Biography
A skilled Swedish drummer equally at home in bop and swing, Dahlander first concentrated on violin and piano before forming his own quartet and joining Thore Ehrling’s radio orchestra. Following 1951 and 1952 sessions alongside Lars Gullin, he relocated to the United States in 1954 and joined the house rhythm section at Chicago’s Bee Hive. A year-long association with Terry Gibbs followed, as did European tours with Chet Baker in 1955 and 1956; Dahlander then rejoined Gullin for further recordings in 1956 and 1957. After another interval with Gibbs he spent three years in Teddy Wilson’s trio. In 1965 he appeared with Earl Hines, settling the next year in Aspen, where he performed regularly with Ralph Sutton and Peanuts Hucko and took part in several Colorado Jazz Party concerts. Throughout the 1970s he worked frequently in Finland and Sweden, returning to the studio with Hines for a 1973 reunion date.