Bernt Rosengren
Encyclopedia
Bernt Rosengren is a Swedish jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 tenor saxophonist. His recordings have earned him five Gyllene Skivan
Gyllene Skivan
Gyllene Skivan is an annual jazz award given by Orkesterjournalen , the oldest jazz magazine in Sweden which was established in 1933.OJ established the Gyllene Skivan award in 1954 when it was won by Lars Gullin...

 awards in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

.

Biography

Rosengren first played professionally at age 19, as a member of the Jazz Club 57, and two years later in 1959 he played in the Newport Jazz Band. Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...

's collaborator Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda was a Polish film music composer and jazz pianist. Perhaps best-known for his work in film scores, Komeda wrote the scores for Roman Polanski’s films Rosemary’s Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Knife in the Water and Cul-de-sac...

 used Rosengren in the performance of his jazz score for Polanski's film Knife in the Water (1962). Rosengren recorded a string of critically acclaimed albums in the 1960s and 1970s, including Stockholm Dues (1965), Improvisations (1969), and Notes from Underground (1974). He played in a sextet
Sextet
A sextet is a formation containing exactly six members. It is commonly associated with vocal or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six similar or related objects are considered a single unit....

 led by George Russell in the 1960s in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. Later in the decade
Decade
A decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....

 he moved from hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...

 into post-bop
Post-bop
Post-bop is a term for a form of small-combo jazz music that evolved in the early-to-mid sixties. The genre's origins lie in seminal work by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock...

 experimentation, playing with Don Cherry
Don Cherry (jazz)
Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...

; in the 1970s, as a member of Sevda led by trumpeter Muvaffak "Maffy" Falay
Muvaffak "Maffy" Falay
Muvaffak "Maffy" Falay is a Turkish trumpeter. Born in 1930 in Kuşadası, he studied trumpet and piano in Ankara Conservatory. In 1960 he entered the radio orchestra under the conduction of Kurt Edelhagen, in Köln...

, he began working with elements of Turkish and Middle Eastern music
Middle Eastern music
The music of Western Asia and North Africa spans across a vast region, from Morocco to Afghanistan, and its influences can be felt even further afield. Middle Eastern music influenced the music of India, as well as Central Asia, Spain, Southern Italy, the Caucasus and the Balkans, as in chalga...

. He also formed his own big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...

 in the 1970s.

In the 1980s Rosengren worked frequently with American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Jazz musicians , including Doug Raney
Doug Raney
Doug Raney is an American jazz guitarist. He is the son of Jimmy Raney.Raney began his career in his father's band, with Al Haig, at the age of 18. He later played in a duo with his father...

, George Russel, Don Cherry
Don Cherry (jazz)
Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...

 and Horace Parlan
Horace Parlan
Horace Parlan is an American hard bop and post-bop piano player.He is noted for his contributions to the classic Charles Mingus recordings Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots....

. Among his activities in the 1990s include an album of songs from Porgy & Bess.

Said About Him

Chris Mosey, a Jazz critique from AllAboutJazz
All About Jazz
All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...

, said in his review of Rosengren's latest CD I'm Flying:
  • "All in all, I'm Flying is a worthy Golden Record."


Jack Bowers, another music critique from AllAboutJazz, wrote in his review of Rosengren's 2009 album I'm Flying:
  • "Rosengren, for his part, is a model of elegance and consistency, inspiring his companions without stealing their thunder. Together they comprise a tight-knit and consistently engaging foursome. Besides blowing superbly, Rosengren wrote seven of the album's twelve selections. - Rosengren rides their talents like an Indy car driver, and the result is an exemplary team effort that is as stylish as it is rewarding."

As Leader

  • Bombastica! with Lars Werner
    Lars Werner
    Lars Helge Werner is a Swedish politician. A construction worker by profession, he was elected the chairman of the Left Party - Communists in 1975 and was a member of the Swedish parliament from 1965 to 1994. During his time as party leader, in 1990, the party changed its name to the Left Party,...

     (Jazzland 1960)
  • Stockholm Dues (Columbia, 1965)
  • Improvisations, SJR (1968/9)
  • Notes from Underground (Harvest, 1974)
  • Bernt Rosengren Quartet with Bobo Stenson
    Bobo Stenson
    Bo Gustav Stenson is a Swedish jazz pianist. Stenson was noted as early as 1963, when he stepped up from the local scene in Västerås to start playing frequently in Stockholm, where he accompanied a long line of visiting American players including Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Gary Burton...

    , 1975
  • Surprise Party, 1983
  • Live!, 1983
  • Summit Meeting, 1984
  • The Hug, 1992
  • Porgy & Bess, 1996
  • Bernt Rosengren Octet plays Evert Taube
    Evert Taube
    Evert Axel Taube was a Swedish author, artist, composer and singer. He is best known for his folk songs, and is widely regarded as one of Sweden's most respected musicians.-Biography:...

    , Arietta, 1999
  • Bernt Rosengren Tentet plays Kurt Weill, Arietta, 2000
  • Inside Pictures - A Tribute to Lars Gullin, Vol. 2 (2002)

As sideman

With Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...

  • Gittin' to Know Y'All
    Gittin' to Know Y'All
    -Track listing:# "Gittin' to Know Y'All " - 23:35# "Gittin' to Know Y'All " - 8:25# "Ved Soerevatn" - 5:00# "For My Two J.B.'s" - 1:06...

    (MPS, 1969)

With Don Cherry
Don Cherry (jazz)
Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...

  • Eternal Rhythm (MPS, 1968)

With Arne Domnérus
Arne Domnérus
Sven Arne Domnérus was a Swedish jazz alto saxophonist and clarinetist, popularly nicknamed Dompan....

  • Face to Face, Dragon, 1999

With Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda was a Polish film music composer and jazz pianist. Perhaps best-known for his work in film scores, Komeda wrote the scores for Roman Polanski’s films Rosemary’s Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Knife in the Water and Cul-de-sac...

  • Knife in the Water, 1962

With George Russell
  • The Essence of George Russell
    The Essence of George Russell
    The Essence of George Russell is an album by George Russell originally released on the Norwegian Sonet label in 1971, and subsequently remastered and released on the Italian Black Saint label in 1983, featuring performances by Russell with Stanton Davis, Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal, Arild Andersen,...

    ‎(Sonet, 1971)
  • New York Big Band
    New York Big Band
    New York Big Band is a live album by George Russell released on the Italian Soul Note label in 1982, featuring performances by Russell with his New York Big Band recorded in 1978 and one track with The Swedish Radio Jazz Orchestra recorded in 1977 at the same concert that produced Vertical Form VI...

    ‎(Soul Note, 1982)

With Tomasz Stańko
  • Litania: Music of Krzysztof Komeda
    Litania: Music of Krzysztof Komeda
    Litania: Music of Krzysztof Komeda is an album by Polish jazz trumpeter and composer Tomasz Stańko featuring compositions by Krzysztof Komeda recorded in 1997 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...

    (ECM, 1997)

External Links

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