Swedish Jazz in the United States Swedish Jazz in the United States: Swede and Cool traces and analyzes the dis- semination and reception of jazz from Sweden in the United States during the period of 1947–1963. It maps the networks through which Swedish record companies exchanged recordings with their American counterparts, establishing an American interest in Swedish jazz at a time long regarded as a predominantly American era. Exploring these Swedish-American exchanges—rather than the canonized names in jazz—shines a light on new perspectives in the genre, clarifying the ways in which Swedish jazz was adapted to the American market and how it was understood in an American context. The result is an opportunity to consider the challenges national borders present in a global jazz world while reflecting on the genre’s expanding transnational reach during the 1950s. Mischa van Kan is Senior Lecturer in Musicology at Linnaeus Univer- sity, Sweden. Transnational Studies in Jazz Series Editors: Tony Whyton, Birmingham City University, UK, and Nicholas Gebhardt, Birmingham City University, UK Transnational Studies in Jazz presents cross-disciplinary and global perspec- tives on the development and history of jazz and explores its many social, political, and cultural meanings. Recent Titles Voices Found Free Jazz and Singing Chris Tonelli Remixing European Jazz Culture Kristin McGee Jazz on the Line Improvisation in Practice Petter Frost Fadnes Tallinn ’67 Jazz Festival Myths and Memories Heli Reimann Women in Jazz Musicality, Femininity, Marginalization Marie Buscatto Swedish Jazz in the United States Swede and Cool Mischa van Kan For more information, please visit: www.routledge.com/Transnational- Studies-in-Jazz/book-series/TSJ Swedish Jazz in the United States Swede and Cool Mischa van Kan First published 2022 by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2022 Taylor & Francis The right of Mischa van Kan to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Kan, Mischa van, author.  Title: Swedish jazz in the United States : Swede and cool / Mischa van Kan. Description: New York : Routledge, 2022. | Series: Transnational studies in jazz | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2021041958 (print) | LCCN 2021041959 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367421687 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032189338 (paperback) | ISBN 9780367822330 (ebook)  Subjects: LCSH: Jazz—Sweden—History and criticism. | Jazz—History and criticism. Classification: LCC ML3506 .K363 2022 (print) | LCC ML3506 (ebook) | DDC 781.6509485—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021041958 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021041959 ISBN: 978-0-367-42168-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-18933-8 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-82233-0 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9780367822330 Typeset in Bembo by codeMantra To Dora, Frans, Sjeng and José Contents List of Figures ix Series Foreword xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction 1 The Construction of Swedish Jazz 3 1 Swingin’ Swedes in the United States 7 1.1 Jazz and Sweden after the War 7 1.2 Swedish Jazz and the International Record Industry 15 1.3 Claes Dahlgren 29 1.4 Feather Lauds Swedish Jazz 34 1.5 Jazz around the World 38 1.6 Imported from Sweden 46 2 Swedish Jazz Is Swedish Modern 54 2.1 Records as Mediators 54 2.2 New Sounds from Sweden 58 2.3 Swedish Modern 66 2.4 Danny’s Dream 77 2.5 Bengt Hallberg 82 2.6 Smörgåsbord of Swedish Jazz 89 2.7 The Audience for Swedish Jazz 103 3 Of White Men from the Cool North 114 3.1 Notions of Europe and Jazz as an Art Form 114 3.2 Nationality and Ethnicity 127 3.3 Swedish Jazz and the Question of Race 134 3.4 Swedish Masculinity and Femininity 148 3.5 Consuming Swedish Jazz as a Performance of American Hipness 159 viii Contents 4 The Transnationality of Swedish Jazz 172 4.1 Americans in Sweden, Swedish Recordings in the United States 172 4.2 The American Meaning of Swedish Jazz 178 4.3 Transnational Perspectives on Swedish Jazz in the United States 182 Index 197 Figures 1.1 Advertisement in Metronome, April 1951, 7 11 1.2 Futurama 3011, 1950 21 1.3 Number of records made in Sweden released in the United States 47 1.4 The recordings counted as tracks that were issued for the first time are here divided into tracks that had Swedes as featured artists and tracks with Swedes as credited or uncredited sidemen 48 2.1 Prestige PRLP 119, 1951, picture by unknown photographer 64 2.2 Metronome MEP 66, 1954, cover by Stig Söderqvist 72 2.3 EmArcy EP 1–6069, 1955, cover by Art Meltzer 74 2.4 EmArcy MG 26039, 1955, cover by Art Meltzer 75 2.5 EmArcy EP 1–6071, 1955, cover by Stig Söderqvist 82 2.6 Epic LN 3375, 1957, cover by unknown artist 88 2.7 Mercury MG 20106, year unclear, unknown photographer 92 2.8 Bravo K 127, year unclear, unknown photographer 95 2.9 RCA Victor LPT 3032, 1953, cover by unknown artist 96 2.10 Prestige PREP 1341, 1954, cover by unknown artist 96 2.11 Roost EP 304, 1953, cover by Burt Goldblatt 97 2.12 Savoy MG 9032, year unclear, cover by Burt Goldblatt 97 2.13 Discovery DL 2002, 1953, cover by unknown artist 98 2.14 Contemporary C 2505, 1954, cover by Guidi/Tri-Arts 99 2.15 Epic LN 3309, 1957, cover by Ernest Socolov 100 2.16 Dot DLP 3416, 1962, cover by unknown artist 100 2.17 Hollywood LPH 33, year unclear 101 2.18 Hollywood LPH 32, year unclear 101 2.19 EmArcy MG 36121, 1958, unknown photographer 103 3.1 East-West 4003, 1958, photograph by Bengt Malmqvist, cover design by Marvin Israel 123 3.2 Atlantic 1246, 1957, photograph by Bengt Malmqvist, cover design by Marvin Israel 124 3.3 World Pacific WP 1288, 1960, photograph by Bengt Malmqvist, cover design by Stig Söderqvist 147 3.4 Advertisement in Down Beat, 10 August 1955 153