johansson was a native of Söderhamn, in the Hälsingland province of Sweden. Studying classical piano as a child, he would also go on to master the guitar, organ and accordion, before turning on to swing and bebop as a teenager.

Jan Johansson – World Musician Obituaries

He met saxophonist Stan Getz while at university. He abandoned his studies to play jazz full-time, and worked with many American jazz musicians, becoming the first European to be invited to join the Jazz at Jan Johansson: From Small Acorns... article @ All About Jazz XAB