Bernt Rosengren

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 collaborator Krzysztof Komeda 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 led by George Russell in the 1960s in Europe. 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. He also formed his own big band in the 1970s.

In the 1980s Rosengren worked frequently with American Jazz musicians, including Doug Raney, George Russel, Don Cherry and Horace Parlan. Among his activities in the 1990s include an album of songs from Porgy & Bess.

Chris Mosey, a jazz critic from AllAboutJazz, said in his review of Rosengren's CD I'm Flying (2009): "All in all, I'm Flying is a worthy Golden Record." Jack Bowers, also writing for AllAboutJazz, 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."

Awards

He has won five Gyllene Skivan awards in Sweden, in 1965, 1968, 1969, 1974 and 2009.

Gallery

Fotos: Hreinn Gudlaugsson

As leader/co-leader

As sideman

With Lester Bowie

With Don Cherry

With Arne Domnerus

With Krzysztof Komeda

With George Russell

With Tomasz Stanko