Jan Johansson

Sweden, 1955–1968

Swedish jazz pianist and arranger (1931-1968), killed in a car crash at 37. Jazz pa svenska (1964) set Swedish folk melodies for nothing but piano and Georg Riedel's bass, with almost nothing added, and remains the best-selling Swedish jazz record ever made. He was the first European invited onto Jazz at the Philharmonic.

MusicRoots documents 2 artists who influenced Jan Johansson and 0 artists Jan Johansson influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Jan Johansson?

• Duke Ellington — One of the two writers Johansson worked from — orchestral jazz as composition rather than a frame for solos, which is what his large-ensemble arranging is.
• Gil Evans — The other. Evans is where the idea comes from that an arrangement can be the whole statement, which is what Jazz pa svenska does with two instruments.