Lars Jansson (composer)

Lars Jansson (born 1951) is a Swedish jazz pianist and composer. Life Jansson grew up in Örebro, Sweden, where he was bored by his lessons at the community music school. In his early teens, a relative lent him records of Miles Davis, Ben Webster, and Mose Allison. During the 1960s, he followed the fashion and developed an interest in the organ. He listened to Kjell Öhman play with the Telstars, to Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff, and to Hammond organ music. Drummer Sjunne Ferger became an important figure in his life, and together they formed a duo: “Takt & Ton” (Beat & Pitch). In 1970, after graduation from upper secondary school, he took a semester off, planning to go on and study medicine. He ended up at dental school, but after a year and a half he decided to switch to music. He was accepted at the Göteborg College of Music, where all the professional musicians had their jam sessions at night. That gave him the opportunity to play with Ove Johansson, Jan Forslund, Conny Sjökvist, Gilbert Holmström, Gunnar Lindgren, and others, and he discovered Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Paul Bley, Bill Evans, Lennie Tristano, Keith Jarrett, and Chick Corea. Lars became a member of Björn Alke’s q