Silje Nergaard (born 19 June 1966) 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 m ...

vocalist and songwriter. She is one of the best-selling jazz artists on the official sales chart in Norway. She became known worldwide after the release of the international bestseller ''Tell Me Where You're Going'' featuring

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

on guitar.

Career

Nergaard entered the music scene at the age of 16 when she accidentally had a jam session with Jaco Pastorius Band in 1982. Her first hit single in 1990, "Tell Me Where You're Going" featuring guitarist Pat Metheny made it to no. 1 in Japan as well as top 10 in Norway and other countries. Her album ''At First Light'' (2001) is the best-selling Norwegian jazz album ever recorded and entered the official sales chart in Norway at No. 1 in its first week. The album ''A Thousand True Stories'', which Nergaard recorded with the

Metropole Orchestra The Metropole Orkest (Metropole Orchestra) is a jazz and pop orchestra based in the Netherlands, and is the largest full-time ensemble of its kind in the world. A hybrid orchestra, it is a combination of jazz, big band and symphony orchestra. Com ...

in 2008, was a great success in both Europe and Asia. Nergaard is one of the few Norwegian artists to have been commercially released all around the globe, on most continents and major music markets including Japan, Brazil, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Nergaard has recorded and performed songs with Al Jarreau,

, Toots Thielemanns, and

Morten Harket Morten Harket () (born September 14, 1959) is a Norwegian vocalist and songwriter, who is the lead singer of the synthpop/rock band A-ha. A-ha has released 10 studio albums to date, and topped the charts internationally after their breakthrough ...

of A-ha. She has had Tord Gustavsen and

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 d ...

as two pillars in her bands.

Vince Mendoza Vince Mendoza (born November 17, 1961) is an American composer, music arranger and conductor, and six-time Grammy Award winner. He debuted as a solo artist in 1989, and is known for his work conducting the Metropole Orkest and WDR Big Band K� ...

received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

Nomination for the Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) Award for the song "A Thousand True Stories" in 2011. In the spring of 2012, Nergaard released her new album ''Unclouded'', based on recordings with her two guitarists Hallgrim Bratberg and Håvar Bendiksen. It was released on 9 March in Norway and 23 March internationally. Nergaard has written 9 new songs for ''Unclouded'' and has two covers on this album: "Human" by

The Killers The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...

and '' The Moon's a Harsh Mistress'' by Jimmy Webb. For ''Unclouded,'' Nergaard has also invited the American guitarist

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 th ...

to contribute along with

Georg Wadenius Georg "Jojje" Wadenius (born 4 May 1945) is a Swedish multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was particularly active during the 1970s and 1980s as a studio and session guitarist and bassist, as well as for a series of albums of childr ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

Personal life

She is married to the singer Heine Totland. They have two daughters and one son together.

Discography

* ''Tell Me Where You're Going'' (Sonet, 1990) * ''Silje'' (BMG, 1991) * ''Cow On the Highway'' (Sonet, 1993) * ''Brevet'' (Kirkelig Kulturverksted, 1995) * ''Hjemmefra'' (Kirkelig Kulturverksted, 1996) * ''Port of Call'' (EmArcy, 2000) * ''At First Light'' (EmArcy, 2001) * ''Nightwatch'' (EmArcy, 2003) * ''Live in Koln'' (EmArcy) * ''Darkness Out of Blue'' (EmArcy, 2006) * ''A Thousand True Stories'' (Columbia, 2009) * ''Jazz Divas of Scandinavia'' with DR Big Band (Red Dot, 2009) * ''If I Could Wrap Up a Kiss'' (Sony 2010) * ''Unclouded'' (Columbia/Sony, 2012) * ''Chain of Days'' (Okeh, 2015) * ''For You a Thousand Times'' (Okeh, 2017) * ''Hamar Railway Station'' (2020) * ''Japanese Blue'' (2020) * ''Houses'' (2021)

References

External links

*
BBC's review of ''At First Light''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nergaard, Silje 1966 births Living people Norwegian women jazz singers Norwegian jazz singers Norwegian jazz composers Norwegian singer-songwriters Melodi Grand Prix contestants Spellemannprisen winners Musicians from Hamar Musicians from Steinkjer Okeh Records artists