Alfred Janson (1937 – 2019) began playing accordion at the age of twelve, received piano lessons from his mother, and made his debut as a classical pianist in 1962. He developed an interest for jazz early on, and from the end of the 1950’s he worked closely with the renowned Norwegian singer Nora Brockstedt as an accompanist. After his piano debut he has touched on several genres as a composer, and has drawn extensively on elements from jazz, particularly timbre…
Alfred Janson (1937 – 2019) began playing accordion at the age of twelve, received piano lessons from his mother, and made his debut as a classical pianist in 1962. He developed an interest for jazz early on, and from the end of the 1950’s he worked closely with the renowned Norwegian singer Nora Brockstedt as an accompanist. After his piano debut he has touched on several genres as a composer, and has drawn extensively on elements from jazz, particularly timbre and improvisation, even when writing within the framework of international modernism.
Janson’s diverse work as a composer and musician, and his crossing over of different genres and musical expressions, everything from pop to contemporary music, classical and jazz, has made him a central figure in Norwegian musical life since the 1960s and an innovator in the Nordic musical scene.
June 2019