Rolf Billberg (22 August 1930 – 17 August 1966) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

alto saxophone player active during the 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

Rolf Billberg was born in Lund, Sweden on 22 August 1930 and was raised by his mother in Gothenburg. At age 17, Billberg began playing clarinet and performed with an

Uddevalla Uddevalla (old no, Oddevold) is a town and the seat of Uddevalla Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. In 2015, it had a population of 34 781. It is located at a bay of the south-eastern part of Skagerrak. The beaches of Uddevalla ...

military band for four years. He then made the switch to the

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

and worked with local bands in Visby, Borås and Gothenburg, going to Stockholm in 1954 to join the Simon Brehm orchestra. From 1954–1955, Billberg worked with Lars Gullin and recorded with him. In 1955, he worked in

Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ...

with the

Lasse Wanderyd Lasse is a common masculine given name in Nordic countries. It is also often a nickname for people named Lars or Lauri. People Notable people named Lasse include: * Lasse Aasland (1926–2001), Norwegian politician *Lasse Åberg (born 1940), Sw ...

orchestra and later for the Ib Glindemann orchestra in 1956. From 1956–1957, Billberg was performing in various American clubs located in

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and

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with vibraphonist Vera Auer. It was during this period that Billberg switched to alto saxophone. In 1957, he began working with the

Carl-Henrik Norin Carl-Henrik Norin (27 March 1920, Västerås – 23 May 1967, Stockholm) was a Swedish jazz saxophonist. Norin first began playing professionally in the early 1940s, including with Gösta Tönne and Thore Ehrling. As a member of Ehrling's ensembl ...

orchestra in Stockholm. Over the coming years, he would work frequently in Copenhagen with groups such as the

Jazz Quintet 60 Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...

and the

Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

. Back in Sweden, he continued his work with Gullin and also worked frequently with

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...

player

Jan Allan Jan Bertil Allan (born 7 November 1934) is a Swedish jazz trumpeter and composer. He is the winner of a Grammis Award, the Swedish equivalent of the Grammys. He has also composed for several films such as '' The Adventures of Picasso'' (1978) ...

. In 1966, he joined the

Danish Radio Big Band The Danish Radio Big Band (aka: DR Big Band), often referred to as the Radioens Big Band is a radio ensemble and big band founded in Copenhagen in 1964 at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). Band history Originally called the New Radio ...

(led by Ib Glindemann), spending the summer in Gothenburg helping to look after his mother's hotel in the city. There he became seriously ill and died on his way to the hospital on 17 August 1966. The liner notes to the CD ''Rare Danish Recordings 1956-1957'' states that:

According to the most credible jazz witnesses in Denmark and Sweden...Billberg was an extroverted artist with a gluttonous appetite for life and all it has to offer – including intoxicants, which came to affect both his emotional and physical health - but never stopped his love of playing in all tempos and keys.*

Music broadcaster Peter H. Larsen has drawn comparisons between Billberg's lyricism and that of Lee Konitz.

Discography

*'' 1955-1956: Lars Gullin with

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

, Vol. 1'' (1955)

Dragon Records Dragon Records is a Swedish record company and label established in 1975 by journalist Lars Westin (born 1948) and pianist Jan Wallgren (1935-1996). It concentrates on Swedish jazz. As of 2002, the company was run by Westin. Dragon has issued se ...

*''Great Lars Gullin, Vol. 1'' (1955) Dragon Records *''Sax Appeal & Trisection'' (1963) by Nils Lindberg (Dragon Records) *''1944-1955, Vol. 3: Late Summer'' (1995) by Lars Gullin (Dragon Records) *''Symphony No. 1 & Jazz From Studio A'' (1998) by Nils Lindberg (Dragon Records) *''50 Years on Stage'' (2002) by Ib Glindemann (Edel Mega) *''

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though Ke ...

with the Danish Radio Big Band'' (2003) Storyville Records *''Darn That Dream'' (2002) Dragon Records *''Brand New! Swedish Jazz, Vol. 9: 1960-1964'' (2004) Caprice Records *''Rare Danish Recordings 1956-1957'' (2005) Storyville Records *''Altosupremo'' (2007) Anagram Records

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Billberg, Rolf 1930 births 1966 deaths Bebop saxophonists Jazz alto saxophonists Swedish jazz saxophonists Male saxophonists People from Gothenburg 20th-century saxophonists 20th-century Swedish male musicians Male jazz musicians 20th-century Swedish musicians