Bernt Rosengren

Bernt Rosengren
Background information
Born(1937-12-24)24 December 1937
Stockholm, Sweden
Died15 May 2023(2023-05-15) (aged 85)
Stockholm, Sweden
GenresJazz, hard bop, post bop
OccupationsMusician, composer
Instrument(s)Tenor saxophone, flute

Bernt Åke Rosengren (24 December 1937 – 15 May 2023)[1][2][3] was a Swedish jazz tenor saxophonist. His recordings earned him five Gyllene Skivan awards in Sweden over more than forty years.

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's film score composer Krzysztof Komeda used Rosengren in the performance of his jazz score for Polanski's film Knife in the Water (1962).[3] Rosengren recorded a string of highly regarded albums in the 1960s and 1970s, including Stockholm Dues (1965), Improvisations (1969), and Notes from Underground (1974).[4]

Rosengren played in a sextet led by George Russell in the 1960s in Europe.[3] Later in the decade, he moved from hard bop into post-bop experimentation, playing with Don Cherry; in the 1970s, as a member of Sevda led by trumpeter Muvaffak "Maffy" Falay, he began working with elements of Turkish and Middle Eastern music.[5] He also formed his own big band in the 1970s.

In the 1980s, Rosengren worked frequently with American jazz musicians such as Doug Raney, George Russell, Don Cherry and Horace Parlan.[3] He recorded an album of songs from Porgy & Bess in 1996.

Chris Mosey, a jazz critic from All About Jazz, said in his review of Rosengren's album I'm Flying (2009): "All in all, I'm Flying is a worthy Golden Record."[6] Jack Bowers, also writing for All About Jazz, wrote in his review of the same album: "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."[7]

Awards

Rosengren won five Gyllene Skivan awards in Sweden, in 1965, 1968, 1969, 1974 and 2009.[8] He was awarded the Django d'Or Contemporary Star of Jazz in 2000 and Master of Jazz in 2003.[9] Rosengren was also awarded the Illis quorum in 2010.[10]

Discography

As leader or co-leader

  • Stockholm Dues (Columbia EMI, 1965)
  • Improvisations (SJR, 1968/9)
  • Fly Me To The Sun (Gazell, 1971)
  • Notes from Underground (Harvest, 1974)
  • Bernt Rosengren Quartet / Trio In Stockholm Vol. 1 (Amigo, 1975)
  • Bernt Rosengren Quartet with Bobo Stenson In Stockholm Vol. 2 (Amigo, 1976)
  • First Moves (EMI, 1977)
  • Bernt Rosengren Big Band with Horace Parlan & Doug Raney (Caprice, 1980)
  • Surprise Party (SteepleChase, 1983)
  • Live! Featuring Doug Raney (Dragon, 1984)
  • Summit Meeting (1984)
  • The Hug (1992)
  • Late Date: A Tribute to Lars Gullin (Mirrors, 1994)
  • Plays George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess (Liphone, 1996)
  • Bombastica! 1959-1960 (Jazzland) with Lars Werner (Dragon, 1996)
  • Bernt Rosengren Octet Plays Porgy & Bess (Arietta, 1996)
  • Bernt Rosengren Octet Plays Evert Taube (Arietta, 1999)
  • Bernt Rosengren Tentet Plays Kurt Weill (Arietta, 2000)
  • Bernt Rosengren Octet Plays Evert Taube Vol. 2 (Arietta, 2002)
  • Inside Pictures: A Tribute to Lars Gullin, Vol. 2 (2002)
  • I'm Flying (pb7, 2009)
  • Plays Swedish Jazzcompositions (pb 7, 2012)
  • In Copenhagen (Stunt, 2013)
  • Ballads (pb7, 2015)
  • Songs (pb7, 2017)

As sideman

With Lester Bowie

With Don Cherry

With Arne Domnérus

With Mongezi Feza

With Krzysztof Komeda

  • Jazz Jamboree '61 Nr. 4 (Muza, 1961) – more extensive CD reissues of this concert on Power Bros, Polonia and Jazz on Film; music from Knife on the Water

With Doug Raney

With George Russell

With Tomasz Stańko

With Idrees Sulieman

References

  1. ^ Svenska Gravar (in Swedish)
  2. ^ Jazzmusikern Bernt Rosengren är död (in Swedish)
  3. ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 2146. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  4. ^ "Bernt Rosengren | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  5. ^ See, on his work in the 1970s, Roger Cotterrell, 'Bernt Rosengren' Jazz Forum 43 (September 1976), 23-26, 33.
  6. ^ Mosey, Chris (13 May 2010). "Bernt Rosengren: I'm Flying". www.allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  7. ^ Bowers, Jack (11 October 2009). "Bernt Rosengren: I'm Flying". www.allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  8. ^ Gyllene Skivan Award Rosengren Wins Five Gyllene Skivan Awards in Sweden
  9. ^ "Django d Or läggs på is". Musikindustrin (in Swedish). 13 September 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Bernt Rosengren, tisdagen den 11:e juni". Carlshälls Gård Stockholm (in Swedish). Retrieved 1 June 2022.