Samuel Charters, a novelist and music historian of American blues, folk and jazz, has died at the age of 85.

His widow, Ann Charters, said her husband died in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, of a bone marrow disorder after a serious illness.

Charters, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, moved to the Scandinavian country in 1970 to work as a producer for Swedish record company Sonet Records.

A dual Swedish-US citizen, he was best known for his books on the history of the blues and jazz, although his subjects also extended to Swedish fiddlers and poetry.

From early on in his life, Charters became enamoured of blues and jazz. In 1951, he moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, and lived there for almost a decade.

“He felt that the black musicians of New Orleans needed more recognition,” his wife said.

“What people often don’t know is that he published many books of poetry and five novels. He thought of himself as a poet as well as a music historian.”