Preface

The answer is no! Despite the discography's title there was no jazz played in Norway in 1905. The first groups using the word jazz about their music emerged in this country ca. 1920. But from 1905 onwards there were recordings of early ragtime tunes, using a little syncopation and played mainly by accordionists. Many of these players toured areas in the USA where Norwegian emigrants had settled, and came back with printed ragtime tunes for concerts and recordings. I have included details of these recordings, when known, as a part of the pre-jazz ragtime music in Norway.

This is an attempt to give all the details about jazz and related recordings by Norwegian musicians, home or abroad according to the commonly used rules of international discography. In addition I have tried to list, as part of each session, the album title on CD-, LP- and EP-issues.

I have included blues recordings only when known jazzplayers are involved, but have not included pure harmonica/vocal/rhythmsection blues groups.

Where no country is given after the city/place of recording, the place is in Norway. Elsewhere countries are given, except for obvious places like Stockholm, Copenhagen, Paris, London, New York and so on. The recording dates shown give the date of recording, not mixing.

I have included unissued material only when I know there is a possibility that it might be issued.

A catalogue number given as Hot Club HCR CD 98/Herman CD 105 indicates that the two issues are absolutely identical. When given as Hot Club HCR CD 98, Herman CD 105, only that special tune is on both issues.

Band names beginning with The - as in The Big Chief Jazzband - will be found alphabetically as Big Chief Jazzband, The.

When Norwegian musicians are playing on part of an album, only the titles with Norwegian participation are included. On albums which have both jazz and other music, only the jazz titles are included.

Please observe that the Norwegian alphabet is used, which means that after z come the letters æ, ø and å, and that the city of Oslo was named Kristiania before 1925.

I have been collecting discographical information about Norwegian jazz since the early fifties, and collaborated with many collector friends. Special thanks to Arild Bratteland, Jan Bruér, Rolf Dahlgren, Jan Evensmo, Willie Holmen, Arne Johnsrud, Hans P. Knudsen, Tord Magnusson, Bjørn Stendahl, Tom Valle, Vidar Vanberg, Lars Westin, Ulf Åbjörnsson, Knut Aarflot and of course numerous musicians who have tried to remember. Harry Nicolausson's "Swedish Jazz Discography", and the magazine he edited for so many years, "Orkesterjournalen", has been a great help, likewise The National Archive of Recorded Sound and Moving Images, Stockholm, The Swedish Centre for Folk Song and Folk Music Research and Swedish Jazz History, Stockholm, and of course the immensely helpful executive director of The Norwegian Jazz Archives, Finn Kramer-Johansen.

No discography is correct or complete. Please send additions and corrections to:

The Norwegian Jazz Archives, Tollbugaten 28, 0157 Oslo, Norway.

Fax: +47 22 42 90 91.

E-mail: info@jazzarkivet.no

Johs Bergh