Eje Thelin

Eje Thelin (born Eilert Ove Thelin) (June 9, 1938 – May 18, 1990) was an innovative Swedish trombonist, widely admired among fellow trombonists for his facile technique and rhythmic intensity. He was, perhaps, the first jazz trombonist to translate that technique into the so-called "sheets of sound" style that characterized much of the music of tenor saxophonist John Coltrane and, in general, Free Jazz of the late 1960s and 1970s.

Thelin started his own quintet in 1961. From 1968 to 1972 he was on the faculty of the Music Academy in Graz, Austria. For the rest of the 1970s, he led his own Eje Thelin Group in Sweden. In the 1980s he expanded into composition, writing commissioned works for large European orchestras, sometimes featuring himself as soloist. In spite of the attention given to the obvious technical side of his playing, Thelin was also known for his warm approach to traditional ballads, a somewhat retro-romanticism that comes through in his later playing.

Discography

As leader

• So Far-Eje Thelin Quintet (Columbia EMI Swenska AB, 1963)
• Eje Thelin Quintet at the German Jazz Festival (Dragon of Sweden, 1964)
• Eje Thelin Trio 1965
• Eje Thelin with Barney Wilen (Dragon of Sweden, 1966)
• Rolf & Joachim Kühn: Monday Morning Rolf Kühn, Joachim Kühn (HörZu, 1969)
• Joachim Kühn/Eje Thelin Group- In Paris (Metronome, 1970)
• Eje Thelin/Pierre Favre/Jouck Minor-Candles Of Vision (Calig, 1972)
• Eje Thelin Group (Caprice, 1974)
• Eje Thelin Group-Live (Caprice, 1976)
• Eje Thelin Group-Hypothesis (1978)
• Eje Thelin-Bits and Pieces (Phono Suecia, 1980)
• Eje Thelin-Polyglot (Caprice, 1981)
• Eje Thelin-E.T. Project (Dragon of Sweden, 1986)
• Eje Thelin Trio with Bengt Hallberg 1965 (Dragon of Sweden, 2016)

As composer

• Raggruppamento (Phono Suecia, 1980)

As sideman

With Don Cherry

• Eternal Rhythm (MPS/BASF, 1972)

With Clarinet Summit

• You Better Fly Away (1980)

With Graham Collier

• Hoarded Dreams (Cuneiform, 1983 [2007])

With Benny Golson

• Stockholm Sojourn (Prestige, 1974)

With Krzysztof Komeda

• Ballet Etudes (Polonia, 1962)

With Kenny Wheeler

• Around 6 (ECM, 1979)

With Jimmy Witherspoon

• Some of My Best Friends Are the Blues (Prestige, 1964)

References

Richards Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia London 2006