Lars Gunnar Victor Gullin (4 May 1928 – 17 May 1976) 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 major ...

saxophonist.

Career

Lars Gullin was born in

Visby Visby () is an urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably th ...

, Sweden. He was a child prodigy on the accordion. At age thirteen, he played clarinet in a military band and later learned the alto saxophone, but, after moving to

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 ...

in 1947, became a professional musician as a pianist. He planned on a classical career, studying privately with classical pianist Sven Brandel. Although he actually filled the baritone chair in

Seymour Österwall Seymour Österwall (born Karl Seimer Östervall; 20 February 1908 in Stockholm, Sweden – 3 August 1981 in Stockholm) was a Swedish jazz musician (proficient on the tenor saxophone), bandleader and composer. Österwall played with the orchestra ...

’s band in 1949 by chance, it was enough for him to decide that it was an instrument with possibilities, influenced too by hearing the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

baritone

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

for the first time on the ''

Birth of the Cool ''Birth of the Cool'' is a compilation album by American jazz trumpeter and bandleader Miles Davis, released in February 1957 by Capitol Records. It compiles eleven tracks recorded by Davis's nonet for the label over the course of three sessio ...

'' recordings. He worked as a member of Arne Domnérus’s septet (initially co-led by the

trumpeter The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B ...

Rolf Ericson) for two years from 1951; the group mainly performed at Nalen, a leading dance spot in

. At the same time, Gullin began to work with visiting American musicians, recording with James Moody,

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

and Clifford Brown. Most importantly, he first performed with Lee Konitz in 1951, an association which was to be repeated several times in future years. Gullin formed his own group in 1953, probably the only regular group he was to lead. It was short-lived, breaking up that November, after Gullin was responsible for causing the group to be involved in an automobile accident, although no one was seriously hurt. The next year, 1954, he won the best newcomer award in the American '' DownBeat'' magazine, after two March 1953 Swedish sessions were leased and issued by

Contemporary Records Contemporary Records was a jazz record company and label founded by Lester Koenig in Los Angeles in 1951. Contemporary produced music from a variety of jazz styles and players. West Coast players Contemporary became identified with a style of j ...

as a 10” LP. Later Gullin albums were leased to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

in the United States. Gullin toured several

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an countries with Chet Baker in October 1955, in a group which was marred by tragedy; it was Gullin who found the body of the group's pianist

Dick Twardzik Richard Henryk Twardzik (April 30, 1931 – October 21, 1955) was an American jazz pianist who worked in Boston for most of his career. Career Twardzik trained in classical piano as a child and made his professional debut at the age of fourteen. ...

, victim of a

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

overdose, on 21 October, in a

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

hotel room. The remainder of Gullin’s career was blighted by his own narcotics problems, and sometimes he survived on artists' grants from the Swedish government. He was restricted by illness for much of the later part of 1958. During most of 1959, Gullin, was active in Italy, he played with Chet Baker again and with the jazz alto saxophonist (and businessman)

Flavio Ambrosetti Flavio Ambrosetti (October 8, 1919 in Lugano – August 21, 2012 in Ticino) was a Swiss jazz vibraphonist, saxophonist, and engineer. Ambrosetti's primary career was in engineering; his acclaim in jazz circles has come entirely from his activities ...

, making radio broadcasts with him in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

, Switzerland. In the 1960s, he continued to work occasionally with leading American players, including

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

, with whom he recorded in 1963. One of his last major statements was his ''Aeros aromatic atomica suite'' recorded in 1973. Gullin died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, brought on by his long-term addiction to

methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid agonist used for chronic pain and also for opioid dependence. It is used to treat chronic pain, and it is also used to treat addiction to heroin ...

. A recording jointly led by Lee Konitz and pianist Lars Sjösten, ''Dedicated to Lee … Play the Music of Lars Gullin'' was recorded in 1983, and issued by

Dragon Records Dragon Records is a Swedish record company and label established in 1975 by journalist Lars Westin (born 1948) and pianist Jan Wallgren (1935-1996). It concentrates on Swedish jazz. As of 2002, the company was run by Westin. Dragon has issued sev ...

, who have issued 11 CDs of Gullin's recordings. The film ''

Sven Klang's Combo ''Sven Klang's Combo'' ( sv, Sven Klangs kvintett) is a 1976 Swedish musical film, musical drama film directed by Stellan Olsson. The film was based on a 1974 play by ''Musikteatergruppen Oktober'', and was shot in Ängelholm and Höganäs. At th ...

'' (''Sven Klangs kvintett'', 1976) is a fictionalised version of the Swedish jazz scene of the 1950s, and the saxophonist Lars is based on Gullin. His son, Peter Gullin, (12 April 1959,

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy – 7 October 2003,

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...

, Sweden) was also a baritone

and composer. The elder Gullin’s composition "Peter of April" was dedicated to him. The tune "Danny's Dream" was dedicated to his first son Danny Gullin and "Gabriella" to his daughter, Gabriella Gullin (born 1961), a composer and conductor.

Discography

As leader or co-leader

* 1953 ''Piano Holiday'' (

Metronome A metronome, from ancient Greek μέτρον (''métron'', "measure") and νομός (nomós, "custom", "melody") is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a regular interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats pe ...

) * 1953 ''Modern Sounds'' (

Contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

) * 1954 ''Lars Gullin'' (Contemporary) * 1954 ''Danny's Dream'' ( Dragon) * 1955 ''Gullin's Garden'' (

EmArcy EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Clifford Brown ...

) * 1955 ''Lars Gullin'' (EmArcy) * 1955 ''Lars Gullin with the Moretone Singers'' (EmArcy) * 1955/56 ''Lars Gullin With Chet Baker'' (issued on

in 1992) * 1956 ''Baritone Sax'' (

WEA The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...

) * 1958 ''Swings'' ( East-West) * 1958 ''Fine Together: The Artistry of Lars Gullin'' (

Sonet Synchronous optical networking (SONET) and synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) are standardized protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams synchronously over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diode ...

) * 1963 ''The House I Live In'' ( SteepleChase) – co-led with

* 1964 ''På Gyllene Cirkeln'' (''At the Golden Circle'', EMI, not issued until 1979) * 1971 ''Jazz Amour Affair'' (

Odeon Odeon may refer to: Ancient Greek and Roman buildings * Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions * Odeon of Agrippa, Athens * Odeon of Athens * Odeon of Domitian, Rome ...

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

) * 1973 ''Like Grass'' (Odeon) * 1975 ''Lars Gullin Quintet Featuring Bernt Rosengren'' ( Storyville) * 1976 ''Aeros Aromatica Atomica Suite'' (Odeon) * 2016 ''The Liquid Moves of Lars Gullin'' (Sonorama)

As sideman

With Arne Domnérus * ''Arne Domnérus And His Orchestra 1950/1951 With Rolf Ericson Featuring Lars Gullin'' (Dragon, 2003) With Rolf Ericson * ''Rolf Ericson & The American Stars 1956 with Ernestine Anderson'' (Dragon, 1995) With Stan Getz * ''

Imported from Europe ''Imported from Europe'' is an album by saxophonist Stan Getz which was released on the Verve label in 1959.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 wr ...

* ''All Star Sessions 1953/54'' (Dragon, 2007) With

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 ...

* ''

Jazz Abroad ''Jazz Abroad'' is a split album by American jazz drummer Roy Haynes and Quincy Jones with tracks recorded in Sweden in 1953 and 1954 and released by EmArcy Records, EmArcy.Nils Lindberg * ''Sax Appeal'' (Barben, 1960) – originally issued as by The Swedish Modern Jazz Group, reissued as by Lindberg on ''Sax Appeal & Trisection'' (Dragon, 1992)

References

External links

The Lars Gullin Society website

Gullinmuseet (The Gullin Museum)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gullin, Lars 1928 births 1976 deaths Cool jazz saxophonists Jazz baritone saxophonists People from Gotland Swedish jazz saxophonists Male saxophonists 20th-century saxophonists 20th-century Swedish male musicians 20th-century Swedish musicians Male jazz musicians Deaths from coronary artery disease