Jack Noren (October 19, 1929, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

– March 17, 1990, in Chicago) was a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

drummer and vocalist born in America but best known for his work in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Noren was born in Chicago to parents of Swedish ancestry. He played with

Gene Ammons Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and R ...

and others in the middle of the 1940s before moving with his family to Sweden in 1946. There he worked as a

lumberjack Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...

briefly before joining a Swedish jazz band as a replacement for a sick drummer. This led to time spent touring and/or recording with Thore Jederby (1948–50), Nisse Skoog (1948), Seymour Österwall (1949),

Arne Domnérus Sven Arne Domnérus (20 December 1924 – 2 September 2008) was a Swedish jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Career He began to play the clarinet at the age of 11 but had taken up the saxophone by the time he left school and then turned profession ...

and

Rolf Ericson Rolf Ericson (August 29, 1922 – June 16, 1997) was a Swedish jazz trumpeter. He also played the flugelhorn. Yanow, Scott. Biography ''AllMusic'' Early career Ericson was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He moved to New York City in 1947 and, in 19 ...

(1950–52), and

Lars Gullin Lars Gunnar Victor Gullin (4 May 1928 – 17 May 1976) was a Swedish jazz saxophonist. Career Lars Gullin was born in Visby, Sweden. He was a child prodigy on the accordion. At age thirteen, he played clarinet in a military band and later l ...

(1951–53). In addition to playing with Swedish musicians and ensembles such as Reinhold Svensson (1949), Gösta Törner (1949),

Swede Starband Swede or Swedes may refer to: People *Swede, a resident or citizen of Sweden *Swedes, a Germanic ethnic group *Swedes (tribe), an ancient North Germanic tribe inhabiting parts of modern-day Sweden and Finland Individuals *Swede (nickname), a ...

(1950), Expressens Elitorkester (1950, 1952),

Leonard Feather Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...

's Swinging Swedes (1951)

Bengt Hallberg Bengt Hallberg (13 September 1932 – 2 July 2013) was a Swedish jazz pianist, composer and arranger.John Fordha"Bengt Hallberg obituary" theguardian.com, 7 August 2013 Born in Gothenburg, he studied classical piano from an early age, and wro ...

(1952), Putte Wickman (1952),

Åke Persson Åke Persson (February 25, 1932 – February 5, 1975) was a Swedish bebop jazz trombonist. Biography Persson was born in Hässleholm, southern Sweden and started his music career by playing valve trumpet in school. Persson, known as "the Comet" ...

, and the Scandia All Stars (1953). He also recorded as a vocalist with Jederby (1949), Domnérus/Ericson (1951), and the drummer

Anders Burman Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres via metathesis. In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names fo ...

(1952). Noren's reputation in Sweden was such that he was frequently called upon by visiting American musicians, such as James Moody (1949, 1951),

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

(1950),

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

(1950),

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

(1951),

Lee Konitz Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's ass ...

(1951),

Clifford Brown Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car crash, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Sprin ...

(1953), and

George Wallington George Wallington (October 27, 1924 – February 15, 1993) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Born in Sicily, his career as a pianist began in the early 1940s, when he played with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker and contributed to ...

(1953). In 1954 Noren returned to Chicago, playing with

Eddie Higgins Edward Haydn Higgins (February 21, 1932 – August 31, 2009) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and orchestrator. His performance and composition in 1959's " Cry of Jazz" is preserved in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. Bi ...

(1958) and Marty Rubenstein (1959–60). In 1960 he went once more to Sweden, playing with

Monica Zetterlund Monica Zetterlund (born Eva Monica Nilsson; 20 September 1937 – 12 May 2005) was a Swedish jazz singer and actress. She represented Sweden in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest with the jazz ballad " En gång i Stockholm" ("Once Upon a T ...

(1960) and Nisse Sandström; he also recorded with the radio band of Harry Arnold. After moving back to the United States a few years later, his career dips into obscurity. Jack Noren is survived by his kids and grand kids. One grandson (Shane Noren) currently plays in the Rock band To Begin Anew.

References

*Gary W. Kennedy, "Jack Noren". ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'' online. {{DEFAULTSORT:Noren, Jack 1929 births 1990 deaths American people of Swedish descent Jazz musicians from Chicago American jazz drummers Swedish jazz drummers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Drummers from Chicago