Jan Wallgren

Jan Edvard Wallgren (born February 21, 1935 in Oslo ; † June 2, 1996 ) was a Norwegian composer and pianist (in the field of modern jazz ).

Live and act

Wallgren grew up in Stockholm and worked for most of his life in Sweden . In the 1950s and 1960s he played in the hardbop idiom, for example as a pianist in Bengt Ernryd's band . He also worked as a soloist in the Swedish Radio Jazz Group , with whom he recorded an album of his own compositions in 1984, and with the Radio Poland big band. In 1975 he led a combo with Tommy Koverhult .

As a composer, he later dealt with classical and folk themes, which he integrated into his compositions. He also wrote for the film. His opera "Balagantjik" was premiered in 1986 at the Royal Swedish Opera. His requiem “Foer levande och doeda” (For the living and the dead) based on texts by Tomas Transtroemer is considered to be outstanding.

His jazz-related works for solo piano from 1987 to 1992 appeared on the Dragon album Standards and Blueprints , supplemented by interpretations of Monk and Bud Powell themes. He also presented two albums together with pianists Lasse Werner and Bobo Stenson ( Triple Play Jazz Piano ; Dragon 1978). In a sextet line-up with Håkan Broström , Jonas Knutsson , Anders Kjellberg , Nils Landgren and Lennart Åberg , Wallgren recorded the album Raga, Bebop and Anything shortly before his death . He died of cancer in 1996.

literature

• Richard Cook / Brian Morton: The Penguin Guide to Jazz , Penguin , London 2002 (6th edition)

Web links

• Entry (Swedish Music)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lavoro in corso (Dragon)
2. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated May 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.