Jan Johansson's Acoustic Music Studio
Jan Johansson's Acoustic Music Studio |
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About Jan Johansson and Friends |
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| Jan (pronounced “Yahn”) was born in Skelleftea, Sweden in 1958 and began playing acoustic music at the age of 14. He started playing the guitar in 1972 and moved to the fiddle and mandolin by the time he was 18. Jan married Theresa Blue of Carthage, NC and moved to the US in 1989 after three years of traveling back and forth between the two countries and began working as a freelance translator and music instructor. Jan received his Filosofie Kandidat degree in Linguistics and Scandinavian Languages from University of Umeå in 1984. He went on to doctoral studies in theoretical linguistics before starting his full time pursuit of the Bluegrass. “I believe my background in linguistics has played an important role in how I teach and communicate about music,” Johansson said. “Music is just another form of communication and a means for people to relate and connect with each other. “Music and language both share a lot of common features. One of the most fascinating parallels is the fact that both systems are using a finite number of rules in order to generate an infinite number of meaningful phrases”. Jan and his bands have been recognized by IBMA nomination 1994 as Emerging Band of the Year. 1993 SPGMA World Champion band…1993 Pizza Hut Bluegrass Showdown International Champions…In 2001 Jan was instrumental in putting together the Amazing Grace Bluegrass Festival at the North Raleigh Hilton– a fundraiser for Russian orphans. The stellar line up included IIIrd Tyme Out, Larry Sparks, Country Gentlemen, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Lonesome Rive Band, Blue Highway, Mountain Heart, James King, Grass Cats, Carolina Road, Bass Mountain Boys, Al Batten, Tims Family and the Stringfellows . In an attempt to raise more funds for the Russian orphans Jan has recorded a benefit Bluegrass Gospel Album, The Amazing Grace Project. On this album he has managed to gather most of the artists who performed at the Amazing Grace Bluegrass Festival plus a number of other high profile performers like Ricky Skaggs, Paul Brewster, The Whites, David Grisman, Kenny and Amanda Smith, Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum, Bobby Hicks, Bill Evans, Honi Deaton, Kathy Kallick, Jim Nunally, Anna Lund, Kim Gardner, Tom Langdon, Darrin Vincent, Andy Leftwich, Lou Reid, Carolina Road Band, Butch Robins, Julie Elkins & Kane’s River, Bernie Petteway, Rick Lassiter, The Kinton Sisters, Gena Britt and Denise Hering. Liner Notes from my CD, KINDRED: "I have been a student of Bluegrass music since the 1970s when I was a teenager in the northern coastal city of Skellefteå, Sweden. As my love for Bluegrass grew, the pursuit of the music lead me to leave my native Sweden for North Carolina in the mid 1980s. While living In America I have been exposed to the best in Bluegrass and have been blessed with friends all over the country among the bluegrass community". "I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the old numbers that I grew up with, and on this album I put together twelve of my favorites. Since I have been playing mostly Bluegrass music throughout my career it was natural to approach the music with instruments typically associated with this idiom. I have for a long time believed that a variety of European folk-based music styles would naturally fit the Bluegrass format, and in the spirit of exploration I recorded these tunes to see how the Swedish music would manifest itself with Bluegrass instrumentation". "I realize that I am very fortunate to be musically bicultural, and I am indebted to the influences of greats on both continents". Jan Johansson Review of my CD Kindred in The News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, January, 2007, Jack Bernhardt, Correspondent Jan Johansson and Friends, "Kindred" --3 Stars Triangle bluegrass fans are well-acquainted with Jan Johansson, former fiddler with New Vintage and a popular music teacher steeped in the music of his native Sweden and that of Bill Monroe. On the self-produced CD "Kindred," Johansson adapts a dozen Swedish folk tunes to bluegrass instrumentation in a remarkable convergence of styles. Leading the way on guitar, Johansson is joined by a trio of Triangle pickers: Ivan Rosenberg (resophonic guitar), Lindsey Tims (mandolin) and Rick Lassiter (bass). Their clever arrangements apply bluegrass flavors to a diverse menu of Old World tunes. The loping stride of "Epiphany March" ("Trettondagsmarschen"), the quickstep ramble of "Walking Tune from Granges" ("Ganglat Fran Gr…nges") and the old pub favorite "Fredman's Song No. 21" would fit comfortably in the repertoires of guitar greats Tony Rice and Doc Watson. Hymns, marches, polkas and choral songs are beautifully transposed from Swedish to bluegrass voicings. Together, they illustrate the common sentiments of folk cultures from the Old and New Worlds, and the uncommon ability of Johansson to unite them in a seamless, cross-cultural blend. Order from www.monroestyle.com. |
| Contact information : Phone (919) 771-8780 : Studio Address 510 Ryan Rd. Cary, NC 27511 |