Jan Allan


Jan Bertil Allan is a Swedish jazz trumpeter and composer. He is the winner of a Grammis Award, the Swedish equivalent of the Grammys. He has also composed for several films such as The Adventures of Picasso, Sopor and Trollkarlen.

Career

Allan was born 7 November 1934 in Falun, Sweden. He began his career in 1951 as a pianist; after moving to Stockholm, he changed to the trumpet as his main instrument. At this time he played in Carl-Henrik Norin's orchestra. From 1954 to 1955, he worked with Lars Gullin and Rolf Billberg and from 1955 to 1959 with Carl-Henrik Norin. At the same time, he earned a PhD in physics.
Despite his small number of records, Allan is among the most important modern jazz musicians in Sweden. From 1960 to 1963, he led a quintet with Billberg. Over the course of the 1960s, he worked with Arne Domnérus, Georg Riedel, and Bengt Hallberg, among others. From 1968 to 1975, he was a member of the Swedish Radio Jazz Group. His album Jan Allan -70, which featured Rolf Ericson, Nils Lindberg, Bobo Stenson, Jon Christensen, and Rune Gustafsson, won a Grammis Award for Jazz of the Year in 1970. Allan played with the same group and Georg Riedel on the trio-album Sweet And Loverly. His 1998 album Software stands in strong affinity with the West Coast Jazz of Gerry Mulligan and Stan Getz.
Over the course of his career, Allan recorded albums with Bosse Broberg, Benny Carter, Dorothy Donegan, Lars Gullin, Jan Johansson, Thad Jones, Roger Kellaway, Lee Konitz, Nils Lindberg, Georg Riedel, George Russell and Monica Zetterlund. In 2009, he was honored with a Swedish Golden Django as a Master of Jazz.
In 2000, his Bach trumpet, which was engraved with his name and he played for 35 years, was stolen. A movie about the theft and missing trumpet was broadcast on Swedish television in 2015; it had an audience of 1.1 million viewers.

Discography

As leader

With Arne Domnerus
  • The Sheik
  • A.D. 1980
  • Brost-Toner
  • Blue and Yellow
  • Skyline Drive
  • Swedish Rhapsody
  • Arne Domnerus
With Berndt Egerbladh
  • Kristallen Den Fina
  • African Suite
  • Night Pieces
With Lars Gullin
  • The Artistry of Lars Gullin
  • Fine Together
  • Aeros Aromatic Atomica Suite
  • Portrait of My Pals
With Nils Lindberg
  • Trisection
  • Reflections
  • Brass Galore
  • Big Band Galore
With George Russell
With Monica Zetterlund
  • Chicken Feathers
  • Varsamt
  • Sweet Georgie Fame
  • Bill Remembered
With others