Janne Schaffer is a prominent Swedish guitarist and session musician. He has also played with many important bands overseas. His CV will include names such as Bob Marley, Jeff Porcaro, and ABBA. In the 1970s, he was a solo artist who reached the top of the charts. However, he has not had much success since then. The most famous thing about Schaffer for a younger generation of Swedish is his role as the guitarist-playing zebra from Electric Banana Band. This band was a hit on a children’s TV show. Schaffer was born in Stockholm shortly after the war. He was part of several pop bands in the 1960s including Chicks, Noisemen, and Ted and the Caracas. None of these were very well-known. He was already a talented guitarist, and he quit school to work for a dance orchestra. The endless touring of a dance orchestra was exhausting and Schaffer soon got sick of it and decided to return to school and Stockholm where he founded the Sleepstones. A few of their songs were charted but the real break came when Schaffer moved on to Grapes of Wrath. His career as a session player began in 1970. He quickly earned the top positions in Sweden. In the 1970s, Schaffer was a session musician with notable artists such as Ted Gardestad and Cornelis Wisvijk. He also played with international stars like Johnny Nash, ABBA and Bob Marley. In 1973, Schaffer’s self-titled solo album was released. It reached the top of the charts. Bjorn J.son Lindh played keyboards, which Schaffer would continue to work with throughout the ’70s, ’80s, and beyond. Janne Schaffer’s second album, Andra, did also well. In fact, Katharsis was released to great reviews around the world. The album featured more fusion music, whereas the previous two were instrumental guitar rock. Schaffer was a regular at many big jazz festivals in the late 1970s. Montreux Summit Vol. includes tracks from one of these concerts. 1 and Montreux Summit, Vol. 2. Earmeal, a 1979 recording, was recorded with the brothers and father Porcaro of Toto. However, the title was actually the name a band Schaffer, along with Lindh, had formed in Sweden a few years back. He had written the music for Trazan och Banarne, a Swedish children’s program that was very popular. The Electric Banana band was formed when new episodes were to air. It included a large portion of the Swedish studio elite, led by Schaffer. The show was hugely popular, and Schaffer’s involvement in the band far outweighed his solo career which had been slowing down in the 1980s. The music became more contemplative and abandoned much of jazz and rock in his collaborations with Lindh. This led to a large loss of audience. In 1984 Schaffer founded his own record company Earmeal. His subsequent solo albums were then released. These albums never had the same quality as his earlier work, but his skills as a guitarist and producer were still highly sought after. He still contributed to many albums through the ’80s, ’90s. In addition to this, Schaffer also wrote film scores and collaborated with classical composers. He had originally planned to bring the Earmeal band together for a concert. However, the arrangers suggested that they reunite the Electric Banana Band instead. The next tour was a huge success. A re-recording (and a new) of old songs sold platinum. Allmusic
