Rowland Charles Wentworth Greenberg (28 August 1920 in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

– 2 April 1994) was a Norwegian jazz musician (trumpet), seen by many as one of the foremost names in Norwegian

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

in the 1940s and 1950s.

Career

With a style inspired by the Englishman Nat Gonella, he guested in 1938 in leading orchestras such as

Hot Dogs A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a f ...

and Funny Boys. Before his musical career, he was also one of the country's leading cyclists. As a member of SK Rye, he was Oslo champion in 1937 in the 1000 metres track cycling and 20 km road cycling. The following year, he won the team championships at the junior National Championships in 20 km road cycling. After trips to England (1938–39) with Vic Lewis and George Shearing, he was a central part of

's swing-jazz milieu, where he led his own Rowland Greenberg Swing Band (1939–41) with Arvid Gram Paulsen on sax, Lulle Kristoffersen on piano and

Pete Brown Peter Ronald Brown (born 25 December 1940) is an English performance poet, lyricist, and singer best known for his collaborations with Cream and Jack Bruce. Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), , p. 80 ...

on drums. He also led his Rowland Greenberg Rytmeorkester (1940–44), with Gordon Franklin on tenor sax, Arvid Gram Paulsen on alto sax, Robert Normann on guitar,

Kjell Bjørnstad Kjell is a Scandinavian male given name. In Denmark, the cognate is Kjeld or Keld. The name comes from the Old Norse word ''kętill'', which means "kettle" and probably also "helmet" or perhaps "cauldron". Examples of old spellings or forms are '' ...

, Frank Hansen, Lyder Vengbo on trombone,

Fred Lange-Nielsen Fred Lange-Nielsen (28 September 1919 – 28 December 1989) was a Norwegian doctor and jazz musician (bass, vocals), known in the early Oslo environments, and from several recordings. Lange-Nielsen and Anton Jervell were the first to describe Jerve ...

on bass. A record release (1942) was banned by the German regime, and he was jailed for breaching the Rytmeklubbforbundet by viewing jazz films (1943). After his release from

Grini Grini is a district in northeastern Bærum, Norway. Concentration camp The name Grini is best known from the concentration camp of the same name, but this camp lay further west and had no actual connection to the Grini area. History The name ...

, he was also active in Sweden (with

Cecil Aagaard Cecil Aagaard (September 18, 1916 – December 19, 1984) was a Norwegian jazz vocalist and band leader dubbed "The biggest thing in swing" in Scandinavia's jazz milieu. He was active in Norway's swing movement (referred to as ''kløverjazz''). ...

, Thore Erling and

Malte Johnson Malte is a male given name that is mainly used in Denmark, Sweden and Germany, which is from Old Danish ''Malti''. It originated from ''Helmhold / Helmwald'' ("helmet-govern") or from former Low German and Old Danish short form of Old German names ...

) and England (with

Jimmie Woode Jimmie is a variation of the given name James. Jimmie may refer to: * Jimmie Adams (1888–1933), American silent film comedian * Jimmie Åkesson (born 1979), Swedish politician * Jimmie Allen (born 1986), American country music singer * Jimmie An ...

and

Sam Samson Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

). He also toured Norway with his own band (1948–50), including presenting

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrum ...

to the country. Greenberg took part in the "All-Star Trumpets session" (Paris Jazz Festival, 1949) with

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

, Bill Coleman,

Jimmy McPartland James Dugald "Jimmy" McPartland (March 15, 1907 – March 13, 1991) was an American cornetist. He worked with Eddie Condon, Art Hodes, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, and Tommy Dorsey, often leading his own bands. He was married ...

and

Aime Barelli Aime (; frp, Éma) is a former commune in the Savoie '' département'' in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Aime-la-Plagne.Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

who joined Greenberg in his Sweden tour band (1950), along with Louis Armstrong (1952), and

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Ch ...

, who gave Greenberg the first chart placing of his career. During the 1950s, he played extensively in the orchestras led by Egil Monn-Iversen, Leiv Flisnes and Terje Kjær. He led his own orchestras including

Mikkel Flagstad Michael "Mikkel" Flagstad (23 April 1930 – 29 June 2005) was a Norwegian jazz musician (saxophone), son of the cellist Ole Flagstad and nephew of the pianist Lasse Flagstad, the singer Karen-Marie Flagstad and opera singer Kirsten Flagstad. Hi ...

on piano,

Totti Bergh Theodor Christian Frølich Bergh known as Totti Bergh (5 December 1935 in Oslo – 4 January 2012 in Oslo) was a Norwegian jazz musician (saxophone), the younger brother of the jazz journalist Johannes (Johs.) Bergh (1932–2001). He was married ...

on saxophone,

Knut Young Knut ( Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used ...

on bass,

Ivar Wefring Ivar ( Old Norse ''Ívarr'') is a Scandinavian masculine given name. Another variant of the name is Iver, which is more common in Norway. The Old Norse name has several possible etymologies. In North Germanic phonology, several of the elements ...

on piano,

Bjørn Krokfoss Bjørn Krokfoss (born 10 August 1943 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian musician (drummer), known from playing within Magnolia Jazzband (1968) og Stokstad/Jensen Trad.Band (1969), Canal Street Jazzband (1976), in Rowland Greenberg's band (1979). ...

on drums (until 1981), and played with Ben Webster (

Moldejazz Molde International Jazz Festival (MIJF) or Moldejazz (established 1961 in Molde) takes place annually in July, and is known as one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. It was initiated by the local Storyville Jazz Club. Since 1964 it has r ...

, 1969) and

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of many ...

Awards

*The first Buddyprisen, 1956 * Gammleng-prisen veteran class, 1989

Discography

*1970: ''Rowland Greenberg and his Group, Swing is the thing'' ( EMI/

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

) *1981: ''How about you'', with Kristian Bergheim saxophone, Eivin Sannes piano,

Sture Janson Sture () was a name borne by three distinct but interrelated noble families in Sweden in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. It was originally a nickname, meaning 'haughty, proud' (compare the Swedish word ''stursk'' and the Old Norse ...

bass and Per Nyhaug drums. *2001: ''Portrait of a Norwegian jazz artist'' (Gemini Records).

References

External links

gil Monn-Iversen Gil or GIL may refer to: Places * Gil Island (disambiguation), one of several islands by that name * Gil, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran * Hil, Azerbaijan, also spelled ''Gil, a village in Azerbaijan * Hiloba, also spelled ''Gi ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenberg, Rowland Norwegian jazz trumpeters Male trumpeters 20th-century Norwegian trumpeters 1920 births 1994 deaths Musicians from Oslo Gemini Records artists Grini concentration camp survivors Norwegian prisoners and detainees Norwegian people of British descent British people of Norwegian descent 20th-century Norwegian male musicians Male jazz musicians