Rune Gustafsson

A Swedish guitarist whose playing drew deeply from the hazy, nuanced styles of earlier jazz masters like Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, and Tal Farlow, Rune Gustafsson later distinguished himself by scoring a series of well-regarded film soundtracks while continuing to perform as an instrumentalist. Within Sweden’s broader musical landscape, references to Gustafsson appear most frequently, encompassing releases on Sonet, Metronome, and additional imprints that feature a dedicated homage to soul innovator Stevie Wonder. As a teenager he first took up folk music, encouraged in large part by an uncle already active in the tradition. By the early 1950s he had shifted toward jazz performance, working under bandleaders such as Bert Dahlander, Putte Wickman, Hacke Bjorksten, and Lars Gullin. Interviewed for Leonard Feather’s Encyclopedia of Jazz during the 1970s, Gustafsson voiced his goal of writing and arranging concert works—an intention he later realized. In pursuit of these projects he broadened his palette to include the banjo, the celeste, and other less conventional instruments. Among his screen contributions stands the 1992 Ingmar Bergman feature known in English as Sunday’s Children.