Jørn Øien (born 19 January 1968 in

Narvik ( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...

) is a Norwegian

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 ...

pianist and keyboard player. He is known from a number of festival performances and record releases, and cooperations with the likes of

Thorgeir Stubø Thorgeir Stubø (12 November 1943 – 22 October 1986) was a Norwegian jazz musician (guitar) and composer. He was the father of Jazz guitarist Håvard, jazz singer Kjersti and theater director Eirik Stubø, and grandfather of electronica musi ...

Kjersti Stubø Kjersti Aasan Stubø (born 25 April 1970) is a Norwegian Jazz musician vocalist, daughter and musical successor of Jazz guitarist Thorgeir Stubø (1943–1986), mother of elektronica musician Mathias Stubø (b. 1992), and sister of Jazz guitaris ...

Ernst-Wiggo Sandbakk Ernst-Wiggo Sandbakk (born 28 September 1957) is a Norwegian jazz musician (drums) and music tescher. Known from a series of concerts, festival performances and records with the likes of DumDum Boys, Thorgeir Stubø, Frode Alnæs, Palle Mikkel ...

John Pål Inderberg John Pål Inderberg (born 6 August 1950 Steinkjer, Norway) is a versatile saxophonist and one of the leading traditional musicians in Norway. His playing synthethises many different styles, not least when in partnership with Norwegian and America ...

Tore Brunborg Tore Brunborg (born 20 May 1960) is a Norwegian jazz musician and composer who plays saxophone. He was born in Trondheim but grew up in Voss where a jazz environment was flowering. Known from numerous appearances with international greats includ ...

Knut Værnes Knut Værnes (born 1 April 1954) is a Norwegian jazz musician (guitar), composer and band leader, known from several recordings in the jazz rock genre. He grew up at Bøler in Oslo, where he became an accomplished guitarist. Career Værnes wa ...

Kjell Karlsen Kjell Oddvar Karlsen (29 July 1931 – 5 May 2020) was a Norwegian band leader, composer, arranger, jazz pianist and organist, and a Nestor of Norwegian music and show business, with a career spanning more than 60 years. He was the father of the ...

Terje Gewelt Terje Gewelt (born 8 June 1960) is a Norwegian jazz musician (upright bass). Career Gewelt was born in Oslo and raised in Larvik, a small town on the southeastern coast of Norway. He started playing guitar at the age of 10, switched to elec ...

, Roger Johansen,

Paal Nilssen-Love Paal Nilssen-Love (born 24 December 1974) is a Norwegian drummer and composer in the jazz, free jazz and free improvisation genres. (in Norwegian) Early life Nilssen-Love was born in Molde, Norway. His parents ran a jazz club in Stavanger, and ...

Per Zanussi Per Zanussi (born 1977) is an Italian–Norwegian jazz musician (double bass, upright bass) and composer, known from several bands and releases such as with Hamid Drake, Louis Moholo, Paal Nilssen-Love, Bobby Bradford, Sabir Mateen, Franklin Kie ...

and

Torstein Lofthus Torstein Lofthus (born 10 March 1977) is a Norwegian drummer and composer who has been a member of the bands Shining, Elephant9, the Mathias Eick Band, D'Sound, and Ebersson/Zanussi/Lofthus. He is married to Hege Lofthus. Career Lofthus has ...

Career

Øien was educated at the "Nord-Norsk Musikkonservatorium" (1987–91), where he studied the music of

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

while he played in bands such as "Stett", "Tutu" and "Corny Horns". Øien participated in the

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

series "Ung norsk jazz" with a trio comprising Trond Sverre Hansen (drums) and Konrad Kaspersen (bass). This led to the formation of a jazz band "Jazz i Nord" from

Troms Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...

, consisting of country musicians, where the trombonist Øystein B. Blix also contributed. This partnership is evidence on the record ''Song, Fall Soft'' (1995) with the vocalist

Marit Sandvik Marit Sandvik (born 19 July 1956 in Harstad, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz singer. Her husband is guitarist Øystein Norvoll and their daughter is the artist Dagny Norvoll Sandvik. Career Sandvik has participated in numerous vocal and jazz gr ...

. In 1996 he led the jam backing band at

Moldejazz Molde International Jazz Festival (MIJF) or Moldejazz (established 1961 in Molde) takes place annually in July, and is known as one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. It was initiated by the local Storyville Jazz Club. Since 1964 it has re ...

Festival, and moved to

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, and settled as one of the most used freelance pianists in the last half of the 20th century in the Norwegian capital. Other cooperation was with

Staffan William-Olsson Staffan William-Olsson (born 13 December 1959) is a Swedish jazz guitarist in the band The Real Thing who has worked with Bob Berg, Lee Konitz, and Palle Mikkelborg. Career He played piano, guitar and drums already at the age of 7, and stud ...

's records ''Smile'' (1998) and ''Oak road boogaloo'' (2000), Alf Kjellman Project,

Beady Belle Beady Belle is a Norwegian jazz band founded by Beate S. Lech with her bassist and husband Marius Reksjø, after having been encouraged to make a record by Bugge Wesseltoft at Jazzland Recordings. Biography Lech and Reksjø studied music to ...

and

Trionic Trionic is an engine management system developed by Saab Automobile. It consists of an engine control unit (ECU) that controls 3 engine aspects: # Ignition timing # Fuel injection # Acts as a boost controller. The numerical prefix 'tri-' in Trion ...

Ole Jacob Hansen Ole Jacob Hansen (16 April 1940 in Oslo, Norway – 6 March 2000) was a Norwegian jazz musician (drums), known from a number recordings and international cooperation. Career Hansen established himself on the Oslo jazz scene first in Tore San ...

Espen Lind Espen Lind (born 13 May 1971) is a Norwegian record producer, songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is one half of the production team Espionage, and together with his long time partner Amund Bjorklund he has written and/or produced ...

's band, Espen Rud Sextett, awarded

Spellemannprisen Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizati ...

1998 for the album ''Rudlende'',

Tine Asmundsen Tine Asmundsen (born 8 April 1963) is a Norwegian jazz bassist, known from her own band, Lonely Woman, playing with David Murray at Kongsberg Jazzfestival 2010. Career Asmundsen was born in Kongsberg, Norway. She started playing bass in Kongsb ...

's "Lonely Woman", and

Geir Lysne Geir Øystein Lysne (born 9 October 1965 in Trondheim, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (saxophone, flute, composer, arranger) and a famous Big Band leader. Career Geir Lysne is a Norwegian conductor, composer, produser and teacher, educate ...

's "Listening Ensemble". Øien is part of the band Oofotr (with two records) and the

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

quintet North. In 2003 he led the "Nordnorsk jazzforum" prosjekt ''Milestones'' and appeared at

together with

George Garzone George Garzone (born September 23, 1950) is a saxophonist and jazz educator from Boston, Massachusetts. Biography Garzone is a member of the Fringe, a jazz trio founded in 1972 that includes bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gullotti. The ...

. He also play in Nils-Olav Johansen Band (2006–), and the band Moment with

Jens Fossum Jens may refer to: * Jens (given name), a list of people with the name * Jens (surname), a list of people * Jens, Switzerland, a municipality * 1719 Jens, an asteroid See also * Jensen (disambiguation) * Jenssi Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) ...

and

Andreas Bye Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The name ...

. Moreover, he played a sentral part in the play "Chet spiller ikke her" at "Torshovteateret" 2009–10. Øien ''Short stories'' (2004) with his own trio Jørn Øien Trio in Oslo, comprising

(bass) and Roger Johansen (drums). Former members were

(drums) and Kåre Garnes (bass). The trio now with

(bass) and

(drums) released the album ''Digging in the Dark'' (2010). In 2011 Erling Wiclund of NRK highlighted him as "one original and brilliant arrangerer in the upper world class". At

Vossajazz Vossajazz or Vossa Jazz (established 19 December 1973) is an international jazz festival in Voss, Norway, which takes place annually during the week before Easter, and which also includes concerts throughout the year. The festival has been led by ...

2014, he appeared within

Ivar Kolve Ivar Kolve (born 31 March 1967) is a Norwegian jazz musician (xylophone, vibraphone, marimba and percussion), the younger brother of the saxophonist Kåre Kolve, and known from several album releases as soloartist and for collaborations with Ma ...

's ''Polyostinat'' experience. Here he performed with an elite team of Norwegian musicians, including

Kåre Kolve Kåre Kolve (born 10 August 1964) is a Norwegians, Norwegian jazz musician (saxophone), and the older brother of the vibraphonist Ivar Kolve. He is known as bandleader of his own Kåre Kolve Quartet, several album releases and the collaborations ...

Ellen Andrea Wang Ellen Andrea Wang (born 10 October 1986 in Gjøvik, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (double bass and singer) and composer. She is the cousin of singer-songwriter Marthe Wang. Raised in Søndre Land, Oppland, she released her debut album, ' ...

and last but not the least

Jarle Vespestad Jarle Vespestad (born 16 April 1966) is a Norwegian jazz musician (percussion), the younger brother of jazz musician Liz Tove Vespestad, and a central member of Tord Gustavsen's projects. Career Vespestad was born in Kirkenes and picked up d ...

. They delivered an indulgent poly rhythmic and poly harmonic treat for the discerning ear.

Works

*Commission for the "Festival of Northern Norway" (1998) *''Steam Loco'', commission for the "Vinterfestuka" in

(2000)

Discography

;As Jørn Øien Trio *2004: ''Short stories'' (Resonant Music) *2010: ''Digging in the Dark'' (Bolage Records) ;With Oofotr *1995: '' Oofotr'' (Norske Gram) *2001: '' Oofotr II'' ( Heilo) ;With

Geir Lysne Listening Ensemble Geir Lysne Listening Ensemble is a 20-piece big band led by Geir Lysne established in 1999. The band has gained international fame, especially in Germany for the performances of Lysnes compositions. The music is in the genre jazz and contemporary m ...

*2002: ''Aurora Borealis – Nordic Lights'' (

Groove Records Groove Records was a subsidiary of RCA Victor records, founded by '' Billboard'' writer Bob Rolontz in 1953 as a rhythm and blues label. The label tried hard to break into the R&B market. Piano Red had its first hit but Mickey & Sylvia was its ...

), Suite For Jazz Orchestra *2003: ''Korall'' (ACT Records), feat.

Sondre Bratland Sondre is a Norwegian masculine given name. The name began to become more common in the 1960s, and became roughly twelve times as popular from 1980 to 1990 before declining in popularity thereafter. As of 2017, there were 9,111 men in Norway with ...

*2006: ''Boahjenásti – The North Star'' (ACT Records) *2009: ''The Grieg code'' (ACT Records) ;With

*1998: ''Smile!'' (Real Records) *2000: ''Oak road boogaloo'' (Real Records) ;With

*2003: ''Cewbeagappic'' *2005: ''Closer'' *2008: ''Belvedere'' ( Jazzland Records) ;With other projects *1995: ''Song, fall soft'' (Taurus/Gemini Records), with

*1997: ''The Alf Kjellman Project'' *1997: ''Rudlende'' (Gemini Records), with Espen Rud Sextett *1998: ''Sympathetic'', with

& "The Sympathy Orchestra» *1999: ''Super Duper'' (

Curling Legs __NOTOC__ Curling Legs Productions A/S (established 1992 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian record label with a catalogue encompassing all styles of jazz and improvised music. It was started by Knut Værnes and Morten Halle to release their own mus ...

), with

*2001: ''Big Band Bonanza'' (2001), with

*2003: ''aLive'' (Hazel Jazz, 2003), with

's Lonely Woman *2008: ''Paradiso'', with Moment *2010: ''Live'', with

Magni Wentzel Magni Wentzel (born 28 June 1945 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (vocals and guitar), the daughter of musicians Odd Wentzel-Larsen and Åse Wentzel, and known for a number of jazz recordings. Career Wentzel started in "Totenla ...

at Oslo Jazz Festival 2003 *2011: '' How High is the Sky'' (Bolage), within Kjersti Stubø Band *2012: ''Northern Arc'' (Curling Legs), with Northern Arc *2012: ''New Surroundings'' (Schmell), within Kåre Nymark Band

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oien, Jorn 20th-century Norwegian pianists 21st-century Norwegian pianists Norwegian jazz pianists Norwegian jazz composers Musicians from Narvik 1968 births Living people Geir Lysne Listening Ensemble members Oofotr members