Rolf Billberg was born in
Lund, Sweden, on 22 August 1930 and was raised by his mother in
Gothenburg. At age 17, Billberg began playing
clarinet and performed with an
Uddevalla military band for four years. He then made the switch to the
tenor saxophone and worked with local bands in
Visby,
Borås and
Gothenburg, going to
Stockholm in 1954 to join the
Simon Brehm orchestra. From 1954–1955, Billberg worked with
Lars Gullin and recorded with him. In 1955, he worked in
Copenhagen, Denmark with the
Lasse Wanderyd orchestra and later for the
Ib Glindemann orchestra in 1956. From 1956–1957, Billberg was performing in various
American clubs located in
Germany and
France with
vibraphonist Vera Auer. It was during this period that Billberg switched to
alto saxophone. In 1957, he began working with the
Carl-Henrik Norin orchestra in Stockholm. Over the coming years, he would work frequently in Copenhagen with groups such as the
Jazz Quintet 60 and the
Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra. Back in Sweden, he continued his work with Gullin and also worked frequently with
trumpet player
Jan Allan. In 1966, he joined the
Danish Radio Big Band (led by
Ib Glindemann), spending the summer in
Gothenburg helping to look after his mother's hotel in the city. There he became seriously ill and died on his way to the hospital on 17 August 1966. Music
broadcaster Peter H. Larsen has drawn comparisons between Billberg's lyricism and that of
Lee Konitz. ==Discography==