Records and radio broadcasts As early as the mid-1920s young Swedish musicians had begun to take an interest in the new sounds from America. Early visits to England by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band and other musicians from America were reflected in the playing of British musicians who appeared at fashionable venues in the Swedish capital. Many young Swedish dance band musicians were highly impressed by the standard of their playing. Some of these Swedish musicians (who subsequently formed The Paramount Orchestra) worked their way to New York, playing on an ocean liner, and there they were able to experience Jean Goldkette’s band and other famous combinations in the flesh. Jazz-influenced orchestras also gave guest performances in Sweden. From the end of the 1920s there are examples on Swedish records of dance tunes and popular songs that are liberally spiced with improvised solos.  Svenska Paramountorkestern: Tillie (1928) from 'Swedish Jazz History Vol.1' [CAP 22037] However, it was after the Armstrong concerts that interest in jazz really blossomed and developed into a youth movement. In November,1933, the first number of Orkester Journalen (OJ for short) was published - today Orkester Journalen is the oldest jazz magazine in the world. Soon a young generation of musicians was producing expert improvisers who not only showed stylistic sensitivity but whose playing was also personal and imaginative. By this time American gramophone records had become their main source of inspiration. British dance bands could also be heard on radio transmissions from London in the evenings. On the other hand, the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation’s attitude to jazz continued to be decidedly niggardly until well into the 1940s. Isolated concerts with guest artists from America (Coleman Hawkins in 1935, Benny Carter in 1936, Jimmie Lunceford in 1937, Edgar Hayes and ”Fats” Waller in 1938 and Duke Ellington in 1939, to mention a few legendary names) acquired tremendous importance. In 1939 concerts by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli (Quintette du Hot Club de France) had a decisive impact on several young instrumentalists, some of whom even formed their own ”Swedish Hot Quintet”.  Svenska Hotkvintetten: A bit of swing (1939) from 'Swedish Jazz History Vol.3' [CAP 22039] From the start Swedish jazz was a reflection of American models. But even if American styles were imported wholesale, Swedish jazz had its own distinctive profiles. The first genuine jazz records were produced in the mid-1930s, and in 1936 the Sonora record company began to record outstanding Swedish jazz musicians in small groups, led by bassist Thore Jederby (1913-84). These sessions were issued on a series of records under the band name Swing Swingers. They constitute a unique document of Swedish jazz in the 1930s and also of the skilled jazz soloists who in everyday life disappeared in the anonymity of the big dance bands and light orchestras, where they had little scope to display their talents.

Records and radio broadcasts
Lars Westin: Jazz in Sweden - an overview