Stan Hasselgård
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Ake "Stan" Hasselgård (October 4, 1922, Sundsvall, Sweden - November 23, 1948, Decatur, Illinois) was Swedish jazz clarinetist. Hasselgård was heavily influenced by Benny Goodman, and played swing jazz in his early years before exploring bebop shortly before his death.
Hasselgård grew up in Bollnas, Sweden, and began playing clarinet at age 16. He attended college at the University of Uppsala and played in the Royal Swingers there. In 1945 he played in a quintet led by Arthur Osterwall, and founded a new Royal Singers group that year. In 1946-47 he played with Simon Brehm's sextet.
In 1947 Hasselgård moved to New York City, and played there on 52nd Street with Jack Teagarden and Max Roach. In 1948 Goodman asked him to play in a sextet alongside Wardell Gray, Mary Lou Williams, and others. His last recording session occurred on November 18, 1948; on November 22 he was killed in a car crash. He was 26.
