Jan Eliasson
Trumpet
Born in 1959 and raised in Ytterby in Bohuslän, the Swedish west coast. Jan Eliasson’s musical journey took off when he was 6 years old and secretly started playing his older brother’s trumpet while his brother was at school. Over the years he has played with many big bands and wind ensembles from western Sweden and has taken part in numerous trumpet courses with both Swedish and international instructors.
Three questions for Jan Eliasson
What are your musical inspirations?
– I get my big band inspiration from Count Basie, Woody Herman, Thad Jones – Mel Lewis among others. I’m also inspired by several trumpeters – Clifford Brown, Jan Allan, Wynton Marsalis, Maynard Ferguson.
How long have you played in Bohuslän Big Band?
“I’ve been playing for over 40 years. I started in 1981 at the Regional Music in Uddevalla with the Bohus Battalion and the Uddevalla Big Band.”
What is your best memory with Bohuslän Big Band?
– Our three-week tour of Japan in 2018, where we met school orchestras in every city and played to packed concert halls with Japanese soloists. What really sticks in my mind is our workshop with the youth big band in Sapporo, which ended with a jam session in their small rehearsal room, filled to the brim with two big bands, parents, and music teachers.