Egil "Bop" Johansen (11 January 1934 – 4 December 1998) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

drummer, teacher, composer, and arranger.

Life

Johansen was born in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. He was considered already in his teens as one of the best drummers and was a professional musician from the age of 16. He received the nickname "Bop" because he was especially good at playing

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

. He was always open to the new styles of jazz that he encountered. His professional career started in Einar Stenberg’s orchestra in the summer of 1950 with ''Svalerødkilens badhotell'' and continued in the autumn with ''Svaes Danseskole'', after which he joined

Egil Monn-Iversen Egil Ragnar Monn-Iversen (14 April 1928 – 7 July 2017) was a Norwegian musician, one of the most influential modern composers in Norway. He has had many important roles in Norwegian music, film, opera, television, comedy and theater. For so ...

’s orchestra and Kjell Johansen’s experimental band for 1951-1953. He played in

Rowland Greenberg Rowland Charles Wentworth Greenberg (28 August 1920 in Oslo – 2 April 1994) was a Norwegian jazz musician (trumpet), seen by many as one of the foremost names in Norwegian jazz in the 1940s and 1950s. Career With a style inspired by the Engl ...

’s orchestra in 1952. He moved to Sweden in 1954 at the invitation of

Simon Brehm Simon Brehm (31 December 1921 – 11 February 1967) was a Swedish double-bass player and, later in life, a record producer and owner of Karusell Records. He was the manager of the singer Lill-Babs and was the leader of the orchestra that play ...

. He entered immediately into collaboration with the Swedish jazz elite of

Arne Domnérus Sven Arne Domnérus (20 December 1924 – 2 September 2008) was a Swedish jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Career He began to play the clarinet at the age of 11 but had taken up the saxophone by the time he left school and then turned profession ...

Bengt Hallberg Bengt Hallberg (13 September 1932 – 2 July 2013) was a Swedish jazz pianist, composer and arranger.John Fordha"Bengt Hallberg obituary" theguardian.com, 7 August 2013 Born in Gothenburg, he studied classical piano from an early age, and wro ...

Rune Gustafsson Rune Urban Gustafsson (25 August 1933 – 15 June 2012) was a Swedish jazz guitarist and composer. He performed with Arne Domnérus, Jan Johansson, and Zoot Sims among others. Life and career Rune Gustafsson was born in 1933 in Gothenburg. ...

, Georg Riedel, Jan Johansson and others, among others in Radiojazzgrupen. In 1957 he took part in the Rune Öfwerman Trio in a classic recording with the clarinetist

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''D ...

in ''Swinging in Sweden''. Under the leadership of Harry Arnold Johansen collaborated in several classic recordings with world stars like

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

, for example on 1958's ''Quincy's home again''. During the 1960s, Egil Johansen was a heavily touring musician foremost with the

Orchestra and participating also among other things together with

Alice Babs Hildur Alice Nilsson (26 January 1924 – 11 February 2014), known by her stage name Alice Babs, was a Swedish singer and actress. She worked in a wide number of genres – Swedish folklore, Elizabethan songs and opera. While she was best known i ...

, in a commission for Swedish UN troops entertainment detail in Gaza and later on

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

. He was also from 1973-1983 the initiator of and responsible for the cooperative

Jazz Incorporated Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

. Johansen played on ''

Jazz at the Pawnshop Jazz at the Pawnshop is a multi-session recording made by Gert Palmcrantz on December 6–7, 1976, at Jazzpuben Stampen (Pawnshop) in Stockholm, Sweden. A pawnshop had operated on the site prior to the jazz club. Proprius Records founder Jacob ...

'' in 1977. He was without hesitation one of the most significant jazz musicians in postwar Sweden. He played also from 1985 to 1998 with the Norwegian group Brazz Brothers and with them played over 1,200 concerts. In 1993 he was awarded the prestigious "Buddy Prize," the highest honor a jazz musician can receive in Norway. He performed also as a singer, among others in

Hasse & Tage Hasse & Tage ( sv, Hasse och Tage) were a popular Swedish comedy duo featuring Hans "Hasse" Alfredson and Tage Danielsson. They are sometimes known as ''Hasseåtage'', a spelling created by the Swedish press in the 1960s, but never used by the du ...

's revue '' Spader madame'', where he sang the very funny "En sång som handlar om sig själv" (“A song about itself”). Johansen was a devoted sailor and tennis player. He was the father of the singer Jan Johansen.

Honors

*1993:

Buddyprisen Buddyprisen (established 1956 in Oslo, Norway) is an award, given annually by the Norwegian Jazz Forum to a Norwegian jazz musician that has "been an excellent performer and significantly involved in Norwegian jazz by other means". The award was a ...

Discography

* ''Nana'' - Soundtrack (1970) With

Benny Golson Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/ hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before laun ...

*'' Stockholm Sojourn'' (Prestige, 1974) With

*'' Quincy's Home Again'' (Metronome, 1958) - also released as ''Harry Arnold + Big Band + Quincy Jones = Jazz!'' (EmArcy) With

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool j ...

*'' Glad, Koonix!'' (Dragon, 1983

986 Year 986 ( CMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * August 17 – Battle of the Gates of Trajan: Emperor Basil II leads a Byz ...

With

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (inclu ...

*'' Mann in the Morning'' (Prestige, 1956 958 With

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

*'' Some of My Best Friends Are the Blues'' (Prestige, 1964)

Selected filmography

* ''

The Dance Hall ''The Dance Hall'' (Swedish: ''Danssalongen'') is a 1955 Swedish musical drama film directed by Börje Larsson and starring Elof Ahrle, Sonja Wigert and Lars Ekborg.Nordic National Cinemas p.188 It was shot at the Kungsholmen Studios of Nordi ...

'' (1955)

References

External links

Buddy Prize
*

Sources

* Myggans nöjeslexikon *

Nationalencyklopedin ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia, initiated by a favourable loan from the Government of Sweden of 17 million Swedish kronor in 1 ...

:''This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article on the

Swedish Wikipedia The Swedish Wikipedia ( sv, Svenskspråkiga Wikipedia) is the Swedish-language edition of Wikipedia and was started on the 23 of May 2001. It is currently the largest Wikipedia by article count with its current articles, it has a ''Wikipedia ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Johansen, Egil 1934 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Norwegian drummers Norwegian jazz drummers Male drummers Norwegian jazz composers Male jazz composers Swedish jazz drummers Gemini Records artists 20th-century drummers 20th-century Swedish male musicians 20th-century Swedish musicians Radiojazzgruppen members The Brazz Brothers members 20th-century jazz composers