Rowland Greenberg

Career

Greenberg's style was shaped by the English trumpeter Nat Gonella. In 1938 he performed as a guest with leading orchestras including Hot Dogs and Funny Boys. Before his music career, he was a top cyclist for SK Rye, becoming Oslo champion in 1937 in the 1000 metres track cycling and 20 km road cycling, and winning the junior national team championship in 20 km road cycling the following year. After trips to England in 1938–39 with Vic Lewis and George Shearing, he became central to Oslo's swing-jazz scene. A 1942 record release was banned by the German regime, and in 1943 he was jailed for breaching the Rytmeklubbforbundet by viewing jazz films. After release from Grini, he was active in Sweden with Cecil Aagaard, Thore Ehrling, and Malte Johnson, and in England with Jimmie Woode and Sam Samson. He toured Norway with his own band from 1948 to 1950, introducing bebop to the country. At the 1949 Paris Jazz Festival he took part in the All-Star Trumpets session with Miles Davis, Bill Coleman, Jimmy McPartland, and Aime Barelli. Charlie Parker joined Greenberg's Sweden tour band in 1950, and he played with Louis Armstrong in 1952. Down Beat gave Greenberg his first chart placing. In the 1950s he played extensively in orchestras led by Egil Monn-Iversen, Leiv Flisnes, and Terje Kjær. He led his own orchestras including Mikkel Flagstad on piano, Totti Bergh on saxophone, Knut Young on bass, Ivar Wefring on piano, and Bjørn Krokfoss on drums until 1981. He performed with Ben Webster at Moldejazz in 1969 and with Teddy Wilson.