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Lars Gullin
Lars Gullin was born May 4, 1928, on the island of Gotland, off the Swedish east coast. Legend say he could read music before he learned to read Swedish. His first instrument was an accordion of the simplest kind. A few years later it was exchanged for a larger one with piano keys, and at the age of five he composed simple polkas. He actually won an accordion contest, still a juvenile.
At the age of nine or ten he led his own little band, playing in local vaudevilles. The "book" consisted of tunes like After You've Gone and Tiger Rag, no doubt learned from Sonora 78s with accordionist Nisse Lind.
At 13 Lars joined the military band in Visby, the main city on the island, as a clarinet player. This became his main instrument and he participated in two small jazz groups, one Dixieland band and one Benny Goodman-styled group. He transcribed arrangements from records and wrote scores for both bands, getting his first experience in writing for a small band. The military band also formed the nucleus in the local symphony orchestra, where he was exposed to the classical music.
The war broke out and Gotland was out there in the Baltic sea, close to the war as the first Swedish coast to receive fugitives and survivors from torpedoed boats. He endured the military life, getting some relief from studying the piano for local teachers. In 1947 he moved to Stockholm in order to get a better education, and applied for the Musical Academy.
There he composed a sinfonietta, a piano concert and several smaller pieces. He performed the piano concerto with his old friends in the Visby orchestra in 1947 and played parts of it in a broadcast from Stockholm.
In Stockholm he also encountered live jazz in the clubs: The small groups of Putte Wickman, Hasse Kahn and Simon Brehm as well as the big band led by Lulle Elboj. Rolf Ericson and Stan (Åke) Hasselgard had recently left Sweden for the United States, but Lars recalls buying every Hasselgard record available. He also heard Chubby Jackson's band on records as well as Charlie Parker on Warmin' up a Riff:
I couldn't get enough of it, I played it over and over again, it was such a kick!
To support his studies, Lars took a job playing the in a dance band 1946 and joined the more famous Charles Redland big band the next year, playing in the legendary Winter Palace dance hall. Eventually Lars took a seat in the sax section, playing clarinet and alto. The piano and composing studies faded away.
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Lars Gullin: Summertime: Vol. 9, 1954-56
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by Jack Bowers
Anyone who has been paying attention should be well aware of my stance toward the late Swedish saxophonist Lars Gullin. In reviewing Volume 8 of Dragon's loosely chronological multi-disc survey of Gullin's music, I wrote that he was a giant among baritone saxophonists, a truly original voice and one of the greatest jazz musicians who ever lived. No ambiguity there, and Volume 9, covering the years 1954-56, explicitly reinforces that opinion.
The album encompasses eight songs recorded in June '54 ...
read moreLars Gullin: Danny's Dream: Volume 8, 1953-55
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by Jack Bowers
Dragon Records continues its quasi-chronological survey of music by the great Swedish baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin with Volume 8, scanning the years 1953-55. (Volume 2, Modern Sounds, is devoted entirely to recordings made in 1953, while Volumes 7 and 3 review the years 1951-53 and 1954-55, respectively.) Unlike previous volumes, which have included guest appearances by such well-known American jazz artists as Chet Baker, Zoot Sims, Lee Konitz, James Moody and Stan Getz along with Swedish stars Arne Domnérus, Rolf ...
read moreLars Gullin: In Germany 1955, 1956, and 1959, vol. 2
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by Jack Bowers
Until recently I had no idea that the great Swedish baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin had recorded with any big bands, as I’d heard him only with smaller groups, usually a quartet or quintet. Then came Swedish Jazz 1952–55: The Golden Years (Caprice), on which Gullin performs with the Lulle Ellboj Orchestra, and now In Germany 1955, 1956 and 1959, vol. 2, wherein he appears with the Erwin Lehn and Kurt Edelhagen Orchestras. Perhaps vol. 1 includes more of the same. ...
read moreLars Gullin: Baritone Sax/Lars Gullin Swings
![Read "Baritone Sax/Lars Gullin Swings" reviewed by John Sharpe](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/5b1028fe6b92dc0ca456b775044e768f.jpg)
by John Sharpe
Baritone Sax/Lars Gullin Swings arrive by way of a rather unlikely source. Released by Collectables Records, a company famous for its 7-inch singles and rock ‘n’ roll reissues, this single CD compiles all of the tracks, save one, from two terrific sessions. Both albums, Baritone Sax (Atlantic, 1956) and Lars Gullin Swings (East-West, 1958), feature Swedish baritone master Lars Gullin improvising with an all-star cast of jazz compatriots. Whether he is performing in a quartet, quintet, sextet, octet or big ...
read moreLars Gullin: Swede and Low
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Lars Gullin was a giant of jazz who just happened to be from Sweden. He should be thought of on the same level as other 1950s baritone saxophonists who excelled in small groups, including Gerry Mulligan, Serge Chaloff, Jimmy Giuffre and Bob Gordon, among others. Gullin's dry, lyrical tone was probably closest to Mulligan's and Gordon's. What's interesting is that Gullin's tone pre-dated West Coast jazz. His cool-jazz sound dates back to 1951, and my guess it was influenced by ...
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Lars Gullin Celebration Week in Sweden
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Ola Arvidsson
A week with concerts and talks based on the internationally well known jazz musician Lars Gullin. He was born in Sanda railway station on the island Gotland, Sweden in 1928 and in the very same house an exhibition on his life and music will open in the summer of 2011. Responsible for the museum and the week is Sanda Hembygdsförening in Gotland. The Program 2 July The week begins with the opening of the new Lars Gullin museum in Sanda ...
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Scott Yanow on Lars Gullin: "One of the top baritone saxophonists of all times and a giant of European jazz, Lars Gullin would be better known if he had visited the US often and if excessive drug use had not cut short his career... All bop and cool jazz collectors should be aware of Lars Gullin and own several of his sets." All Music Guide to Jazz; Miller Freeman Books 1998
Brian Priestly on Lars Gullin: "The first musician after Django Reinhardt to have an impact in the USA without relocating there, Gullin has never been duplicated or surpassed. His facility and relaxation, especially in the 1950s, were able to make the baritone feel like a delicately handled tenor. But his tone (thanks to the Tristano influence detectable in many Swedish and German musicians of this period) was so light and pure that it recalled not so much a tenor as altoist Lee Konitz ... Local commentators detect the inspiration not only of folk-music but the 19th-century Swedish composers in Gullin's distinctive writing." Jazz, the Essential Companion; Paladin, London 1987