Jerry Johansson started out his musical journey some distant years ago in the Swedish city of Varberg, then as a guitar player and composer in various rock- and jazz-groups. After having had a minor revelation when experiencing a George Harrison-composition on a Beatles-album; an overwhelmed Jerry realised that the point of no return had finally arrived.
He immediately began studying the classical Indian raga and the world of the sitar on an advanced level,
with a most serious approach.
This newly found universe of his does not only need highly concentrated and daily practise,
but also requires an ascetical way of living and a humble approach to the world at large.
Sitar master Roop Verma appears, himself a former student of master Ravi Shankar; and he takes Jerry
under his wings, so to speak, and Jerry becomes his pupil.
Jerry practises various Indian modal scales and ways of thinking and plays and plays,
and in time reaches the innermost soul and spirit of the classical Indian raga.
The open mind of Jerry assimilates impressions and ideas, and the sitar player Jerry Johansson
moves on from there to here; from a student to finally becoming a sitar master performer himself.
Jerry Johansson works in his very own tradition, in where ancient Indian traditions of the classical raga music assimilates together with the Swedish heritage of folk music; but also incorporates the knowledge and understanding of contemporary classical music. Musical textures extends, re-shapes and changes places; in Jerry Johansson´s exquisite ways of thinking and blending our ancient musical heritage from both East and West, a totally new and unique music emerges. A music in where traces remembrances from then and now, Scandinavia and Asia assimilates together to a totally natural music that is all Jerry Johansson´s.
Jerry moves freely as an adventurous musical earth-traveller in the best of senses; combining Indian ways of looking at the world with bare Swedish feet in the glowing grass of the sparkling world known as the ever-present NOW!