Bengt Hallberg (13 September 1932 – 2 July 2013) was a Swedish

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 major ...

pianist, composer and arranger.John Fordha
"Bengt Hallberg obituary"
theguardian.com, 7 August 2013 Born in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, he studied classical piano from an early age, and wrote his first jazz arrangement at the age of 13. At the age of 15 he recorded his first record as a member of a group led by bassist Thore Jederby"Bengt Hallberg"
All About Jazz, 3 July 2013 and in 1949 he recorded with the Swedish alto saxophonist Arne Domnérus for the first time, and the two musicians continued to play together for several decades. During the 1950s, Hallberg played with leading visiting American players, including the tenor saxophonist

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (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 wispy, mellow timbre of ...

, recording "Dear Old Stockholm" (originally "Ack Värmeland du sköna") with him, and alto player

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

in 1951, and trumpeters

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

and

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

in 1953. Jones first recorded arrangement featured Hallberg. In the same period he worked with baritone saxophonist

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 ...

, another leading Swedish player of the time. Both players were associated with the 'Cool Jazz' scene in their country, influenced by the American school around pianist

Lennie Tristano Leonard Joseph Tristano (March 19, 1919 – November 18, 1978) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher of jazz improvisation. Tristano studied for bachelor's and master's degrees in music in Chicago before moving to New Yo ...

, a Hallberg favourite with whom Konitz was associated. Hallberg had a versatile style and in his later years he wrote music for film and television, as well as choral arrangements, and he also played the

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

. With Domnerus and Georg Riedel among others, he participated in the ''

Jazz at the Pawnshop Jazz at the Pawnshop is a multi-session recording made by Gert Palmcrantz on December 6–7, 1976, at Jazzpuben Stampen (Pawnshop) in Stockholm, Sweden. A pawnshop had operated on the site prior to the jazz club. Proprius Records founder Jacob ...

'' sessions in December 1976. According to Chris Mosey, while Hallberg was: "usually an extremely delicate and very measured player, ewas obviously affected by the general ambience, and here and there cuts loose with awesome force".Chris Mose
"Arne Domnerus: Jazz at the Pawnshop - 30th Anniversary Edition (2007)"
All About Jazz, 30 October 2007 Hallberg died from congestive heart failure.Doug Ramse

Rifftides/Arts Journal, 2 July 2013

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With

* '' Stan Getz in Stockholm'' (Verve, 1955) * ''

Imported from Europe ''Imported from Europe'' is an album by saxophonist Stan Getz which was released on the Verve label in 1959.Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

* ''

Jazz Abroad ''Jazz Abroad'' is a split album by American jazz drummer Roy Haynes and Quincy Jones with tracks recorded in Sweden in 1953 and 1954 and released by EmArcy Records, EmArcy.EmArcy EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Clifford Brown ...

, 1955) * '' Quincy's Home Again'' (

Metronome A metronome, from ancient Greek μέτρον (''métron'', "measure") and νομός (nomós, "custom", "melody") is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a regular interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats pe ...

, 1958) also released as ''Harry Arnold + Big Band + Quincy Jones = Jazz!'' (EmArcy)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hallberg, Bengt 1932 births 2013 deaths Philips Records artists Swedish film score composers Male film score composers Swedish jazz pianists 20th-century pianists Male pianists 20th-century Swedish male musicians 20th-century Swedish musicians Male jazz musicians Radiojazzgruppen members Prestige Records artists Columbia Records artists Epic Records artists

Discography

As leader

As sideman

See also

References

External links