Olav Dale (30 October 1958 – 10 October 2014) was a Norwegian

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 ...

, orchestra leader and

jazz saxophonist Jazz saxophonists are musicians who play various types of saxophones ( alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone etc.) in jazz and its associated subgenres. The techniques and instrumentation of this type of performance have evolved ove ...

. In addition to saxophone he played other

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

. He received little formal education in music, but he completed studies at the

Voss Folk High School Voss Folk High School ( no, Voss Folkehøgskule) is a private folk school in Voss, Norway. The school is located at the village of Seim west of Vossevangen in Hordaland. It was established in 1895 by educators Olaus Alvestad Peter Olaus Alv ...

and the

Toneheim Folk High School Toneheim Folk High School ( no, Toneheim folkehøgskole) is a folk high school located in Hamar, Norway, which focuses on music. During the 1994 Winter Olympics, it was part of the Hamar Olympic Subsite Village. Alumni * 1973-74: Hans Fredrik ...

(1976–78).

Biography

After the debut 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 ...

(1974) with the ''Voss Storband'', Dale recorded with Bergen-based orchestras like the

Bergen Blues Band Bergen Blues Band (1974 - 1984) was a Norwegian blues band from Bergen, Norway. Biography The band was founded and led by John Magnar Bernes (vocalist and harmonica player, alias «Hungry John»), along with Per Jørgensen on guitar (replace ...

(1975–84),

Bergen Big Band Bergen Big Band (BBB) is a Norwegian big band established 1991 as a continuation of Knut Kristiansen's Bergen Band. BBB is known from cooperations with musicians like Phil Woods, Paquito D'Rivera, Joe Henderson, Maria Schneider, Diana Krall, Si ...

with eg

Knut Kristiansen Knut Johan Bratland Kristiansen (born 14 April 1946) is a Norwegian composer and jazz musician (piano), known from Bergen jazz life primarily for his many interpretations of the music of Thelonious Monk as orchestra leader his own bands with var ...

's ''Monk Moods'' (1980), and with various multi-national orchestras like 'Son Mu' and 'The Gambian/Norwegian Friendship Orchestra'. He also played the winds on several releases with

Dag Arnesen Dag Syver Arnesen (born 3 May 1950) is a Norwegian jazz pianist with a series of album releases. Career Arnesen was born in Bergen, and studied classical piano under Jiri Hlinka at the Bergen Music Conservatory and got a commitment by Den Na ...

, such as 'Ny Bris' and 'Son Mu', and in the Oslo based bands like: 'E'Olen',

Oslo 13 1300 Oslo (active from 1979 in Oslo, Norway) was a Norwegian jazz band originally called Oslo 13 (1979–93), founded and operated the first two years by Bror Hagemann and continuated by Jon Balke. In 1994 the band got a joint leadership with Tr ...

and 'Lille Frøen Saxofonkvartett'. He started his own Quartet in 1995 and ''Olav Dale Quartet'' on the 1997 recording was

(piano),

Sébastien Dubé Sébastien Dubé (born 3 September 1966 in Québec, Canada) is an upright bassist known from several international classical orchestras and jazz ensembles. Career After picking up the upright bass, Dubé attended musical studies at the Conser ...

(bass) and Frank Jakobsen (drums). For the 2007 edition of the ''O. D. Quartet'' the line up is: Erik H. Halvorsen (keyboards), Stein Inge Brækhus (drums), Torbjørn Hillersøy (electric bass), and with this band Dale headed for India in the beginning of 2005 where he toured extensively the years to come. He also contributed on Jan Alexander Grieg &

Arvid Genius Arvid, Arved, Arnvid or Arvydas is a male given name, most common in Scandinavia but also in Iran and Lithuania. In Scandinavia it is derived from Old Norse and means "forest of eagles" or 'eagle wood'. Arvid is a royal male name that is compose ...

' ''Reunion blues'' (1985) and Didrik Ingvaldsen's (''History & movement''). During the 1990s he also played with great international jazz names such as

Philip Catherine Philip Catherine (born 27 October 1942) is a Belgian jazz guitarist. Biography Philip Catherine was born in London, England, to an English mother and Belgian father, and was raised in Brussels, Belgium. His grandfather was a violinist in the ...

, Paquito D'Rivera,

Claudio Roditi Claudio Roditi (May 28, 1946 – January 17, 2020) was a Brazilian jazz trumpeter. In 1966 Claudio was named a trumpet finalist at the International Jazz Competition in Vienna, Austria. While in Vienna, Roditi met Art Farmer, one of his idols, ...

, Gustavo Bergalli,

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began ...

, Andy Shepherd,

Bennie Wallace Bennie Wallace (born November 18, 1946) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. Wallace began playing in local clubs with the encouragement of East Ridge, Tennessee High School band ...

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...

Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to: * Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician * Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress * Maria Schneider (musician) (born 1960), American musician and composer * Maria Schneider (ca ...

Martial Solal Martial Solal (born August 23, 1927) is a French jazz pianist and composer. Biography Solal was born in Algiers, French Algeria, to Algerian Jewish parents. He was persuaded to study clarinet, saxophone, and piano by his mother, who was an opera ...

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, '' Billboard'' maga ...

Mathias Rüegg Mathias Rüegg (born 8 December 1952) is a European musician, composer, and bandleader best known as founder and director of the Vienna Art Orchestra from 1977 to 2010. Biography Born in Zurich, Switzerland, son of linguist Robert Rüegg,Math ...

and

Gianluigi Trovesi Gianluigi Trovesi (born 1944) is an Italian jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He has won various Italian jazz awards. He also teaches in Italy. Early life Trovesi was born in Nembro near Bergamo in Lombardy in 1944. He studied harmony ...

. When Dale died October 10, 2014, after a period of illness, his family constituted a memorial fund. The first recipient of Olav Dale's Memorial Award was his

Band projects

*''Olav Dale Quartet'' with different line ups *''Olav Dale Quintet'' with

(piano), Morten Færestrand (guitar),

Yngve Moe Yngve Moe (4 October 1957 – 17 April 2013) was a Norwegian bass guitarist and founding member of the rock band Dance with a Stranger. Career He started his career in the band Erter, Kjøtt og Flesk (1971–1975), in his home town of Troms� ...

(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) *''Grand Scale'' Trio with

Ole Amund Gjersvik Ole Amund Gjersvik (born 10 December 1963) is a Norwegian Jazz musician (upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the m ...

(double bass) og Stein Inge Brækhus (drums) *

, as Orchestra Leader *''Lille Frøen Saksofonkvartett'' as member (1986–89) with

Odd Riisnæs Odd Riisnæs (born 12 May 1953) is a Norwegian jazz musician (saxophone) and composer. He was born in Oslo, Norway, the son of pianist Eline Nygaard Riisnæs and the younger brother of jazz saxophonist Knut Riisnæs. He is known from a series of ...

(tenor),

Vidar Johansen Vidar Johansen (born 17 December 1951) is a Norwegian former ice hockey player. He was born in Asker, Norway and represented the club Frisk Asker. He played for the Norwegian national ice hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter ...

(baritone) og Arne Frang (tenor) *''Groovy'' (started 2002) as member with Mike Gallaher (guitar), Yngve Moe (bass) and Stein Inge Brækhus (drums) *''Gips Baga Bo Pooh'' (music for kids) as member with

Per Jørgensen Per Jørgensen (born 9 September 1952) is a Norwegian multi-instrumentalist with trumpet as his main instrument, also known for his vocal contributions, in collaboration with Dag Arnesen, Knut Kristiansen, Alex Riel, Jon Christensen (musician), ...

(voice, trumpet and more),

Helge Lilletvedt Helge Lilletvedt (born 13 June 1964 in Bergen, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz pianist, keyboardist, composer and arranger, known from collaborations and album releases with Herborg Kråkevik, Anne Dorte Michelsen, Vamp, Göran Fristorp, Terje Ryp ...

(keyboards) *''Rolf Arild og Olav'' Jazz trio with Rolf Prestø (bass) and Arild Seim (guitar)

Awards

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 ...

1991 in the class Session Musician. *Vossajazz Award 1988 *

Sildajazz Sildajazz is a jazz festival, which is held annually on the second weekend of August, in Haugesund, Norway. The inaugural festival was in 1987. Both domestic and international artists participate at the festival and each year an award Sildjazzpris ...

Award 2008

Discography

As leader

*1997: ''Little waltz'' Olav Dale Quartet (NorCD) *2007: ''Dabrhahi'' (NorCD)

As sideman

With

's Ny Bris *1982: ''Ny Bris'' (

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

) With

*2005: ''Seagull'' (

Grappa Grappa is an alcoholic beverage: a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin that contains 35 to 60 percent alcohol by volume (70 to 120 US proof). Grappa is made by distilling the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems (i.e., the poma ...

) *2007: ''Meditations on Coltrane'' with

The Core ''The Core'' is a 2003 American science fiction disaster film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, D. J. Qualls, Richard Jenkins, Tcheky Karyo, Bruce Greenwood, and Alfre Woodard. The fi ...

(Grappa) *2008: (Grappa) *2010: ''Crime Scene'' (ECM) *2014: ''Another Sky'' (Grappa) With Gambian/Norwegian Friendship Orchestra *1982: ''Friendship'' (Odin)

References

External links

Olav Dale Official WebsiteJazzBasen.noBiography
at

Store Norske Leksikon The ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia'' ( no, Store Norske Leksikon, abbreviated ''SNL''), is a Norwegian-language online encyclopedia. The online encyclopedia is among the most-read Norwegian published sites, with more than two million unique vis ...

– En dag med deg var aldri kjedelig, Olav
at

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 ...

(in Norwegian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dale, Olav 1958 births 2014 deaths Musicians from Voss 20th-century Norwegian male musicians 20th-century Norwegian saxophonists 20th-century saxophonists 21st-century Norwegian male musicians 21st-century Norwegian saxophonists Bergen Big Band members Male jazz musicians Norwegian composers Norwegian jazz saxophonists Norwegian male composers 1300 Oslo members NorCD artists