Rowland Charles Wentworth Greenberg (28 August 1920 – 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born and died in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Career

With a style inspired by the Englishman

Nat Gonella Nathaniel Charles Gonella (7 March 1908 – 6 August 1998) was an English jazz trumpeter, bandleader, vocalist, and mellophone, mellophonist. He founded the big band The Georgians (Nat Gonella), The Georgians, during the British dance band era ...

, he guested in 1938 in leading orchestras such as

Hot Dogs A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...

and . 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 Sir George Albert Shearing (13 August 191914 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 so ...

, 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, on piano, and

Pete Brown Peter Ronald Brown (25 December 1940 – 19 May 2023) was 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) ...

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, , Frank Hansen, on trombone, and Fred Lange-Nielsen 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, he was also active 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 ...

(with Cecil Aagaard, Thore Ehrling, and ) and England (with Jimmie Woode and ). 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 (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

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 jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

, 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. Greenberg also played with

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 ...

who joined Greenberg in his

tour band (1950), along with

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

(1952), and

Down Beat ''DownBeat'' (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 that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

, who gave Greenberg the first chart placing of his career. During the 1950s, he played extensively in the orchestras led by

Egil Monn-Iversen Egil Ragnar Monn-Iversen (14 April 1928 – 7 July 2017) was a Norwegian musician, one of the most influential modern composers in Norway. He has had many important roles in Norwegian music, film, opera, television, comedy and theater. For so ...

, and Terje Kjær. He led his own orchestras including Mikkel Flagstad on piano,

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

on saxophone, Knut Young on bass, on piano, Bjørn Krokfoss on drums (until 1981), and played with

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

(

Moldejazz Molde International Jazz Festival (MIJF) or Moldejazz (established 1961 in Molde Municipality) 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 1 ...

, 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 music, swing pianist", Wilson's piano style was gentle, elegant, and virtuosic. His style was high ...

Awards

*The first

Buddyprisen Buddyprisen (established 1956 in Oslo, Norway) is an award, given annually by the Norwegian Jazz Forum to a Norwegian jazz musician that has "been an excellent performer and significantly involved in Norwegian jazz by other means". The award was ...

, 1956 *

Gammleng-prisen The Gammleng Award () is a Norwegian culture award created by ''The Fund for Performing Artists'' in 1982, 25 years after the fund was established in 1957. The award's official name is the ''Rolf Gammleng award to performing artists'' (). It's awa ...

veteran class, 1989

Discography

* *
with Kristian Bergheim saxophone, piano, bass, and drums. *

References

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