Swedish bassist Gunnar Almstedt grew up during the swing era and obtained a love for the music that never left him. He became a professional musician in 1946, freelanced for a while, and in 1950 joined pianist Charlie Norman's group, a band that made a few recordings with Roy Eldridge the following year. In 1953, Almstedt was part of a co-op quintet called Swinging Swedes, an appealing group that caught on for a time. Within a couple years it had evolved into a quartet that Almstedt co-led with clarinetist Ove Lind. For a few years, the group worked steadily in Sweden, making a few recordings (the majority of which have been reissued on a Dragon CD, Swingin' the Blues) featuring the talented pianist Bengt Hallberg and sometimes singer Alice Babs. By 1958, the quartet had grown into a sextet that included trumpeter Jan Allan. By the early '60s, the Almstedt-Lind group was only playing part-time, and the bassist was spending more time out of music, running a pet shop. He would be so successful in the latter field that he wrote a book teaching owners how to raise animals. In later years, Gunnar Almstedt moved to Spain, continued playing bass part-time, and hosted a jazz radio show. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi