Review Summary: An unlikely hero that became a national treasure
The odds were stacked against pianist Jan Johansson when he set his fingers on the keys in a Stockholm recording studio in 1962. The rock revolution had reached a pinnacle. Pop acts like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were coming to prominence and mainstream interest in jazz was waning.
Nonetheless, the balding, sad-eyed Swede set out to cut a record consisting entirely of jazz arrangements of 12 Scandinavian folk songs. The resulting
Jazz på Svenska (
Jazz in Swedish), issued in 1964, went on to become one of Sweden’s most successful jazz albums, selling more than a quarter of a million copies. This effort to repurpose his country’s traditional music had a lasting effect on Johansson’s career, though that was not necessarily his intended goal. "I just wanted to give listeners the possibility of hearing these melodies. Otherwise they would have lain, unknown, in a dusty pile in the loft of a library, which was where I found them," he states on the record’s sleeve.
Johansson treats
Jazz på Svenska’s source material with the utmost care, placing the folk songs’ emotions and timeless essence at the fore. He eschews the free form and fusion inclinations of the day, choosing instead to faithfully and directly interpret the collection of age-old songs, polkas and marches. All arrangements are for this reason quite sparse. The hum of Georg Riedel's bass serves as the sole accompaniment to Johansson’s mellow, ivory tones. Improvisation is reined in and concise.
Nothing more is needed as Johansson was clearly aware. He is quoted as saying that he was drawn to the pieces by the parallels he drew between them and jazz. "The blue notes attracted me and the songs had a very suggestive rhythm built into the melody,” he said. “It's enough just to play them as they are. I didn't want to embellish them in any way."*
The music feels like a product of its environment in many ways. The reanimated melodies conjure an atmosphere that recalls the feelings one has while staring out into the oppressive cold of a winter’s night from the comfort of a warm fireside room. Melancholy, like the sadness caused by the lingering memories of troubles past, is also a key component here. While superficially peaceful, the music seems to carry the weight of knowing that hardships lay just ahead to counter life’s joys.
In 1968, Johansson died in a car crash on his way to gig. He was 37 years old. His sons, Anders and Jens, now work diligently to maintain his musical legacy. This is truly fortunate because this landmark record not only serves as a vessel for preserving Sweden’s musical heritage. It proves to be a soul-stirring listen, boasting a palette of deeply-rooted human emotions that countless generations can relate to.
These attributes earn
Jazz på Svenska a place in the canon of classic jazz albums.
* Reference: Allaboutjazz.com
