Einar Iversen born 27 July 1930

Einar "Pastor'n" Iversen (27 July 1930 – 3 April 2019) was a Norwegian jazz pianist and composer and the son of a "pastor." He went into jazz after World War II ended. Through more than sixty years, he played with everyone in Norwegian jazz. 

Iversen was raised in Oslo where he studied classical piano under Inge Rolf Ringnes, Artur Schnabel and Finn Mortensen. After a year as a sailor and military service in the German Brigade, he quickly established himself in the jazz scene in Oslo during 1949 and played with the vocalist Cecil Aagard. He became a professional musician in 1952, and made his record debut with Rowland Greenberg in 1953.

Like so many other musicians at the time, he had to make a living as a theater musician, but he also played with several big jazz names, both at home and abroad, such as with Dizzy Gillespie at Birdland  on the American boat with alto saxophonist Anthony Ortega and with Modern Jazz Quartet in 1955. He received the Buddy Prize, Norway's highest jazz award, in 1958. 

He was a regular house pianist at the Metropol Jazz Club in Oslo, where he played with musicians such as Dexter Gordon (1962), Coleman Hawkins (1963) and Johnny Griffin (1964). He also collaborated with the Swedish musicians Putte Wickman, Monica Zetterlund and Powel Ramel. He also played with Svend Asmussen and Stuff Smith in Sweden in 1965. 

               "Here's That Rainy Day" from above album.

                              

He led "Einar Iversen's Trio" with Tor Hauge on bass and Jon Christensen on drums and released the country's first jazz trio recording, "Me and my piano" (1967). On "Gemini Records" he released the album Jazz på norsk (1990). The album "Portrait of a Norwegian jazz artist - Einar Iversen" on Gemini Records in collaboration with Oslo Jazz Circle gives a great cross-section of Einar Iversen's career. Other albums followed including  Seaview ("Hazel Records", 2001) With Tine Asmundsen (bass) and Svein Christiansen (drums). Iversen's recent works have been published in Twelve compositions ("Norsk jazzforlag", 2005). 

Iversen received the Order of St. Olav, knight of the first class and he won the Gammleng prize in 1997.

He died on 3 April 2019, aged 88.     (Edited from Salt Peanuts & Wikipedia)