Stian Carstensen (born 5 January 1971) is a multi-instrument

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 ...

musician, entertainer and with

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 ...

(drums) and Nils-Olav Johansen (vocal and guitar), central members of the Balkan-jazz orchestra

Farmers market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...

Biography

Carstensen was born in

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet. General information E ...

and began playing the

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

at the age of nine. He first learned from his father, and later from a classical player which he attended for four years. During this time he played in Norwegian TV, radio, festivals etc. He also toured in America, playing classical music. At the same time he was into swing jazz, and played standard tunes with his father, who was also a bass player. When Carstensen was 15 he started to play electric guitar in a rock band. After a while he resumed his interest in jazz and formed a trio with some local artists. He went freelance for a year or so and then he began to study in the Jazz Program at the Trondheim Musikkonservatorium, with the guitar as a main instrument. During his two years of study 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 ...

(1991–93), he formed the group

Farmers Market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...

. The group was originally a free jazz quintet, until they one day found sheet music with a Bulgarian folk tune in 11/16. This was a great experience for the band members and they practiced day and night to be able to play this asymmetrical music. After a while Carstensen went to

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and visited villages there to collect and study the local folk music. The result of the tour was a live record, Speed/Balkan/Boogie, with singers and musicians from the famous "Le mysteres des voix bulgares" recorded at

Molde International Jazz Festival 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 ...

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 ...

. After this he was totally dedicated to the

Bulgarian music The music of Bulgaria refers to all forms of music associated with the country of Bulgaria, including classical, folk, popular music, and other forms. Classical music, opera, and ballet are represented by composers Emanuil Manolov, Pancho Vladig ...

. He toured a lot with musicians from Bulgaria and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, and learned a lot from them. Besides of being dedicated to this kind of music, he also took lessons in Composition, learned to play the 5-string

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

in bluegrass style, played with various jazz groups (be-bop, and experimental) with

Jon Christensen Jon Christensen may refer to: * Jon Christensen (musician) Jon Ivar Christensen (20 March 1943 – 18 February 2020) was a Norwegian jazz drummer. He was married to actress, minister, and theater director Ellen Horn, Store Norske Leksikon (in ...

and Bendik Hofseth to mention some. In 1997 Farmers Market made their second album, ''Music from the Hybrides'', with saxophonist

Trifon Trifonov Trifon or Trifón (russian: Трифон, link=no) is a given name derived from Greek Τρύφων, Tryphon literally meaning "one who lives in luxury". An archaic transliteration from Greek is Trufon. It is used by Russians and other peoples of ...

from Bulgaria. This was an extreme album with elements of many different styles and ideas from bluegrass in odd meters to Metallica-like versions of traditional Balkan tunes and slick commercial music mixed with

Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

. The album got very good reviews from many contemporary music magazines as well as rock, folk and jazz magazines in Europe. (in Norwegian) In 1998 Carstensen was invited to write commissioned work for ''Vossajazz'' Norwegian Jazz Festival at

Voss Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, Opphe ...

. He wrote some music and put together a band consisting of his colleague Jarle Vespestad, a leading

drummer who also play in Farmers Market, with

Django Bates Django Bates (born Leon Bates, 2 October 1960) is a British jazz musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist, band leader and educator. He plays the piano, keyboards and the tenor horn. Bates has been described as "one of the most talented musici ...

from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, with

Tord Gustavsen Trio Tord is a given name, derived from the elements thor''' meaning thunder, thunder god; and '' meaning peace, beautiful, fair. The name developed as a short form of Thorfrid (Old Norse). Notable people with the name include: *Tord Andersson ...

from Norway, and

Ernst Reijseger Ernst Reijseger (born 13 November 1954) is a Dutch cellist and composer. He specializes in avant-garde jazz, free jazz, improvised music, and contemporary classical music and often gives solo concerts. He has worked with Louis Sclavis, Derek ...

from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The music was performed in April 1998, with great success. The choice of musicians was made carefully, because they each had one thing in common; they were into a lot of styles at the same time. The music was composed in a contemporary spirit, but contained elements from many different styles without being artificial. This seems to be a highlight in Carstensen's career, and he has been working a lot with that ensemble after this. Another highlight was his release of the new record Farmers Market on the German label

Winter & Winter Winter & Winter is a record label in Munich, Germany that specializes in jazz, classical and improvised music. It was founded by Stefan Winter following the demise of his JMT Records label. Since 1997 Winter & Winter has released records by Da ...

, he toured Europe and Japan with this band in 2000. They received very good reviews both for the album and the concert in magazines such as ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' among others. Farmers Market has also played at the world's biggest jazz festival, the

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival w ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, the Netherlands. Carstensen also played with Dutch cello player

. They work as a duo, playing only self-written stuff in various improvisational folk styles. He has studied Bulgarian polyphony in Bulgaria, and rural American Afro-Celtic music in the Appalachians, on a fee from the Norwegian cultural department. He is currently on a two-year state fee to study Bulgarian traditional music. His instruments are: accordion, kaval (Bulgarian flute), bagpipes, guitar, violin, mandolin & banjo. He played the accordionist in the circus band (and the soundtrack) of the 2005

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

Dave McKean David McKean (born 29 December 1963) is an English illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician. His work incorporates drawing, painting, photography, collage, found objects, digital art, and sculpt ...

film ''

MirrorMask ''MirrorMask'' is a 2005 dark fantasy film designed and directed by Dave McKean and written by Neil Gaiman from a story they developed together. The film stars Stephanie Leonidas, Jason Barry, Rob Brydon, and Gina McKee. The music used in the f ...

''. In 2000 Carstensen recorded his solo album, with only his own compositions for ''Winter & Winter'', to be released in 26 countries. John Kellman of

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 ...

recognized Carstensen's commission ''Flip'' for

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 ...

March 2013, as no. 1 of his "Best Live Shows of 2013".

Discography (in selection)

Solo albums

*2004: ''Backwards Into The Backwoods'' (

) *2021: ''Musical Sanatorium'' ( Grappa Musikkforlag)

Collaborations

;With Farmers Market (Stian Carstensen, Trifon Trifonov, Nils-Olav Johansen, Finn Guttormsen,

) *1995: ''Speed/Balkan/Boogie'' (

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 Eidsv ...

) *1997: ''Musikk fra Hybridene (Music From The Hybrides)'' (Kirkelig Kulturverksted) *2000: ''

'' (Winter & Winter), nominated for ''This year's jazz records'' 2001 in Norway *2008: ''Surfin' USSR'' (Ipecac/Tuba) *2012: ''Slav to the Rhythm'' (Division) ;With

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 ...

Arild Andersen Arild Andersen (born 27 October 1945) is a Norwegian jazz musician bassist, known as the most famous Norwegian bass player in the international jazz scene. Career Andersen was born at Strømmen, Norway. He started his musical career as jazz g ...

*1998: ''Sommerbrisen'' (

) *2003: ''Julegløggen'' (Kirkelig Kulturverksted) *2006: ''Høstsløv'' (Kirkelig Kulturverksted) ;With

Iain Ballamy Iain Ballamy (born 20 February 1964) is a British composer and saxophonist. He is considered one of the greatest modern jazz saxophonists. Career Ballamy was born in Guildford, Surrey, and educated at George Abbot School, Guildford, from 1975 ...

*2000: ''Pepper St. Interludes'' (Feral Records), featuring Stian Carstensen with special guests:

Norma Winstone Norma Ann Winstone MBE (born 23 September 1941) is an English jazz singer and lyricist. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is best known for her wordless improvisations. Musicians with whom she has worked include Michael Garrick, ...

Martin France Martin France (born 1964) is one of the top jazz drummers in the UK. He has recorded on over 100 albums and is a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is sponsored by Paiste cymbals Career France began performing at the age of ...

, Matthew Sharp *2004: ''The Little Radio'' (Sound Recordings) ;With

Kaizers Orchestra Kaizers Orchestra is a Norwegian alternative rock band formed on 1 January 2000. They are notable for being among the first non-black metal Norwegian artists singing in their native language to become popular beyond Scandinavia. In 2012, the gr ...

*2001: '' Ompa Til Du Dør'' (Broiler Farm) ;Within

Børre Dalhaug Børre Dalhaug (born 29 April 1974 in Ålesund, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (drums), music arranger and music instructor. Career Dalhaug has worked as a musician since 1995 and done around 800 concerts with bands like The Real Thing ( ...

's «Bigbandblast» *2004: ''

Bigbandblast! ''Bigbandblast!'' (released 24 August 2004 by Real Music Records in Oslo) is an album by the big band Bigbandblast led by Børre Dalhaug. Reception ''Bigbandblast!'' sounds like the drummer of The Real Thing has assembled a hard-swinging big ...

'' (Real Records) ;Duo with

Jimmy Rosenberg Joseph "Jimmy" Rosenberg (born 10 April 1980) is a Dutch Sinto-Romani guitarist known for his virtuoso playing of gypsy jazz. Music career A cousin of Stochelo Rosenberg, Jimmy Rosenberg started playing guitar when he was seven years old. Two y ...

*2005: ''Rose Room'' (

Hot Club Records Hot Club Records is a jazz record label established 1982, by guitarist Jon Larsen in Oslo, Norway.Dregni, Michael (2008) ''Gypsy Jazz: In Search of Django Reinhardt and the Soul of Gypsy Swing'', OUP USA, , p. 229 The label has released over 350 ...

) ;With

Eldbjørg Raknes Eldbjørg Raknes (born 9 February 1970 in Midsund, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz vocalist known for her a cappella vocal performances, innovative improvised vocals and electronic effects. She has collaborated with musicians such as Jon Balke, Ander ...

*2005: ''Små Sanger Mest I Det Blå'' (Bergland Productions), including with

Siri Gjære Siri Gjære (born 1 February 1972 in Trondheim, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz vocalist from Levanger, known for her collaborations with musicians like Tord Gustavsen, Stian Carstensen, Eirik Hegdal, Maria Kannegaard, Jarle Bernhoft, Eldbjørg Ra ...

;With

Mathias Eick Mathias Eick (born 26 June 1979) is a Norwegian jazz musician, and the brother of the jazz musicians Johannes Eick and Trude Eick. He is mainly known from his releases on the jazz label ECM Records. His main instrument is the trumpet, but he als ...

*2007: '' The Door'' (

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...

) ;With

Tora Augestad Tora Karen Elisabeth Augestad (born 10 December 1979) is a Norwegian mezzosoprano, musical conductor and actor. One of Norway's most established classical singers, she focuses on jazz, musical theater, contemporary music, and cabaret. Her stage ...

Music for a While "Music for a While" is a da capo aria for voice (usually soprano or tenor), harpsichord and bass viol by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell. Based on a repeating ground bass pattern, it is the second of four movements from his incidental ...

including

, Martin Taxt and

Pål Hausken Pål Hausken (born 25 August 1980 in Rennesøy, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (drums and percussion), most known from bands like the jazz trio In The Country where he plays together with Morten Qvenild and Roger Arntzen, but also for his ...

*2007: ''Weill Variations'' (

Grappa Music Grappa Musikkforlag (established 1983 in Norway) is a Norwegian music company initiated and directed by Helge Westbye. It is one of the oldest and biggest independent record companies in Norway today. The company represents prominent Norwegian a ...

) *2012: ''Graces That Refrain'' (Grappa Music) *2014: ''Canticles of Winter'' (Grappa Music) ;With

Alexander Rybak Alexander Igorevich Rybak (russian: Александр Игоревич Рыбак) or Alyaxandr Iharavich Rybak ( be, Аляксандр Ігаравіч Рыбак; born 13 May 1986) is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pian ...

& Mats Paulson *2011: ''Visa Vid Vindens Ängar'' (

) (in Norwegian) ;With Gammalgrass *2013: ''Obsolete Music 1'' (Division Records)

References

External links

Stian Carstensen Biography
on

official website
Stian Carstensen potpurri
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Farmer's Market II
on YouTube
Farmers Market - Steroid Train Trip (live, 2008)
on YouTube
Kirsti Huke & Stian Carstensen - A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (JazzLAB)
on

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carstensen, Stian Norwegian jazz pianists 20th-century Norwegian accordionists 21st-century Norwegian accordionists 20th-century Norwegian multi-instrumentalists 21st-century Norwegian multi-instrumentalists Norwegian jazz guitarists Norwegian jazz accordionists Banjoists Bagpipe players Norwegian mandolinists Norwegian violinists Male violinists Norwegian multi-instrumentalists Norwegian musicians Scandinavian musicians Crossover (music) Norwegian University of Science and Technology alumni Musicians from Eidsvoll 1971 births Living people 20th-century guitarists 21st-century Norwegian guitarists Norwegian male pianists 21st-century pianists 21st-century violinists 20th-century Norwegian male musicians 21st-century Norwegian male musicians Male jazz musicians Farmers Market (band) members Music for a While (band) members