Kjetil Bjerkestrand (born 18 May 1955 in

Kristiansund Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of ...

, Norway) is a Norwegian musician (keyboards), composer, arranger and record producer, known as music arranger for artists like

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Keith Emerson, Ian Hunter,

Jon Lord John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with the British rock band Deep ...

Ute Lemper Ute Gertrud Lemper (; born 4 July 1963) is a German singer and actress. Her roles in musicals include playing Sally Bowles in the original Paris production of ''Cabaret'', for which she won the 1987 Molière Award for Best Newcomer, and Velm ...

and a-ha. As a musician, he has participated in recordings with a-ha, Ray Charles, Ute Lemper, Ian Hunter, Dance with a Stranger, DumDum Boys, Jonas Fjeld Band, Marius Müller,

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

, Arve Tellefsen,

Bobbysocks Bobbysocks is a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Norwegian Hanne Krogh and Swedish-Norwegian Elisabeth Andreassen. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with the song " La det swinge" ("Let it swing"). Elisabeth went by the surname Andreass ...

Bjørn Eidsvåg Bjørn Eidsvåg (born 17 March 1954) is a Norwegian pop singer, songwriter, and ordained Lutheran minister. He was born in Sauda, and is a graduate of the MF Norwegian School of Theology. He has released more than 25 albums since his 1976 debu ...

Carola Häggkvist Carola Maria Häggkvist (; born 8 September 1966), commonly known simply as Carola, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s and has released albums ranging from pop and disco ...

and Dee Dee Bridgewater.

Career

As the son and grandson of organists, playing the organ came naturally to Bjerkestrand and he started early to compose music as well. He composed music for several films and television series, many of them in collaboration with

Magne Furuholmen Magne Furuholmen (born 1 November 1962) is a Norwegian musician and visual artist. He was named Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav by King Harald for his services to Norwegian music and his international success. Furuholmen, better know ...

under the name Timbersound. He received

Gammleng-prisen The Gammleng Award ( no, Gammleng-prisen) is a Norwegian culture award created by ''The Fund for Performing Artists'' in 1982, 25 years after the fund was established in 1957. The award's official name is the ''Rolf Gammleng award to performing art ...

in 1988 in the class facility, and for the music to the TV series ''Hotel Oslo'' he received

Edvard Prize The Edvard Prize is a Norwegian music award in given by TONO, copyright organization for musicians and composers. The award, which was first awarded in 1998, is awarded annually and can only be awarded to members of the organization. The goal is t ...

1998 in the class Other form of art, together with Magne Furuholmen. He has produced albums for

Anne Grete Preus Anne Grete Preus (22 May 1957 – 25 August 2019) was a Norwegian rock singer in Norway in the 1980s and 1990s, first as member of the bands Veslefrikk and Can Can and later as a solo act. She released nine solo albums and won the Spellemannprise ...

, a-ha,

Lynni Treekrem Lynni Treekrem (born 26 December 1958) is a Norwegian singer and composer. She was born in Seattle, Washington, US, and grew up in Kristiansund. Her album ''Haugtussa'' from 1995 earned her Spellemannprisen Spellemannprisen, often referred to ...

and

Herborg Kråkevik Herborg Kråkevik (born 28 December 1973) is a Norwegian singer and actress, known for her works with Norwegian folksongs and some stage works and many movies. Her more famous roles being her debut as Eliza in ''My Fair Lady'' (1997) and Julie in ...

. Along with the saxophonist

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 ...

, he has released two albums with Christmas music and hymns. He arranged the music for concerts by Sissel Kyrkjebø in Salt Lake City, in front of The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra. In 2009 Bjerkestrand composed music for the play '' Sangen om den røde rubin'', based on the novel by the same name, together with

. In 2010 he released his first solo album ''Piano Poems'' on the label

Kirkelig Kulturverksted Kirkelig Kulturverksted (KKV) is a Norwegian company and record label, founded in 1974 by Erik Hillestad. Among the musicians who have issued records on the label are Ketil Bjørnstad, Kari Bremnes, Erik Bye, Ole Paus, Sigvart Dagsland, Bjørn E ...

Honors

1988 in the class facility *

1998 in the class Other form of art, together with Magne Furuholmen, for the TV series ''Hotel Oslo''

Film music

*1987: ''Veiviseren'', with

Nils-Aslak Valkeapää Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, known as ''Áillohaš'' in the Northern Sami language (23 March 1943 – 26 November 2001), was a Finnish Sami writer, musician and artist. He was born in Enontekiö in Lapland province, Finland. He lived most of his ...

& Marius Müller *1993: ''Hodet over vannet'' *1994: '' Ti kniver i hjertet'', with

*1996: ''Eremittkrepsen'', short Film *1997: ''Hotel Oslo'', with Magne Furuholmen – (TV series) *1998: ''Solan, Ludvig og Gurin med reverompa'' *1998: ''

1732 Høtten ''Bloody Angels'' (Norwegian: ''1732 Høtten'') is a 1998 Norwegian thriller film directed by Karin Julsrud, starring Reidar Sørensen, Stig Henrik Hoff and Lailia Goody.The film was Julsrud's directorial début Plot In the small village of H� ...

'', with Magne Furuholmen *2001: ''Øyenstikker'', with Magne Furuholmen *2002: '' Karlsson på taket'' *2005: ''Deadline Torp'', (TV series) *2005: ''37 og et halvt'', with Bent Åserud &

Geir Bøhren Geir Bøhren (born 9 June 1951) is a Norwegian musician and film score composer. Bøhren co-founded the group Junipher Greene in 1966, where he was a drummer. The band started playing blues but later changed to progressive rock. It signed its fir ...

*2006: ''Lange flate ballær'' *2010: ''PAX'', with Dhafer Youssef &

Eivind Aarset Eivind Aarset (born 23 March 1961) is a Norwegian guitarist who has worked with Ray Charles, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ute Lemper, Ketil Bjørnstad, Andy Sheppard, Mike Mainieri, Arild Andersen, Abraham Laboriel, Dhafer Youssef, Django Bates, and N ...

Discography

*1994: ''Ti kniver i hjertet'' (film music for ''Ti kniver i hjertet''), with Magne Furuholmen *1995: ''Gull, Røkelse og Myrra'' (

), with

*1997: ''Prima Luna'' (Kirkelig kulturverksted), with Tore Brunborg *1997: ''Hotel Oslo'' (music for the TV series ''Hotel Oslo''), with Magne Furuholmen *1998: ''Hermetic'' (

Rune Grammofon Rune Grammofon is a Norwegian record label founded in 1998 by Rune Kristoffersen. Rune Grammofon's reputation for lovingly issued experimental electronic music, jazz, and improvised music by Norwegian artists has grown over the years with its art ...

) (film music for ''1732 Høtten''), with Magne Furuholmen &

Freddie Wadling Berndt Arvid Freddie Wadling (2 August 1951 – 2 June 2016) was a Swedish singer born in Gothenburg, whose over-thirty-year musical career extended from punk to classical ballads. Band member Wadling played bass in a number of bands during ...

*2001: ''Dragonfly'' (film music for ''Øyenstikker''), with Magne Furuholmen *2010: ''Piano poems (Una Corda)'' (Kirkelig Kulturverksted)

References

External links

Diskografi fra diskografi.noDiskografi fra discogs.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bjerkestrand, Kjetil Norwegian composers Norwegian male composers Norwegian record producers Rune Grammofon artists Musicians from Kristiansund Living people 1955 births Norwegian male pianists 21st-century pianists 21st-century Norwegian male musicians