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

Laila Dalseth Laila Dalseth (born 6 November 1940) is a Norwegian jazz singer. She was formerly married to the jazz saxophonist Theodor "Totti" Bergh (1935–2012). Career After an early debut in her hometown of Bergen, Dalseth was active on the Oslo jazz ...

. 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

Bergh began to play

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

, and began learning the saxophone in 1952. In 1956, he became a professional musician. He was a regular member of Kjell Karlsen Sextet for three years, in addition to collaborating sporadically with

Rowland Greenberg 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 in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born and died in Oslo. Career With a styl ...

and other musicians on the Norwegian jazz scene as it once provisioned live dance music of good brand. He also made trips on the Norwegian America Ships with the ships' house orchestra on the voyage to New York. Bergh had mustered the America boat in 1960 and succeeded Harald Bergersen as tenor saxophonist in the Kjell Karlsen new big band. In the summer of 1961, the big band's new singer was

, his wife to be. He also was in the lineup for the bands of

Einar Schanke Einar Leonard Schanke (19 May 1927 – 23 February 1992) was a Norwegian composer, pianist, revue writer, theatre director and theatrical producer. He wrote revues for the Edderkoppen Theatre, and later for Chat Noir, where he was also directo ...

(1955–56),

(1960–64, 1974–81), and Per Borthen (1966–). In addition, he played in his wife Laila Dalseth's orchestra. Later, he played tenor saxophone and soprano saxophone with 'Christiania Jazzband' (from 1990) and with 'Christiania 12' (from 1992). He released several albums, and his music is reminiscent of the world-renowned tenorists

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

and

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...

. Knut Borge, ''Verneverdig på tenorsax?'' i

Dagens Næringsliv ''(DN)'' ( Norwegian for "''Today's Business Affairs''"), is a Norwegian daily newspaper focusing on economic and business current affairs. it is the third-largest newspaper in Norway by circulation. Editor-in-chief is Janne Johannessen, appoint ...

(15 February 1992)

Honors

*1994:

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 ...

*1995: The city of Oslo cultural scholarship *1997: The Ella-prisen at

Kongsberg Jazzfestival Kongsberg Jazz Festival or Kongsberg Jazzfestival is an international jazz festival that has been held annually in Kongsberg, Norway, since 1964. Artists Several worldwide great artists have visited Kongsberg during this festival; internation ...

*1999:

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 ...

Discography

*1986: ''Tenor madness'' (Gemini Records), with

Al Cohn Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist ...

*1988: ''I hear a rhapsody'', with

Per Husby Per Husby (born 2 April 1949 in Oslo) is a Norwegian jazz pianist, composer, teacher, civil engineer, and orchestra leader. Career Husby was raised in Oslo together with other jazz enthusiasts like jazz journalist Knut Borge.Egil Kapstad Egil Kapstad (6 August 1940 – 13 July 2017) was a Norwegian jazz pianist, composer and arranger. He wrote the music for more than 50 theatre productions, and composed for film and television drama. Kapstad composed classical works for orchestra ...

(piano),

Ole Jacob Hansen Ole Jacob Hansen (16 April 1940 – 6 March 2000) was a Norwegian jazz musician (drums), known from a number recordings and international cooperation. Career Hansen was born in Oslo, and first established himself on the Oslo jazz scene in To ...

Egil Johansen (musician) Egil "Bop" Johansen (11 January 1934 – 4 December 1998) was a Norwegian-Swedish jazz drummer, teacher, composer, and arranger. Life Johansen was born in Oslo. He was considered already in his teens as one of the best drummers and was a profe ...

(1934–1998) (drums) &

Terje Venaas Terje Venaas (30 March 1947 – April 2025) was a Norwegian jazz musician (upright bass), known from dozens of recordings and a number of international collaborations. Life and career Venaas started playing music within several local bands in ...

(bass) *1991: ''Major blues'', within his own quintet recorded at

Oslo Jazzfestival Oslo International Jazz Festival (Oslo Jazzfestival, established 1986 in Norway) is a Norwegians, Norwegian music event, held in August, with a focus on music form the jazz genre, performed on stages in Oslo. History The pilot project (1984–1 ...

, including

George Masso George Masso (November 17, 1926 – October 22, 2019) was an American jazz trombonist, bandleader, vibraphonist, and composer specializing in swing music, swing and Dixieland. Masso is notable for his work from 1948 to 1950 as a member of the Jim ...

(trombone),

Major Holley Major "Mule" Holley Jr. (July 10, 1924 – October 25, 1990) was an American jazz upright bassist. Early life and education Holley was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. He attended the prestigious Cass Technical High School in Detroi ...

(bass), Egil Kapstad (piano) &

Pelle Hultén Pelle may refer to: * ''Pelle'' (album), a 2000 studio album of the Italian band Punkreas * Pelle (given name) * Pelle (surname) * Pelle Pelle, a fashion brand ** "Pelle Coat", a 2023 song by Lil Durk named after the brand * An enzyme, also known ...

(drums) *1993: ''On the trail'', with

Plas Johnson Plas John Johnson Jr. () (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s " The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and bar ...

*1995: ''Remember'' *1996: ''Warm Valley'' *1998: ''Night Bird'', with Harry Allen &

*2012: ''Totti's Choice'' (Gemini Records), Compilations released posthumously

References

External links

Laila & Totti 145 år
by Bjørn Stendahl at JazzNytt (in Norwegian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergh, Totti 1935 births 2012 deaths Norwegian jazz saxophonists Norwegian jazz clarinetists Norwegian jazz composers Gemini Records artists Jazz musicians from Oslo 20th-century Norwegian saxophonists