Gunnar Olof "Hacke" Björksten (February 17, 1934 in Helsinki – December 17, 2020 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

)Jazz legend Hacke" Björksten id dead
was a Finnish-

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 bandleader and saxophonist. Hacke Björksten lived in Finland until 1945, when his parents moved to Sweden; he gained his first break as a teenager in 's band in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. In 1954, he founded his own ensemble in

, which included trombonist Åke Persson, pianist , and vibraphonist

Kurt Weil Kurt Weil (2 January 1932 – 12 December 2012) was a Swiss jazz vibraphonist. Weil was born in Zürich. He learned piano and trombone as a youth, but was playing vibraphone professionally by 1952, as a member of Rio de Gregori's ensemble. He ...

as sidemen; this band was active through the end of the decade. He played less frequently in the 1960s, but returned to recording in the 1970s and 1980s, including with Mel Lewis and

Ulf Johansson Ulf Johansson (born May 26, 1967) is a former Swedish biathlete. At the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, Johansson won a bronze medal in the 4 x 7.5 km relay with the Swedish team. His teammates were Mikael Löfgren, Tord Wiksten, and Le ...

Discography

Please note this list is incomplete. * 2004 — Hacke Björksten Quintet – Three Generations, Dragon (8) – DRCD 397 * 2014 — Hacke Björksten, Ulf Johansson Werre, Hans Backenroth – Top Three, Do Music Records – DMRCD 023

References

;Footnotes ;General references *"Hacke Björksten". '' 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 U ...

External links

* 1934 births 2020 deaths Swedish jazz bandleaders Swedish jazz saxophonists Male saxophonists Musicians from Helsinki Swedish people of Finnish descent 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century Swedish male musicians Male jazz musicians 20th-century saxophonists {{Sweden-musician-stub