Bernt Rosengren Big Band - 1977 - First Moves

Bernt Rosengren Big Band

1977

First Moves

01. Manhattan Reflections

02. You've Changed

03. My Song Is Blue

04. Felicidade

05. First Moves

06. Det Finns (So Many Things)

07. Beat Me Again

08. Meaning Of The Blues

09. Give Me Peace

Gunnar Bergsten, baritone saxophone

Torbjörn Hultcrantz, bass

Lars Bagge, bassoon, horn

Lennart Jansson, clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano, alto and baritone saxophone

Johnny Martinez, congas

René Martinez, congas

Sabu Martinez, congas

Lars Färnlöf, cornet, flugelhorn

Leif Wennerström, drums

Bernt Rosengren, flute, alto and tenor saxophone

Tommy Koverhult, English horn, soprano and tenor saxophone

Okay Temiz, percussion

Claes-Göran Fagerstedt, piano

Bobo Stenson, piano, electric piano

Anders Lindskog, tenor saxophone

Jan Jansson, trombone

Janus Miezek, trombone

Lars Olofsson, trombone

Lennart Löfgren, trombone

Sven Larsson, bass trombone

Björn Borg, trumpet

Bertil Lövgren, trumpet, flugelhorn

Maffy Falay, trumpet, flugelhorn

Nannie Porres, vocals

Bennie Svensson, vocals

Recorded April 12-15, 1977, at EMI Studios, Stockholm, Sweden.

Rosengren first played professionally at age 19, as a member of the Jazz Club 57, and two years later in 1959, he played in the Newport Jazz Band. Roman Polanski's film score composer Krzysztof Komeda used Rosengren in the performance of his jazz score for Polanski's film Knife in the Water (1962). Rosengren recorded a string of highly regarded albums in the 1960s and 1970s, including Stockholm Dues (1965), Improvisations (1969), and Notes from Underground (1974).

Rosengren played in a sextet led by George Russell in the 1960s in Europe. Later in the decade, he moved from hard bop into post-bop experimentation, playing with Don Cherry; in the 1970s, as a member of Sevda led by trumpeter Muvaffak "Maffy" Falay, he began working with elements of Turkish and Middle Eastern music. He also formed his own big band in the 1970s.

In the 1980s, Rosengren worked frequently with American jazz musicians such as Doug Raney, George Russell, Don Cherry and Horace Parlan. He recorded an album of songs from Porgy & Bess in 1996.

Chris Mosey, a jazz critic from All About Jazz, said in his review of Rosengren's album I'm Flying (2009): "All in all, I'm Flying is a worthy Golden Record." Jack Bowers, also writing for All About Jazz, wrote in his review of the same album: "Rosengren, for his part, is a model of elegance and consistency, inspiring his companions without stealing their thunder. Together they comprise a tight-knit and consistently engaging foursome. Besides blowing superbly, Rosengren wrote seven of the album's twelve selections. – Rosengren rides their talents like an Indy car driver, and the result is an exemplary team effort that is as stylish as it is rewarding