Georg Riedel

The recorded working language is Swedish. The field of work recorded is music, jazz and composed musical work. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are jazz. Places of work recorded in the authority are Stockholm. Works named in the authority record are Bom-sicka-bom, Sjörövar-Fabbe and Idas sommarvisa. Distinctions recorded are Litteris et Artibus, Swedish Music Hall of Fame, Alice Tegnér Music Prize and Gullspiran.

• Name — Georg Riedel • Landscape — yes • Birth Name — Georg Martin Ludvig Riedel • Born — 8 January 1934 • Birthplace — Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia • Died — 25 February 2024 • Place of death — Stockholm, Sweden • Genre — Jazz, Classical music, children's music • Occupation — Musician, composer • Instrument — Double bass, violin • Years Active — 1950s–2020s • Associated Acts — Jan Johansson, Arne Domnérus, Monica Zetterlund, Radiojazzgruppen, Trio con Tromba

Riedel was born in Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia, to a Sudeten German father and Jewish Czech mother. In the autumn of 1938, at the age of four, he fled with his family to Sweden to escape the Nazis. His father, Karl Riedel, was an architect and socialist, and his mother, Auguste (née Zentner), was a paediatrician from a Jewish family. The family first lived in central Stockholm, later moving to Mälarhöjden. Riedel began violin and cello lessons as a child and developed a keen interest in music, partly influenced by his father's appreciation for classical composers such as Mozart, Bach, and Tchaikovsky. Riedel discovered a passion for jazz in adolescence, switching to double bass at the age of 15. He attended Stockholms borgarskola and later studied at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm. He won a school composition contest at age twelve and began performing publicly as a teenager, including an amateur jazz competition in 1950.

• Illustration — Riedel at Stockholm Jazz Festival, June 2010 After graduating from secondary school, Riedel joined Lars Gullin's quintet for a summer tour in 1953, soon establishing himself as a notable jazz bassist. He became involved in Stockholm's vibrant jazz scene, working with leading musicians such as Jan Johansson, Arne Domnérus, Monica Zetterlund, Jan Allan, and Gunnar Svensson. He became a regular at venues such as Nalen and performed across Sweden, also recording for major Swedish labels from the mid-1950s. As a member and arranger for Arne Domnérus’ ensembles, Riedel contributed to the group's signature sound, mixing elements of swing, bebop, and later, Swedish folk influences. Alongside Jan Johansson, he developed an approach centred on minimalist arrangements of Swedish folk tunes, most famously on the album Jazz på svenska (1964), which became Sweden's best-selling jazz recording. Riedel participated in Radiojazzgruppen, served as house musician for Swedish radio and TV productions, and was bass player and arranger for numerous jazz, classical, and crossover projects in the 1960s–1970s. He co-founded the jazz group Trio con Tromba in 1982.

A self-taught composer, Riedel cited classical and Czech/Slovak folk sources, and American jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, and Charlie Parker as influences. Jazz historian Jan Bruér has described Riedel's children's songs as "melodic and easily sung, yet harmonically unconventional and striking for their blend of jazz and folk traditions".

• 491 (1964) • Nightmare (1965) • Woman of Darkness (1966) • Pippi Longstocking (1969, music with Jan Johansson) • Emil i Lönneberga (1971) • Nya hyss av Emil i Lönneberga (1972) • Emil och griseknoen (1973) • Världens bästa Karlsson (1974) • The Children of Noisy Village (1986) • Ved Vejen (1988) • Trust Me (2010) • Georg Riedels jiddischland (2023)

• Illustration — Georg and Sarah Riedel performing at Stockholm Concert Hall Georg Riedel was married to Gudrun Riedel, who was politically active in the Church of Sweden. The couple had six children. Among his children are the musician and author Channa Riedel (born 1990), who published her debut poetry collection Karlsbad in 2023; and singer-songwriter Sarah Riedel, who contributed vocals to several of her father's children's music recordings as a child before developing her own career as a jazz singer and composer. The family lived for many years in the Stockholm area. Riedel remained active in Swedish cultural and musical life until late in his life, collaborating artistically with his children and participating in intergenerational musical projects. He died in Stockholm on 25 February 2024, aged 90.