Born August 1st, 1950 near Stockholm, Sweden. Started to play piano and drums at age 5 and 8 respectively. Did his first gigs on drums at the tender age of 10 at the local high school dances.
After spending his teens playing both jazz and pop music, Lars enrolled in 1972 at Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA. He stayed for 4 years studying arranging and composition with a.o. the phenomenal Herb Pomeroy and Mike Gibbs. In Boston Lars also headed a group, Small Potatoes, that included guitarist Mike Stern, Japanese trumpet whizz Tiger Okoshi, and bass legend Niel Stubenhaus.
In the fall of
1975 he returned to Sweden, settled in Stockholm, and began working as composer/arranger/drummer. He joined American bass great Red Mitchellís group Communications. He and Mitchell also recorded and performed with American pianist extraordinaire Dorothy Donegan.
1976 saw Lars forming a Swedish version of the Small Potatoes which included trumpeter Bertil Lövgren and Danish trombonist Erling Kroner (whom Lars had met and played with in Boston), and American saxist Ed Epstein.
The same year he also joined the Swedish Radio Jazz Group with which he played and performed from 1976-1980. During that period the band performed and recorded music by and with such luminaries as Kenny Wheeler, Chuck Israels, Anthony Braxton and George Russell. With Russell the band received a 5 star rating in Down Beat Magazine for the recording of Vertical Form no 5. The personnel sometimes changed, but the band included players like world renowned bassist Palle Danielsson and pianist Bobo Stensson.
In
1977 the band performed and recorded Lars' own music. They also performed with George Russell at the Berliner Jazz Tage.
That year Lars joined forces with Erling Kroner in Copenhagen to record and play with Erling's Quintet & Tentet.
The years
1976 to '80 saw Lars writing / arranging and performing in many different musical contexts: Playing drums on many TV shows, recordings, writing arrangements for popsingers like Tomas Ledin and Maritza Horn.
With Maritza Horn Lars recorded the album "Subway Baby": all original songs by Lars. He also arranged for and toured with the legendary singer/songwriter Cornelis Wreesvijk and swedish vocaltrio extraordinaire "Tre Damer".
1979 he started the now legendary band "White Orange" that among the main soloist featured American trumpet great Tim Hagans, Uruguayan saxist Hector Bingert, Swedish guitarist Johan Norberg and the aforementioned Erling Kroner. The band created quite a stir among critics and audiences alike. The album "White Orange" was very well received, with mostly Lars' compositions, and in its two year existence the band performed on numerous TV shows / concerts / festivals.
1979 Lars was commissioned by the Danish Radio to write an extensive piece for symphony orchestra, jazz big band and voices. The result; "Cuchulain" was performed and recorded in January with lyrics by John Martin.
1981 Lars left Stockholm to travel extensively around the world. A trip that took him to India where he was to stay for almost a year.
Upon returning to Sweden in late '81 Lars and his wife, singer Diana Nuñez, formed "Bright Orange", a band that was to be very highly regarded in Sweden as well as in Germany and other European countries with the album "No doubt, the goose is out". The group toured Scandinavia and Germany before being put on hold , early in '84 ,with the coming of Diana's and Lars' son Daniel.
1984-85 Lars was busy with a.o. Swedish fusion group "EGBA". In '84 Lars again played with the Radio Jazz Group performing with George Russell and his "African Game".
In the winter of
'85-86 the family moved to Lund in the very south of Sweden, where Lars ventured into a new dimension of musicmaking: music for films. Lars started to make music for drama productions for television, industrials etc. In doing this he also incorporated the new technology with synthesizers, samplers and computers in his work.
In 1987 Lars was commissioned by Musik i Skåne to write "...something with a jazz touch" for chamber orchestra. The result was "Three for Daniel", which was also recorded by "Sinfonietta Syd".
1988 Lars joined fusion quartet "Fair Play", which included soprano sax great Cennet Jönsson. They toured Sweden and Denmark, making several radio broadcasts, up 'till 1991.
1987 and '89 Lars was again commissioned by the Danish Radio this time to write for their light symphony orchestra.
In
'89 he was again also commissioned by Musik i Skåne to write an extensive piece for chamber orchestra, brass septet and jazz trio. The central soloist was pianist Bobo Stensson.
The same year saw Lars back in Copenhagen as part of legendary trumpeter Herb Pomeroy's Festival Band. This was repeated in
'90. He also teamed up up with old compadre Erling Kroner to become part of his Dark Side Orchestra, which a.o. featured saxist Bob Rockwell.
In
1990 Lars and his wife Diana put together "Lars Vegas & the Jackpots", a band that was to become one of the best and most popular in the south of Sweden in the funk/pop/rock circles.
1991 Lars took the initiative to bring Herb Pomeroy to Scandinavia as part of a sextet that was to be named "The Herb Pomeroy ScanAmerican Six". The band also included pianist Bobo Stensson, saxist Inge Pettersson and Erling Kroner on trombone. They performed at the Kristianstad-Åhus Jazzfestival as well as the Copenhagen ditto.
In the spring of
'92, at Erling K's request, Lars, on drums, joined him and the NDR Big Band in Hamburg for a series of concerts and radio broadcasts that featured the wonderful music of Astor Piazzolla in the shape of Erling's very original arrangements.
In the fall of
'92 Lars joined danish trumpet ace Per Ringkjøbing's Quintet. In the spring of '93 Lars, jointly with Erling K., arranged and contributed original material for Per's upcoming CD "An Individual Thing", for strings and brass.
In the spring of
'94 Lars and Erling, after working for so many years on each others projects, premiered their jointly led big band:
Beijbom Kroner Big Band. The band which contains some of the best jazzmusicians in the Copenhagen-South of Sweden area has performed at jazzfestivals in Sweden, Denmark and Norway and is considered quite unique in its mix of Lars' and Erling's different musics and those of Astor Piazzolla and Charles Mingus.
In August of
'95 the Beijbom Kroner Big Band recorded its first CD, released on Four Leaf Clover Rec's, Live in Copenhagen, which later in 1997 won the Critics' Choice Award for CD of the year in Danish jazz magazine Jazz Special. Lars continued to write music for television, recording his version of "West Side Story" for a dance company, arranging and recording childrens songs and more.
In August / September of '95 Lars contributed arrangements to the epic work "Kristina från Duvemåla" composed by Benny Andersson and lyrics by Björn Ulvaeus.
In
November of '95 Lars toured with the vocalgroup "Tre Damer" and the brass quintet "Cornova Brass" with the music of Duke Ellington, arranged for this special occasion by Lars. A "Super Brass Quintet" was also formed to perform the same music with Gustavo Bergalli and Fredrik Norén (tpts) Bertil Strandberg (trb) Rolf Nyquist (horn) Karl Jacobsson (tuba) and Lars on drums. The production is still very much alive and they have also performed in Germany and Paris in
1998.
In
1997 Lars arranged all the music for a stage production for Danish musical star Stig Rossen and his touring 14 piece orchestra. A very successful project that has continued into 2001.
In
1998 Lars also arranged music by Duke Ellington for mixed choir and brass sextet by commission. And again the music of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus has crossed Lars' musical path. This time arranging several pieces for the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Choir, plus pop band and pop choir for Swedish vocal stars Helen Sjöholm, Anders and Karin Glennmark in a tribute to the composers. Sold out performances has taken the show to such far away places as China and South Africa.
In the fall of
1998 Beijbom Kroner Big Band released their 2nd CD outing "Opposites Attract" which has since recieved very good reviews worldwide. The band has also continued to tour into 2001.
1999 saw the release of the CD "Duke, we love you madly" (dB Productions) the result of the aforementioned project with Tre Damer/Cornova Brass. More touring ensued. Lars also contributed arrangements for a Musik i Skåne production "Åtrå" featuring finnish accordion virtuoso Minna Veurlander, as well as pieces for singers Tommy Körberg and Carola Häggkvist with big band and symphony orchestra. Besides work as a freelance drummer Lars also joined the Lund based jazz quintet Reunion. With a.o. saxist Ed Epstein.
Besides Lars' ongoing work with film music and loads of various productions in his own studio in Lund, he continues to arrange and compose for a wide variety of projects and other artists.