Jazz in Swedish Arne Domnérus ((photo: Bo Flodin)) had formed an orchestra in 1951 that played at the Nalen dance palace in Stockholm for more than a decade and also at dance venues all over the country. When jazz no longer functioned as dance music, Domnérus and his musicians began to look for new platforms for their artistry: churches and concert halls, collaboration with chamber music players, symphony orchestras and choirs, and so on. They also made up the core of the Radio Jazz Group (formed in 1967 as a successor to Harry Arnold’s big band) which for many years was led by Domnérus.  Arne Domnérus: Lover man (1968) from Den korta fristen  [Heptagon HECD-001] An important role in this development was played by the pianist Jan Johansson (1932-68), who extended the boundaries of jazz and attracted new audiences with his sensitive interpretations of Swedish folk tunes, Jazz på svenska (Jazz in Swedish). In a way, this was a development of the “Swedish-sounding” jazz music created by Lars Gullin some years earlier, but here it was not just a matter of seeking inspiration in Swedish music - Johansson went straight to the source, the Swedish folk melodies themselves, and interpreted them in his highly personal way.  Jan Johansson: Emigrantvisa (1967) från 'Jazz på Svenska' [Heptagon HECD-000] Other jazz composers, such as bassist Georg Riedel (b. 1934), trumpeter Bengt-Ame Wallin (b. 1926) and pianist Bengt Hallberg, also broadened their repertoire and made forays into this field. These experiments reflected a new attitude, not just among Swedes but among European jazz musicians in general. Instead of just trying to sound American they now focused on their own musical heritage. A pioneer in this area was pianist and composer Nils Lindberg (picture) (b. 1933). Lindberg, who grew up in Dalecarlia and came from a family that had strong connections with folk music, had been playing and composing jazz with an unmistakable (although initially unintentional) Swedish flavour for ten years or more. Lindberg, who was associated with such jazz musicians as Gullin, alto saxophonist Rolf Billberg (1930-66) and trumpeter Jan Allan (b. 1934), first proved his worth in the 1960s with a couple of widely acclaimed albums.  Nils Lindberg: Little Willie leaps from 'Melody in Blue' (Dragon DRCD 245) It was not easy for Swedish jazz to gain respect and support from the cultural establishment. When demands for grants to jazz musicians were first expressed in the early 1960s, one daily paper described the idea as “unrealistic”, while another stated that “such money would go directly to public bars and be spent in a few days.” A couple more anecdotes may serve to illustrate general attitudes towards jazz in Sweden during this period. In 1962 Nils Lindberg was commissioned by Swedish Television to write a large-scale piece of music for symphony orchestra and jazz soloists to be broadcast over the whole of Europe. When he called his work “Symphony No. 1”, the protests from the Society of Swedish Composers were so vociferous that he was forced to rename the piece more modestly as a “concerto”. Pianist Gugge Hedrenius (photo: Christer Landergren) (b. 1938) encountered resistance from the opposite direction; since the early 1960s he had fronted his own “Big Blues Band”, with many excellent jazz soloists among its members. In the mid-1960s a dance restaurant in Stockholm terminated the orchestra’s contract prematurely on the grounds that Hedrenius and his musicians were playing jazz. The spectacular legal proceedings that followed ruled in Hedrenius’ favour: music with improvised solos can be used for dancing. Hedrenius has maintained his musical profile into the 2000s, playing for ballroom audiences that “listen with their entire bodies”, as he puts it. Lindberg is still widely respected for his concert music as well as his jazz works - and the two are often integrated.  Gugge Hedrenius' Big Blues Band: National Anthem (Du gamla, du fria) (1993) from 'Jazz Ballroom Night' [Phono Suecia PSCD86]

Jazz in Swedish
Lars Westin: Jazz in Sweden - an overview