Born: March 22, 1966 Primary Instrument: Piano
Jan Lundgren is one of the most exciting jazz pianists on the scene today, not only in his native Sweden, not only in Europe, but the entire world. His versatility, curiosity and impressive knowledge of jazz, combined with an awesome awareness of the Great American Songbook, have made him one of today's most respected piano artists.
Jan Lundgren was born in 1966 in Kristianstad, Sweden. He started playing piano at the age of five. Around 1989 he began to develop a keen interest in jazz, listening to pianists like Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, Bud Powell and Bill Evans. In 1986 he began five years of study at the Malmő College of Music from where he graduated in 1991. In 1994 he released his first album as a leader One of his early leader albums, Swedish Standards (ACT, 1997), became a huge hit and received the Golden Record Award in the country for the best jazz recording of 1997.
He has played with, among others, guitarist Ulf Wakenius, tenorist Karl-Martin Almqvist, Johnny Griffin, Deborah Brown, Stacey Kent, Rick Perry, Conte Candoli, Vincent Herring, Frank Vignola, Herb Geller, Ken Peplowski, James Moody, Benny Golson, Andy Martin and Pete Jolly. Lundgren has toured most European countries, Australia and Japan, not to mention the many times he has visited the United States to record and perform live.
