Putte Wickman (10 September 1924 – 14 February 2006) was a Swedish

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 ...

clarinetist.

Career

He was born Hans Olof Wickman in

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabitan ...

, and grew up in Borlänge, Sweden, where his parents hoped he would become a lawyer. He nagged them to allow him to go to high school in Stockholm. When he arrived in the capital he still did not know what jazz was, and said in an interview many years later he was probably the only 15 year-old who did not. Since he did not have access to a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

in Stockholm, he was given a clarinet by his mother as a Christmas present – a life-changing event, as it turned out, as by then he had started to hang out with "the worst elements in the class – those with jazz records".

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

and Benny Goodman were the role models for the young Wickman, who, already in 1944, had turned to music full-time. He was taken on as band leader at Stockholm's Nalen and in 1945 the newly founded Swedish newspaper '' Expressen'' described him as the country's foremost clarinet player. Wickman considered himself self-taught; he never took classes on the instrument. He led a band at Nalen for eleven years, and during the 1960s he ran the big band at

Gröna Lund Gröna Lund (; "Green Grove"), or colloquially ''Grönan'' (), is an amusement park in Stockholm, Sweden. Located on the seaward side of Djurgården Island, it is relatively small compared to other amusement parks, mainly because of its central ...

and at Puttes, the club he co-owned, at

Hornstull Hornstull () is an area in western Södermalm, Stockholm. Hornstull is actually the name of where the streets Hornsgatan and Långholmsgatan intersect. Up to the early 19th century it was also a city toll; "tull" in Swedish. Hornstull also has ...

in Stockholm. In interviews in his later years, it was clear that he rated his church performances very highly. He was until shortly before his death still active as a musician, giving concerts every year. The technique and tone was still of the highest class, as was the well-pressed suit with a white handkerchief in the breast pocket. In 1994, Wickman received the

Illis Quorum ''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') ( English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It"), is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. The award was introduced in 1784 by King Gu ...

gold medal, today the highest award that can be conferred upon a private Swedish citizen by the government of Sweden. Wickman was a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music ( sv, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. At the time of its foundation, only one of its co-founder was a professional musician, Ferdin ...

Discography

* ''Putte Wickman'' (Jockey, 1973) * ''Happy New Year!'' (EMI/Odeon, 1973) * ''Dansa Med Putte'' (Swedisc, 1974) * ''Live at the Ahus Jazz Festival'' (EMI/Odeon, 1975) * ''Live in Stockholm'' (Out, 1977) * ''Some Enchanted Music by Richard Rodgers'' (Bluebell of Sweden, 1982) * ''Putte Wickman & Sivuca'' (Four Leaf Clover 1982) * ''1949–1952'' (Cupol, 1984) * ''Desire'' (Four Leaf Clover, 1984) * ''Mr Clarinet'' (Four Leaf Clover, 1985) * ''Live in Gothenburg'' (Four Leaf Clover, 1986) * ''Memories of You'' (Phontastic, 1986) * ''Miss Oidipus'' with

Hal Galper Harold Galper (born April 18, 1938) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, educator, and writer. Biography He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, United States. Galper studied classical piano as a boy, but switched to jazz wh ...

(Phontastic 1987) * ''The Very Thought of You'' with Red Mitchell (Phontastic 1988) * ''A Fine Together'' (Phontastic, 1991) * ''In Silhouette'' (Phontastic, 1995) * ''On a Friday'' (RCA, 1995) * ''Simple Isn't Easy'' (Proprius, 1995) * ''Live at the Pawnshop'' (Phontastic, 1996) * ''Back to the Future'' (RCA Victor, 1997) * ''Django D'or'' (Gazell, 1999) * ''The Champs'' with

Buddy DeFranco Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and ...

(Gazell 1999) * ''We Will Always Be Together'' with

Jan Lundgren Jan Lundgren, born on 22 March 1966 in Olofström, Blekinge, and resident in Ystad since 2005, is an internationally active Swedish jazz musician. He is a pianist, composer, and senior lecturer at the Malmö Academy of Music, where he has taug ...

(Gazell 2004) * ''An Intimate Salute to Frankie'' with Jan Lundgren (Gazell 2005) * ''Kinda Dukish'' with

Ernie Wilkins Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. (July 20, 1922 – June 5, 1999) was an American jazz saxophonist, conductor and arranger who spent several years with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie. He was musical direc ...

(Gazell 2005)

As sideman

With

Arne Domnerus Arne may refer to: Places * Arne, Dorset, England, a village ** Arne RSPB reserve, a nature reserve adjacent to the village * Arné, Hautes-Pyrénées, Midi-Pyrénées, France * Arne (Boeotia), an ancient city in Boeotia, Greece * Arne (Thessaly), ...

* ''Blue and Yellow'' (Phontastic, 1982) * ''Skyline Drive'' (Phontastic, 1983) * ''Live'' (Lady Bird, 1996) With Nils Lindberg * ''Lapponian Suite'' (Bluebell of Sweden, 1982) * ''Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day'' (Bluebell of Sweden, 1986) * ''7 Dalecarlian Paintings'' (Swedish Society, 1987) With

Thore Swanerud Thore Swanerud (18 June 1919 – 8 December 1988) was a Swedish jazz pianist, vibraphonist, arranger, conductor, and composer. He was born in Stockholm and died in the same city. He is best remembered for an eight-bar improvised solo he made duri ...

* ''More Than You Know'' (Phontastic, 1985) * ''Star Dust'' (Phontastic, 1986) * ''On the Sunny Side'' (Beaver, 1987) With others * Harry Arnold, ''Harry Arnold Jazz Show Live 1959'' (Ancha, 1993) * Harry Arnold, ''Premiar!'' (Ancha, 1994) *

Susanne Alfvengren Susanne Alfvengren (born Susanne Irene Lund, 12 February 1959 in Visby, Gotland, Sweden) is a Swedish singer. In 1984, Susanne Alfvengren had a hit with '' När vi rör varann''. Another of her hits was ''Magneter''. She competed in Melodifest ...

, ''Tidens Hjul'' (Hawk, 1988) *

Svend Asmussen Svend Asmussen (28 February 1916 – 7 February 2017) was a Danish jazz violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking". A Swing style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many of the other jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and S ...

, ''Musik I Kyrkan'' (EMI, 1975) * Svend Asmussen,

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (, 27 May 1946 – 19 April 2005), also known by his abbreviated nickname NHØP, was a Danish jazz double bassist. Biography Pedersen was born in Osted, near Roskilde, on the Danish island of Zealand, the son of ...

, ''Telemann Today'' (Polydor, 1976) *

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 ...

, Charlie Norman, Anders Berglund, ''Swingtime Again'' (RCA Victor, 1998) *

Berndt Egerbladh Berndt Erik Egerbladh (May 1, 1932 – March 2, 2004) was a Sweden, Swedish pianist, jazz pianist, composer and television personality. Biography Egerbladh was born in Transtrand. He grew up in Umeå and performed in local jazz and dance orchestr ...

, ''TwoSome'' (Lady Bird, 1998) *

Leonard Feather Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...

, ''Leonard Feather & The Swinging Swedes'' (Cupol, 1974) *

Lars Gullin Lars Gunnar Victor Gullin (4 May 1928 – 17 May 1976) was a Swedish jazz saxophonist. Career Lars Gullin was born in Visby, Sweden. He was a child prodigy on the accordion. At age thirteen, he played clarinet in a military band and later l ...

, ''1959/60 Vol 4 Stockholm Street'' (Dragon, 1998) * Thore Jederby, ''Bas: Thore Jederby'' (Odeon, 1970) * Asa Jinder, ''Inom Mig Log Hjartat'' (Eagle 1989) * Sofia Kallgren, ''Mina Sanger'' (Big Bag, 1994) *

Roger Kellaway Roger Kellaway (born November 1, 1939) is an American composer, arranger and jazz pianist. Life and career Kellaway was born in Waban, Massachusetts, United States. He is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory. Kellaway has composed commissi ...

, Red Mitchell, ''Some O' This and Some O' That'' (Phontastic, 1990) *

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

, Red Mitchell, ''The John Lewis Album'' (Finesse, 1987) *

Silje Nergaard Silje Nergaard (born 19 June 1966) is a Norwegian jazz vocalist and songwriter. She is one of the best-selling jazz artists on the official sales chart in Norway. She became known worldwide after the release of the international bestseller ''Tel ...

, ''Port of Call'' (EmArcy, 2000) * Joe Newman, ''Counting Five in Sweden'' (Metronome, 1966) *

Povel Ramel Baron Povel Karl Henric Ramel (; 1 June 1922 – 5 June 2007) was a Swedish entertainer. Ramel was a singer, pianist, vaudeville artist, author and a novelty song composer. His style was characterized by imaginative wit, both verbal and musical ...

Wenche Myhre Wenche Synnøve Myhre (born 15 February 1947), known in some countries as Wencke Myhre, is a Norwegian singer who has had a great number of hit songs since the 1960s in the Norwegian, Danish, German and Swedish markets and languages. Early caree ...

, ''PoW Show'' (Knappupp, 2005) * Georg Riedel, ''Kirbitz'' (Phontastic, 1985) *

Sivuca Severino Dias de Oliveira (May 26, 1930 – December 14, 2006), known professionally as Sivuca, was a Brazilian accordionist, guitarist and singer. In addition to his home state of Paraíba, Brazil, and cities Recife and Rio de Janeiro, he worke ...

, ''Sivuca Med Putte Wickmans Orkester'' (Interdisc, 1968) * Sylvia Vrethammar,

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...

, ''In Goodmansland'' (Sonet, 1983) *

Bengt-Arne Wallin Bengt-Arne Wallin (13 July 1926 in Linköping – 23 November 2015) was a Swedish jazz composer, arranger, trumpeter, and flugelhorn player who played jazz influenced by Swedish traditional folk music. He also wrote film scores. Biography Betwe ...

, Nils Landgren, ''Miles from Duke'' (Phono Suecia, 1986) * Roy Williams, ''Royal Trombone'' (Phontastic, 1984) * Roy Williams, ''Again! Roy Williams in Sweden'' (Phontastic, 1987)

References

External links

"Putte Wickman är död"
(in Swedish) by Sven Malm, Svenska Dagbladet (February 14, 2006)
"Tonen har klingat ut"
(in Swedish) by Måns Wallgren, Dagens Nyheter (February 14, 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wickman, Putte 1924 births 2006 deaths People from Falun Swedish jazz musicians Litteris et Artibus recipients Artists from Dalarna Deaths from cancer in Sweden Male jazz musicians 20th-century Swedish male musicians Recipients of the Illis quorum