Bernt Rosengren

Bernt Rosengren – born on December 24, 1937, in Stockholm, Sweden – was an award-winning jazz tenor saxophonist. His musical career began when he became a professional musician at the age of 19 when he a member of the Jazz Club 57 and then joined the Newport Jazz Band in 1959. Three years later, he was chosen by composer Krzystof Komeda to perform on the soundtrack to Roman Polanski’s The Knife in the Water, which led to his career as a band leader. Bernt Rosengren released Stockholm Dues, his first album as a leader, in 1965 and followed that with Improvisationer (1969), Fly Me to the Sun (1971), and Notes from Underground (1974). He also collaborated with many jazz musicians who would visit Sweden to tour or record including George Russell, Lester Bowie, Don Cherry, and many others. Bernt Rosengren would also play in a series of ensembles – from trios to big bands – alongside other jazz contemporaries including Lars Gullin, Nils Lindberg, Lasse Werner, Benny Bailey, and Thad Jones. He continued his recording career with albums such as First Moves (1977) Bernt Rosengren Big Band (1980), Surprise Party (1983), Summit Meeting (1984), The Hug (1993), Gershwin: Porgy & Bess (1996), Face to Face with Arne Domnérus (1999), Plays Kurt Weill (2000), Inside Pictures (2002), I'm Flying (2009), Heartaches with Christina von Bülow (2013), Live at Jazzcup (2013), Ballads (2015), Songs (2017), and Live (2019). Over the course of his career, Bernt Rosengren won the Gyllene Skivan – presented by the Orkesterjournalen, Sweden’s longest-running jazz magazine – a total of five times: 1965, 1968, 1969, 1974, and 2009. He was also the recipient of the Django d'or (2000) and the Master of Jazz (2003) awards. In 2010,he was awarded the Illis Quorum gold medal for his contribution to culture in Sweden. Bernt Rosengren died on May 14, 2023, at the age of 85.

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