Bjarne Nerem

Career

Bjarne Nerem got his start on clarinet during World War II, recording with Syv Muntre in 1943 and playing in Rowland Greenberg’s groups. He eventually switched to tenor and alto saxophone as his primary instruments, and in 1947 he moved to Stockholm, Sweden, launching a career there that lasted over two decades. He was among the first to play bebop in Sweden and quickly gained a strong reputation, initially working with Thore Jederby and Santa Skoog from 1947 to 1949. After a three-year stint with Karl Westby’s orchestra at the Rainbow in Oslo, Nerem returned to Sweden for several bands, including Simon Brehm’s from 1952 to 1954 and Harry Arnold’s radio band in 1956. He later played in Carl-Henrik Norin’s group from 1968 to 1971, and appeared on records by Ove Lind, Siljabloo Nilsson, Lasse Sjösten, Arne Domnérus, Monica Zetterlund, Thore Ehrling, and Nils Lindberg. This phase peaked with the 1971 album “How long has this been goin’ on.” In 1973 he moved back to Norway and formed his own Bjarne Nerem Kvartett, which released “Everything happens to me” in 1976, winning the Spellemannprisen that year. The quartet also put out “This is always” in 1984, and Nerem contributed to the solo album “More than you know” in 1987. He appeared on releases with Karin Krog in 1974, Sandvika Storband in 1980, and Kristian Bergheim’s “The rainbow sessions” in 1990. Internationally, he worked with Kenny Davern and Flip Phillips in 1987, and with Al Grey on “Al meets Bjarne” in 1988. He died in Oslo.