Sven-Åke Johansson

Sven-Åke Johansson was a Swedish composer, drummer, poet, author and visual artist associated with free jazz and free improvisation in Europe. Born in Mariestad in 1943, he lived in Berlin from 1968. He was one of Europe's first free jazz drummers, forming part of the Peter Brötzmann Trio that recorded For Adolphe Sax (1967) and Machine Gun (1968), alongside bassist Peter Kowald. He experimented with sound and played several instruments. Johansson briefly joined one of Tangerine Dream's first bands in 1968, playing with the Globe Unity Orchestra and with German reviser Alfred Harth and Belgian pianist Nicole Van den Plas in E.M.T. In 1972, he recorded Schlingerland, one of the first solo free jazz recordings by a drummer. Johansson formed an enduring duo with pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach in 1976, and took part in numerous formations and collaborations. He has also contributed to numerous exhibitions, publications and hundreds of recordings, produced radio plays for several German radio stations, and played with Hans Reichel, Jeanne Lee, Gunter Hampel, Michel Waisvisz, Axel Dörner, Albert Oehlen, Rhodri Davis, Ken Vandermark, Otomo Yoshihide, Rüdiger Carl, Andrea Neumann and many others. From 2010, he collaborated with German singer and composer Oliver Augst, in a duo that created a concert program entitled Eisler im Sitzen and radio pieces. Johansson has also collaborated with electronic musician Jan Jelinek (on modular synthesizer). Sven-Åke Johansson died on June 15, 2025.

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