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Bengt Hallberg
Bengt hallberg in October 2011
Background information
Born	(1932-09-13)13 September 1932 Göteborg, Sweden
Died	2 July 2013(2013-07-02) (aged 80) Uppsala, Sweden
Genres	jazz
Occupation(s)	composer, musician
Instrument	piano

Bengt Hallberg (13 September 1932 – 2 July 2013) was a Swedish jazz pianist, composer and arranger.

Born in Gothenburg, 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 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, recording "Dear Old Stockholm" (originally "Ack Värmeland du sköna") with him, and alto player Lee Konitz in 1951, and trumpeters Clifford Brown and Quincy Jones in 1953. Jones first recorded arrangement featured Hallberg. In the same period he worked with baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin, 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, 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. With Domnerus and Georg Riedel among others, he participated in the Jazz at the Pawnshop sessions in December 1976. According to Chris Mosey, while Hallberg was: "usually an extremely delicate and very measured player, was obviously affected by the general ambience, and here and there cuts loose with awesome force".

Hallberg died from congestive heart failure.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Stan Getz

• Stan Getz in Stockholm (Verve, 1955)
• Imported from Europe (Verve, 1958)

With Quincy Jones

• Jazz Abroad (EmArcy, 1955)
• Quincy's Home Again (Metronome, 1958) also released as Harry Arnold + Big Band + Quincy Jones = Jazz! (EmArcy)

See also

• List of jazz pianists

References

1. Marcus Boldemann (2 July 2013). "Bengt Hallberg har avlidit". Dagens Nyheter. DN.SE. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
2. Doc Rock. "July to December". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
3. ^ John Fordham "Bengt Hallberg obituary", theguardian.com, 7 August 2013
4. "Bengt Hallberg", All About Jazz, 3 July 2013
5. Yanow, Scott. "Bengt Hallberg Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
6. Luca Cerchiari, Laurent Cugny, Franz Kerschbaumer (eds.) Eurojazzland: Jazz and European Sources, Dynamics, and Contexts, Northeastern University Press, 2012, p.220
7. Chris Mosey "Arne Domnerus: Jazz at the Pawnshop - 30th Anniversary Edition (2007)" All About Jazz, 30 October 2007
8. Doug Ramsey "Bengt Hallberg RIP", Rifftides/Arts Journal, 2 July 2013
9. ^ "Prestige Records Catalog: 100, 200 series". jazzdisco.org. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
10. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette (1st ed.). Penguin. pp. 461–463. ISBN 978-0-14-015364-4.
11. "Truddelutt. Bengt Hallberg". DR.
12. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1996). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (3rd ed.). Penguin. pp. 560–561. ISBN 978-0-14-051368-4.
13. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 631. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
14. Mosey, Chris (February 29, 2012). "Jan Lundgren / Bengt Hallberg: Back 2 Back". All About Jazz.

External links

• Bengt Hallberg at IMDb

• 1932 births
• 2013 deaths
• Philips Records artists
• Swedish film score composers
• Swedish male film score composers
• Swedish jazz pianists
• 20th-century Swedish pianists
• Male jazz pianists
• 20th-century Swedish male musicians
• Swedish male jazz musicians
• Radiojazzgruppen members
• Prestige Records artists
• Columbia Records artists
• Epic Records artists