Jazz in Sweden: 1949-1961 - Volume 1

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“As a Swede I am really proud of this music. It all comes from an era when Sweden was at its peak on the international jazz scene. Harry Arnold's big band came to the US as the "Mystery Band" . No one knew who they were and nobody thought this could come from Sweden. The baritonist Lars Gullin came from the shadow of Gerry Mulligan and if my memory serves me well, Gullin was the first European listed in Down Beats annual polls. Americans went to Sweden for longer periods to join the Swedish jazz sensation. Among them Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, Benny Bailey, Roy Eldridge and Red Mitchell (though some years later). Quincy Jones joined the Harry Arnold big band and recorded "The Midnight Sun Never Sets" that brought the fantastic altoist Arne Domnérus to the international front venue. Another prominent Swedish jazz musicians at the time was pianist Bengt Hallberg, trombonist Ake Persson and many others. If you are into the music of the likes of Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, etc. this is a box for you. Not because I'm a Swede and proud of it but for the music itself. A mix of American and Swedish jazz joined by Americans in Sweden. It also contains lot of listings of today very rare albums that require a well filled up wallet (if you find them). It will be rare box in your collection. Don't hesitate…”

- R. Petersson, Amazon Review

For all the reasons mentioned in the above loving and caring review that was posted to Amazon about the nine-disc set - Jazz In Sweden: 1949-1961 - The Legendary Years - along with others that I will enumerate along the way, I thought I’d put up a series of postings to use this now out-of-print set to help acquaint [perhaps, in some case, reacquaint] you to the wonderful Jazz that was happening in Sweden during this 15 year period.

And, although the focus of this set is Sweden, similar developments involving home grown Jazz either assisted or inspired by American Jazz musicians were happening elsewhere on the European continent including England, France, Holland Italy and other Scandinavian countries.

The actual accumulation, annotation and distribution of the various original recordings that make up Jazz In Sweden: 1949-1961 - The Legendary Years was done by the Metronome Music Group which was based in Stockholm during this period This name [MMG] was adopted by the company based in Tokyo, Japan that compiled the analog music for digital CD reissue. The music was licensed for reissue by MMG through the various original labels that were later acquired by the Warner Elektra Asylum Group, now known as the Warner Music Group.

Not surprisingly, the sleeve notes and the insert booklets for the nine individual discs are in Japanese, but each volume has an annotation insert along with a full listing of the tracks and the musicians who appear on them in English and I thought I’d share these with you in a series of features.

Fortunately, much of this music is now available on YouTube and I’ll bring some of these up so you can acquaint yourself with the music first-hand. You may also be able to purchase some or all of these recordings as digital streaming downloads.

For those interested in discographical information the listing is WEA 9031 - 77572-580 and the year of the CD set issue by Metronome Recordings AB is 1992.

Here are the annotations and track/personnel listing for Jazz in Sweden: The Legendary Years 1949-1961, Volume 1.

“The Kingdom of Sweden was discovered as a jazz country at the famous Paris Jazz Festival in 1949, where the Vikings from Sweden shared the same popularity as the American stars. Record company Metronome started up in Stockholm that same year and gave these young Swedish talents the opportunity to meet, develop and record with American musicians visiting Sweden. Without doubt Metronome can take much of the credit for the fact that the 1950’s is today considered the Legendary Era of Swedish jazz.

Early in 1956 the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation decided to form a big band of its own. Alto saxophonist and arranger Harry Arnold was chosen to lead the orchestra and he pulled together the best jazz musicians in the Stockholm area and started rehearsals. In October 1956 Harry and his Swedish Radio Studio Orchestra were on the air for the first time and could be heard once a fortnight for almost ten years.

The first LP by The Swedish Radio Studio Orchestra was recorded in 1957 and titled "This is Harry and the Mystery Band". It was not only a tremendous success in Sweden but also in the US. It was "The Mystery Band" which created a genuine curiosity among critics and listeners. It's anonymity led to a number of speculations regarding the true identity ranging from Woody Herman's latest Herd to a new Tommy Dorsey band.

What excited this jazz public most were the first six tracks featured in this CD collection. The first number. Stand By (or This is Harry), became the band's signature throughout the years to follow. Harry Arnold arranged this popular number himself as well as the majority of the repertory. Arnold, however, was not the lone composer of these classic jazz arrangements. The gifted Gösta Theselius was an active ingredient in the success of "This is Harry and the Mystery Band".

In 1958, 25-year old Quiney Jones, living in Paris at the time, came to Sweden to work with the band. His visit resulted in an unforgettable concert and recording session that made the Harry Arnold Orchestra even more internationally renowned. The highlight of the Jones/Arnold fusion must be the beautiful The Midnight Sun Never Sets featuring  Arne Domnérus as a soloist. The excitement and attention this musical masterpiece created in 1958 lives on even today.

The remaining content of this CD collection is taken from "The Harry Arnold Guest Book". Many jazz greats visited the band and some of them can be heard here.

- JAN OLSSON

See below for YouTube example videos,