Roger Arntzen (born 3 June 1976) 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 ...

bassist, known from playing in bands like In The Country, Ballrogg, Chrome Hill and Håvard Stubø Trio. He has also previously played within the band Østenfor Sol.

Career

Arntzen was born in

Bodø Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...

, Norway. He picked up playing the accordion at five years of age, changing instrument to the tuba when he was at high school. Later he switched to electric guitar bass, before he eventually became an upright bass player. He attended musical studies 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 ...

(1998–99) and at the

Norwegian Academy of Music The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the co ...

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 ...

(1998–2006). Arntzen has been involved in different bands such as Østenfor Sol, and is now part of bands like the piano trio In The Country accompanied by the pianist and keyboarder

Morten Qvenild Morten Qvenild (born 31 August 1978) is a Norwegian jazz pianist, band leader, and producer. Career Qvenild started his jazz career in the big band Ung Musikk in 1995, followed by studies on the Jazz program at the Norges Musikkhøgskole. He u ...

and the drummer Pål Hausken. In the Country has been active since 2003, releasein five (2014) well received albums, ''This Was The Pace Of My Heartbeat'' (2004), ''Losing Stones'' (2006), ''Collecting Bones'' (2006) and ''Whiteout'' (2009). They were awarded "Young Jazz Musicians Of The Year 2004" in Norway.

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

called their debut album "one of the finest and most arresting albums to come out of Europe" that year, while

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

reviewer John Kelman has suggested ''Whiteout'' as a contender for the "best of" list for 2009.

Honors

*2004: «JazzIntro» Newcomer Awarded as part of In The Country 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 rec ...

, awarded by

Rikskonsertene Concerts Norway ( no, Rikskonsertene) was established in 1967 on the initiative of the Arts Council Norway ( no, Norsk kulturråd), with its main purpose described as follows: "Concerts Norway is to make living music of high artistic quality acces ...

and

Norsk Jazzforum Norsk Jazzforum or The Norwegian Jazz Forum (originally established in 1953, and later reappeared on June 8, 1997 in Oslo, when The Norwegian Jazz Federation and Association Norwegian Jazz Musicians fused into The Norwegian Jazz Forum) is a member a ...

Diskografi

;With Østenfor Sol *2001: ''Troillspel'' (Major Studio) ;With Damp *2003: ''Mostly Harmless (Songs)'' (AIM Records) *2005: ''Hoatzin'' (AIM Records) ;With Subtonic *2004: ''In This House'' (AIM Records) ;With In the Country *2005: ''This Was The Pace Of My Heartbeat'' (

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 ...

) *2006: ''Losing Stones, Collecting Bones'' (Rune Grammofon) *2009: ''Whiteout'' (Rune Grammofon) *2011: ''Sounds And Sights'' (Rune Grammofon), live album including a DVD *2013: ''Sunset Sunrise'' (ACT) ;With Chrome Hill *2008: ''Earthlings'' (Bolage) ;With Ballrogg *2008: ''Ballrogg'' (Bolage) *2010: ''Insomnia'' (Bolage) *2012: ''Cabin Music'' (Hubro) ;With Erik Wesseltoft *2013: ''To Someone I Knew'' (Normann Records)

References

External links

*
In the Country website

Ballrogg website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arntzen, Roger 1976 births Living people 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century Norwegian bass guitarists 21st-century Norwegian male musicians Jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Male jazz composers Norwegian jazz composers Norwegian jazz upright-bassists Norwegian jazz bass guitarists Norwegian male bass guitarists Norwegian Academy of Music alumni University of Oslo alumni Musicians from Bodø Chrome Hill (band) members In the Country members