Håkan Ingvar von Eichwald (April 2, 1908,

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

– May 1, 1964, Malmö) was a Finnish-Swedish bandleader and conductor. He led dance bands which featured some of Sweden's most prominent early

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 ...

musicians, and later became a conductor of symphonic and operatic works. Von Eichwald was born into a Russian-Finnish noble family in Finland but lived most of his life in Sweden. He learned to play piano as a toddler and was playing public concerts at age six. By his late teens he was leading theater ensembles in Stockholm, and in 1930 began leading a dance band at the club Kaos. He led this group until 1932 and recorded with it; two years later,

Arne Hülphers Arne Gunnar Valter Hülphers (April 4, 1904, Trollhättan – July 24, 1978, Norrköping Municipality) was a Swedish jazz pianist and bandleader. Hülphers played early in his career at the club Felix-Kronprinsen, from 1924 to 1927, and played ...

took over this group. He formed a new ensemble in 1936, which toured western Europe and recorded several times. Von Eichwald's ensembles featured musicians who were pivotal to

Swedish jazz Swedish jazz was introduced in Sweden during the 1920s, and was spread through dancehalls and concerts. During the 1930s and 1940s the popularity was increasing, together with increasing record sales. It was by this time that the first jazz clubs w ...

, including

Charlie Norman Charles Norman, also known as Charlie Norman ( Karl-Erik Albert Norman; 4October 192012August 2005), was a Swedish musician and entertainer. Norman is regarded as Sweden's leading boogie-woogie piano player in the 1940s, but an accomplished all- ...

Thore Ehrling Thore Ehrling (December 29, 1912, Stockholm - October 21, 1994, Stockholm) was a Swedish trumpeter, composer, and bandleader, who led jazz and popular music ensembles. Ehrling played with Frank Vernon's ensemble from 1930 to 1934, and concomitant ...

Zilas Görling Karl Zilas Görling (April 21, 1911, Hudiksvall – April 11, 1960, Stockholm) was a Swedish jazz saxophonist. His brother was Miff Görling. The Görling brothers both played in Frank Vernon's band in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Zilas G� ...

, and

Gösta Theselius Gösta Theselius (June 9, 1922 in Stockholm – January 24, 1976 in Stockholm) was a Swedish arranger, composer, film scorer, pianist, and saxophonist. His brother was musician Hans Theselius. Theselius worked in the 1940s with a number of Europe ...

. After the 1940s, von Eichwald devoted himself to more formal music idioms. He led symphony orchestras and conducted light opera productions, and also did work in scoring Swedish films (including ''

Jack of Hearts The jack of hearts is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. Jack of Hearts may also refer to: * Jack of Hearts (Marvel Comics) (Jack Hart), a fictional superhero appearing in Marvel Comics * Jack of Hearts, a member of the Royal Flush Ga ...

'').

References

*"Håkan von Eichwald." '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eichwald, Hakan von 1908 births 1964 deaths Swedish jazz bandleaders Swedish conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Finnish emigrants to Sweden Finnish people of Russian descent Swedish people of Russian descent 20th-century Swedish male musicians