Beady Belle is a Norwegian jazz band founded by

Beate S. Lech Beate Slettevoll Lech (born 10 April 1974 in Volda, Møre og Romsdal, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz singer, composer and lyricist in modern jazz and related music, raised in Øvre Årdal, Sogn og Fjordane. She grew up in Volda, Møre og Romsdal ...

with her bassist and husband Marius Reksjø, after having been encouraged to make a record by

Bugge Wesseltoft Jens Christian Bugge Wesseltoft (born 1 February 1964) is a Norwegian jazz pianist, composer, and producer, son of jazz guitarist Erik Wesseltoft. Career In 1989, Wesseltoft collaborated with the Knut Riisnæs Quartet and was soon after ...

Jazzland Recordings Jazzland Recordings is a Norwegian jazz and improvised music label based in Oslo, Norway, often associated with nu jazz. It was founded in 1996 by pianist Bugge Wesseltoft to release his "New Conception of Jazz" and operate as a standalone label. ...

Biography

Lech and Reksjø studied music together at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

, and as music students they started several bands together. Their music flows in the landscape between

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and acid-jazz, using upbeat and downbeat

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

roots, using vocal harmonies,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, and strings. However, the music also incorporates elements of several other genres. From 2003, things really start to happen, both commercially and critically, and now Beady Belle is an internationally known band. After a concert in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

during a European tour in 2005, the UK jazz performer

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

came backstage to talk with the band. That meeting sparked a big tour over UK and some concerts in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, with Beady Belle as Cullum's supporting act. In 2008, they appeared at the

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Jazz Festival in Canada. The original band split up in 2015 but vocalist and songwriter Beate S. Lech has since released two albums under the name Beady Belle. Under the name Beady Belle, Lech participated in

Melodi Grand Prix 2021 ''Melodi Grand Prix 2021'' was the 59th edition of the Norwegian music competition Melodi Grand Prix (MGP). The contest served as the country's preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. The competition was organized by NRK and was held ...

and attempted to represent

Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The Norwegian broadcaster, (NRK), used the national selection to decide their representative. Background Prior to the 2021 contest, Norway had participate ...

with the song "Playing With Fire". She did not qualify from Heat 1, and did not win in the Second Chance round.

Band members

(vocals, composer) * Marius Reksjø (bass, programming) * Erik Holm (drums)

Discography

* ''Home'' (Jazzland, 2001) * ''CEWBEAGAPPIC'' (Jazzland, 2003) * ''Closer'' (Jazzland, 2005) * ''Belvedere'' (Jazzland, 2008) * ''At Welding Bridge'' (Jazzland, 2010) * ''Cricklewood Broadway'' (Jazzland, 2013) * ''On My Own'' (Jazzland, 2016) * ''Dedication'' (Jazzland, 2018) * ''Nothing but the Truth'' (Jazzland, 2022)

References

External links

Official site
Jazzland Recordings (1997) artists Norwegian jazz ensembles Acid jazz ensembles Musical groups established in 1999 1999 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Norway with local place of origin missing Melodi Grand Prix contestants {{Jazz-band-stub