Bent Fabricius-Bjerre (born December 7, 1924 in Frederiksberg, Denmark), better known internationally as Bent Fabric, is a Danish pianist and composer.

Biography

Bent Fabricius-Bjerre started a jazz ensemble after World War II and founded a label, Metronome Records, in 1950. However, he is best known for his 1961 instrumental "Omkring et Flygel" (literally, "Around a Piano") which became a hit in Denmark. The song was re-released worldwide under the name "Alley Cat" on Atco Records the following year, and went to #1 in Australia and #49 in Germany. The tune also became a hit in the United States; the song hit #2 on the AC chart and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the LP of the same name hit #13 on the Billboard 200. "Alley Cat" also won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The follow-up single, "Chicken Feed", hit #63 in the U.S.

Fabricius-Bjerre had done extensive work in film scores prior to the success of his singles, and continued to work in film for decades after. In 2003, Fabricius-Bjerre returned to the charts, this time in his native Denmark. He released the album Jukebox as Bent Fabric, where he worked with critically acclaimed Danish musicians. The singles "Jukebox" hit #3 in Denmark and "Shake" hit #10 that year. In 2006, a remix of "Jukebox" was released, and the title track became a dance music hit, peaking at #7 on the US Dance/Club Play charts. The album was also re-released in the United States, this time featuring a remix of his famous instrumental song "Alley Cat", among others.

In 2005 he released the compilation album, Kan du kende melodien (literally Do you recognize the melody) featuring some of his most famous and recognized film and TV scores.

On Sunday December 6. 2009, the day before his 85th. birthday, Fabricius-Bjerre played host to a gala-performance of a theatrical concert featuring 24 of his songs. It was performed at the Royal Danish Theatre by a cast of 12 performers, all of whom graduated from the Danish Academy for Musical Theatre. It was developed under The Danish New Works Development Center, Uterus, and directed and choreographed by Tim Zimmermann. Martin Konge was MD.

An interesting fact: in many states of Mexico, both the songs "Alley Cat" and "Chicken Feed" have been adopted by the ubiquitous loudspeaker vans which go around the neighborhood getting children to go outside to buy an ice cream.