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 The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

player active during the 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

Rolf Billberg was born in

Lund, Sweden Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

on 22 August 1930 and was raised by his mother 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 ...

. At age 17, Billberg began playing

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

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 are ...

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 th ...

and worked with local bands in

Visby Visby () is an urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably th ...

Borås Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality) and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 66,273 inhabitants in 2010. Geography Borås is located at the point of two crossing railways, among them th ...

and

, going to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1954 to join the

Simon Brehm Simon Brehm (31 December 1921 – 11 February 1967) was a Swedish double-bass player and, later in life, a record producer and owner of Karusell Records. He was the manager of the singer Lill-Babs and was the leader of the orchestra that play ...

orchestra. From 1954–1955, Billberg worked with

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 ...

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 ar ...

with the Lasse Wanderyd orchestra and later for the Ib Glindemann orchestra in 1956. From 1956–1957, Billberg was performing in various

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

clubs located in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

with

vibraphonist The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

Vera Auer Vera Auer (later Vera Auer-Boucher) (April 20, 1919, Vienna – August 2, 1996, New York City) was an Austrian jazz accordionist and vibraphone, vibraphonist. She was the niece of Leopold Auer. Auer learned classical piano but turned to jazz after ...

. It was during this period that Billberg switched to

. In 1957, he began working with the Carl-Henrik Norin orchestra in Stockholm. Over the coming years, he would work frequently in Copenhagen with groups such as the Jazz Quintet 60 and the Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra. 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 standard ...

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

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 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 ...

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 sev ...

*''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

(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 K ...

with the Danish Radio Big Band'' (2003)

Storyville Records Storyville Records is an international record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark, specializing in jazz and blues music. Besides its original material, Storyville Records has reissued many vintage jazz recordings that previously appea ...

*''Darn That Dream'' (2002) Dragon Records *''Brand New! Swedish Jazz, Vol. 9: 1960-1964'' (2004) Caprice Records *''Rare Danish Recordings 1956-1957'' (2005)

*''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