After attending the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, I studied at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
I was a part of the legendary bass player Red Mitchell´s group Communication for many years.
Another big inspiration has been the Swedish pianist and arranger Jan Johansson and his music. In 1978 I was awarded the Jan Johansson Scholarship. Then followed collaborations and recordings with artists like Lee Konitz, Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, Helen Merrill, Joe Newman, Thad Jones and Clark Terry.

In 1990 I began playing with the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra. I also started to compose and arrange music for this formidable band. This resulted in Lakes (2000), Sailing (2004), I’ll Be Seeing You (2008), Ikaros (2009) and Utsira (2024).

I was also invited to work with The Scottish National Orchestra, Estonian Dreamband and Umo Big Band (Finland).

A more recent project is the Göran Strandberg Nonet featuring the music of Thelonius Monk. Monks Mood was released 2012.

Another ongoing project is a duo with with the percussionist Sebastian Voegler (drumset – piano). Together we’ve released the albums Emergence (2012) and Going Places (2016).
During 2018 I was Composer in Residence for Norrbotten Big Band. That resulted in the album Going North (2019)

My latest project is Göran Strandberg Trio with Svante Söderqvist – bass and Peter Danemo – drums. So far we’ve released two albums, Mevlana (2021) and Hello! (2025)

I have released fourteen records in my own name.