Knut Værnes (born 1 April 1954) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

jazz musician This is a list of jazz musicians by instrument based on existing articles on Wikipedia. Do not enter names that lack articles. Do not enter names that lack sources. Accordion * Kamil Běhounek (1916–1983) * Luciano Biondini (born 1971) * A ...

(

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

band leader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

, known from several recordings in the

jazz rock Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

genre. He grew up at

Bøler Bøler () is a south-eastern suburb of Oslo, Norway. It is one of the more picturesque areas of Oslo. Østmarka forest and lake Nøklevann are in its immediate vicinity. Infrastructure-wise, it has a shopping cente two elementary schools, a publ ...

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 ...

, where he became an accomplished guitarist.

Career

Værnes was born in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

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 ...

. He is a graduate from the University of Oslo and has attended master classes at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

, and played within pop and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

bands like «Salt & Pepper», «Shimmy», and the fusion band «Vanessa» with the record release ''City Lips'' (1975). Then musical studies in

and

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

brought him on to the Norwegian jazz scene with albums like ''Anatomy of the guitar'' (1979), in collaboration with his guitar teacher

Jon Eberson Jon Arild Eberson (born 6 January 1953) is a Norwegian jazz guitarist and composer, the son of jazz guitarist Leif Eberson (1925–1970), and the father of keyboardist Marte Maaland Eberson. He was a member of the bands Moose Loose (1973–77), ...

, within

Nils Petter Molvær Nils Petter Molvær () also known as NPM (born 18 September 1960) is a Norwegian jazz trumpeter, composer, and record producer. He is considered a pioneer of future jazz, a genre that fuses jazz and electronic music, best showcased on his most c ...

's funk band «Punktum» and Håkon Graf's «Graffiti». In the 1980s, he studied with

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in the ...

at the

. Værnes led his own Trio and Quartet with co-musicians

Morten Halle Morten Halle (born 7 October 1957) is a Norwegian jazz musician (saxophone), composer and music arranger. He was born in Oslo, and he is known from the city's jazz scene and from a series recordings. (in Norwegian) Career Halle participated in ...

(saxophone),

Edvard Askeland Edvard Askeland (born 10 December 1954) is a Norwegian jazz bassist, known from a series of album releases in various genres and for being regular in Dag Arnesens lineups in 1970-80, and within Cutting Edge. Career Askeland was born in Bergen ...

(bass) and

Frank Jakobsen Frank Jakobsen (born 28 April 1954) is a Norwegian jazz musician (drums), known from a number of recordings, and central to the jazz scenes in Bergen and Oslo. Career Jakobsen was born and raised in Bergen, where he played in local groups li ...

(drums). The Quartet continued as the band Cutting Edge resulting in four album releases. In duo with

Terje Gewelt Terje Gewelt (born 8 June 1960) is a Norwegian jazz musician (Double bass, 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, swit ...

bass was released ''Admission for guitars and basses'' (1992) with their own compositions. ''KVT'' (with

Kim Ofstad Kim Ofstad (born 25 November 1969) is a Norwegian drummer. He is best known from collaborations in the pop/soul band D'Sound where he was a member from its inception in 1993 to 2010 and his work with the production team Element. Career Ofstad ...

drums and

Frode Berg Frode Berg (born 24 October 1971) is a Norwegian bassist known from the scenes of classical and contemporary music, jazz, pop and rock. As a jazz musician, he is known primarily for his performances with Helge Lien Trio, with Knut Aalefjær as t ...

bass) released ''Jacques Tati'' (1995), and with

Danny Gottlieb Daniel Richard Gottlieb (born April 18, 1953) is an American drummer. He was a founding member of the Pat Metheny Group and was co-founder of Elements with Mark Egan. Biography Gottlieb was born in New York City on April 18, 1953. He took lesso ...

, drummer of

Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977. The core members of the group were guitarist, composer and bandleader Pat Metheny; and keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays, who was in the group at its inception. Other long-standing ...

as substitute for Ofstad, ''«8:97»'' (1997) as well as ''Super Duper'' (1999). Knut Værnes Band (Morten Halle,

, Rune Arnesen og Gewelt) released ''Roneo'' (1993). The guitar quartet composed of

Knut Reiersrud Knut Reiersrud (born 12 February 1961) is a Norwegian blues guitarist. His work also incorporates elements of Norwegian traditional music and African music. Reiersrud has recorded and played with David Lindley, the Blind Boys Of Alabama, Rickie ...

Bjørn Klakegg Bjørn Klakegg (born 30 January 1958 in Skien, Norway) is a Norwegians, Norwegian jazz musician (guitar) and composer, known from a number of recordings and cooperations with the likes of Nils Petter Molvær, Sverre Gjørvad, Ernst-Wiggo Sandbakk ...

and

Frode Alnæs Frode Alnæs (born 3 March 1959) is a Norwegian jazz guitarist and composer, known from cooperation with international artists like Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen, Arild Andersen, Jon Balke, Ole Edvard Antonsen, Ketil Bjørnstad, Henning Sommer ...

released «4G» (2000). Værnes has participated on numerous recordings in different genres, including

Geirr Lystrup Geirr Lystrup (born 22 March 1949) is a Norwegian singer, poet, playwright and children's writer. He was born in Vinje. His debut album was ''Ti på taket og Måltrostblues'' from 1972. His album ''Songen om kjærligheta'' from 1981 (a cooperation ...

's ''Songen om kjærleika'' (1980), ''Etterlatte sanger'' (1986)together with

Sidsel Endresen Sidsel Endresen (born 19 June 1952) is a Norwegian singer, composer, and actress. She was part of the Jon Eberson group. Since 1987, Endresen has pursued a successful solo career, recording for ECM. Career Endresen was one of the most prono ...

and

Jonas Fjeld Jonas Fjeld (born Terje Lillegård Jensen; 24 September 1952) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known in the English-speaking world for two albums recorded by Danko/Fjeld/Andersen, a collaboration with Canadian Rick ...

Jan Eggum Jan Eggum (born 8 December 1951) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. He has been characterized as a "face for the melancholy", and the themes in his songs are often broken hearts, loneliness, and sorrow. Sometimes his lyrics include social critici ...

's (''E.G.G.U.M.'' (1995) and ''Stilig'' (1986), and ''Gym'' (1997) with

Di Derre Di Derre is a Norwegian Pop rock band, founded in 1992. They were awarded the Gammleng-prisen in 1996. Band members *Jo Nesbø – vocals, guitar *Espen Stenhammer – drums *Magnus Larsen jr. – bass guitar, vocals *Halvor Holter – keyboard ...

. In 2001 he was awarded

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 the category jazz. His latest release is ''A night in the cassis'' (2004), where his music is arranged for the

Vertavo String Quartet Vertavo String Quartet is a Norwegian group founded in Hamar in 1984. The four women forming the quartet are Øyvor Volle, Annabelle Meare, Berit Cardas, and Bjørg Lewis. They appeared on the album ''A Portrait of Jon Larsen ''A Portrait of Jon ...

. Værnes trio played at the ''Trondheim Jazz Festival'' 2006, and recently he has cooperated with the Swedish double bassist

Lars Danielsson Lars Danielsson (born 5 September 1958) is a Swedish jazz bassist, composer, and record producer. Biography Danielsson was born in Smålandsstenar, and was educated at the Conservatory of music, music conservatory in Gothenburg. He plays doub ...

. Værnes is co-owner of the music companies

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 ...

(1986- ) and Musikkoperatørene, members of FONO (the association for Norwegian independent record labels), sat as chairman of the Association of Norwegian Jazz Musicians for a period, and was chairman of the Committee for

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 ...

. He also teaches at the Nordic Institute for Stage and Studio.

Honors

2001 in the category jazz

Discography

Solo albums

;Within ''Knut Værnes Band'' *1993: ''Roneo'' (

) *2013: ''Tributes'' (Curling Legs) ;Within ''Knut Værnes Trio'' ;Including

(drums) and

(bass) *1995: ''Jacques Tati'' (Curling Legs) ;Including

(drums) and

(bass) *1997: ''«8:97»'' (Curling Legs) *1999: ''Super Duper'' (Curling Legs)

Collaborative works

;Within ''Vanessa'' *1975: ''City lips'' ;With

*1979: ''Anatomy of the guitar'' ;Within ''Cutting Edge'' *1982: ''Cutting Edge'' *1983: ''Our man in paradise'' *1986: ''Duesenberg'' ;Duo with

*1992: ''Admission For Guitars And Basses'' (Curling Legs) ;With other projects *2000: ''4G'', with Frode Alnæs, Knut Reiersrud and Bjørn Klakegg *1980: ''Songen om kjærleika'', with

*1986: ''Etterlatte sanger'', with

and

*1986: ''Stilig'' (Single), with

*1985: ''E.G.G.U.M.'', with

*1997: ''Gym'', with

*2004: ''A night in Cassis'' (Curling Legs), with the

References

External links

Knut Værnes Biography - Store Norske LeksikonKnut Værnes official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaernes, Knut Living people 1954 births Musicians from Trondheim Norwegian jazz guitarists Jazz-pop guitarists Norwegian jazz composers Curling Legs artists Cutting Edge (band) members