Bengt Berger

Bengt Berger (b. August 31, 1942 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish jazz musician (drummer), composer and producer.

Berger has studied north and south Indian music since the 1960s with Pandit Taranath Rama Rao and Mridangam Vidwan P.S. Devarajan and plays tabla and mridangam. During the 70s west African xylophone and percussion in the Ewe Brong-Ahafu och Lo-Birifor traditions in Ghana.

Played in and/or started/led the groups Arbete & Fritid, Rena Rama, Don Cherry, Spjärnsvallet, Archimedes Badkar, Bitter Funeral Beer Band, Stockholms Gahuklubb, Chapter Seven, Enteli, Berger-Knutsson-Spering, Kalousch, Old School, Viltvarning, STRIKE, Grand Slam, BENT och Beches Brew

elected Discography

* ARBETE OCH FRITID Arbete Och Fritid (Sonet) 1970
* ARBETE OCH FRITID Club Jazz (SR) 1972
* RENA RAMA Rena Rama (Caprice Records RIKS LP49/ CD CAP 21723) 1973/2003
* SPJÄRNSVALLET Spjärnsvallet (MNW 57P) 1976
* BENGT BERGER & KJELL WESTLING Spelar (Ett Minne För Livet) 1977
* ARCHIMEDES BADKAR Tre (MNW 78P/MNWCD 78) 1977/2003
* ARCHIMEDES BADKAR & AFRO 70 Bado Kidogo (MNW 91P) 1979
* BENGT BERGER Bitter Funeral Beer (ECM 1179) 1982
* BITTER FUNERAL BEER BAND with Don Cherry & K. Sridhar Live in Frankfurt 82 (Country & Eastern CE09) 2007
* BENGT BERGER'S BITTER FUNERAL BEER BAND Praise Drumming (Dragon) 1987
* CHAPTER SEVEN Thums Up (Caprice CAP 21361) 1988
* ENTELI Enteli (Phono Suecia PSCD 77) 1994
* ENTELI Sagan Om Ringen (SRPROF 637) 1995
* BENGT BERGER Tarang (Rub-A-Dub RUBCD 12) 1995
* BENGT BERGER Travelogue 1 (e-lab) 1996
* ENTELI Enteli live (Amigo AMCD 738) 1997
* BENGT BERGER & ROLAND KEIJSER off spring (Phono Suecia PSCD 92) 1997
* BERGER/KNUTSSON/SPERING Om Natten (Amigo AMCD 880) 1997
* BENGT BERGER'S OLD SCHOOL All Time High (Amigo) 1999
* BERGER/KNUTSSON/SPERING Live Vol. 1 at Glenn Miller Café (Amigo AMCD 889) 2001
* BERGER/KNUTSSON/SPERING Live Vol. 2 at Mosebacke(Amigo AMCD 890) 2001
* MÄKELE/BERGER/KNUTSSON/SPERING Arco Iris (Texicalli IMPALA 007) 2003
* BERGER KNUTSSON SPERING W. FRIENDS: SEE YOU IN A MINUTE - MEMORIES OF DON CHERRY (Country & Eastern CE 03) 2005
* BERGER KNUTSSON SPERING UP CLOSE (Country & Eastern CE 04) 2006

Recorded with DON CHERRY, K. SRIDHAR, NICOLAI DUNGER, STAFFAN HARDE, SKÄGGMANSLAGET, MARIE SELANDER, ANITA LIVSTRAND, DAG VAG, PALLE DANIELSSON, BJÖRN J:SON LINDH, NILS SANDSTRÖM, BERNT ROSENGREN, JAN WALLGREN, TORKEL RASMUSSON,THOMAS MERA GARTZ, CHRISTER BOTHEN, PER TJERNBERG, LENNART ÅBERG, JONAS KNUTSSON, IMPERIET, SKINTRADE, EILERT PILARM, EAGLE EYE CHERRY

Runs the label Country & Eastern. Has produced a number of African folk and classical Indian music as well ascontemporary jazz, folk, and improvised music.

Theatre and stage music

* ”Furit Aestus” ballet by Christina Caprioli,
* Three plays at Unga Klara (”Stormen”, ”R” och ”Vadoran” directed by Etienne Glaser, Suzanne Osten and Pia Forsgren)
* ”Gösta Berlings saga” (tillsammans med Mats Berglund och Johan Söderqvist).
* Music to Susanne Osten's film ”Bara Du och Jag”
* Peter Oskarssons ”King Lear” (tillsammans med Ellika Frisell och Sten Sandell).
* ”MOD - ett teateräventyr” 1996
* ”Van Huygen's Principle” 1996
* “The Actor's ways” 1999-2000 (co-op with Leif Sundberg)
* "Blenda", with Smålands Musik och Teater, Jönköpings Sinfonietta, singers and drummers, 2004-2005
* Texts around the japanske 1500th century writer Zeami for Swedish radio theatre.
* Medeas Barn, directed by Anna Takanen at Unga Klara, 2006
* Around Dantes Inferno, Don Giovanni, Franz Coltrane with Niklas Rådström 2005-2007

External links

* http://www.beche.se/ Bengt Berger's site
* http://www.countryandeastern.se/ Country & Eastern site
* http://www.myspace.com/bengtberger Bengt Berger's MySpace
* http://www.youtube.com/bengtberger Bengt Bergers YouTube