Frode Alnæs (born 3 March 1959) is a Norwegian

jazz guitarist Jazz guitarists are guitarists who play jazz using an approach to chords, melodies, and improvised solo lines that is called jazz guitar playing. The guitar has fulfilled the roles of accompanist (rhythm guitar) and soloist in small and large ens ...

and composer, known from cooperation with international artists like

Morten Harket Morten Harket (; born 14 September 1959) is a Norwegian singer who is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop band A-ha. A-ha has released 11 studio albums as of 2024, and topped the charts internationally after their breakthrough hit "Take On Me" i ...

, Magne Furuholmen, Arild Andersen, Jon Balke, Ole Edvard Antonsen, Ketil Bjørnstad, Henning Sommerro,

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

Dee Dee Bridgewater Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...

, Ian Hunter, Bjørn Alterhaug,

Sissel Kyrkjebø Sissel Kyrkjebø (; born 24 June 1969), also known abroad as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano. She is considered one of the world's top crossover sopranos. Her musical style ranges from pop recordings and folk songs to classical vocals and operati ...

, Gustav Lorentzen, and Jan Erik Vold, and appearances in bands like

Dance with a Stranger ''Dance with a Stranger'' is a 1985 British film directed by Mike Newell (director), Mike Newell. Telling the story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain (1955), the film won critical acclaim, and aided the careers of two of its ...

, Masqualero, Jazzpønkensemblet, and Sidsel Endresen Quartet.

Store Norske Leksikon The ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia'' (, abbreviated ''SNL'') is a Norwegian-language online encyclopedia. It has several subdivisions, including the Norsk biografisk leksikon. The online encyclopedia is among the most-read Norwegian publishe ...

Career

Alnæs was born in

Kristiansund Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal counties of Norway, county. The admin ...

. After completing high school in Kristiansund, he attended the Nordmøre Music Folk High School in

Surnadal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Nordmøre Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre is the village of Skei, Møre og Romsdal, Skei. Other ...

1978–79, followed by studies in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

(1979–82), together with Tore Brunborg and Nils Petter Molvær. He was among the first to graduate from the Jazz program at the Trondheim Musikkonservatorium in 1982, where he received top marks in guitar playing. In 1987 Alnæs composed the music to rock opera ''Klæppfesk''. Alnæs was band leader at Moldejazz (1992 and 1994) and at Vossajazz 1993, and appeared with Arild Andersen and Rune Arnesen as a trio at Kongsberg Jazz Festival 1995. In 1996 he attended the Vossajazz with ''Fliflet/Hamre Energiforsyning'', and with The Brazz Bros at Moldejazz (1997).

Honors

Spellemannprisen The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...

(1987) in the class Pop, for the album ''

'' *Spellemannprisen (1989) in the class Pop, for the album ''Dance with a Stranger'' *Spellemannprisen (1994) as This year's '' Spellemann'', with Dance with a Stranger *''Kreditkassens kulturpris'' *''Fylkeskulturprisen i Møre og Romsdal'' *''COOP Norges Musikkpris'' 2001 *''Orkidéprisen'' 2002 *''Kristiansund-prisen'' 2002 *''Fortidsminneforeningens Bevaringspris'' 2002, for Dødeladen og Tollboden i Kristiansund *''Årets Medmenneske'' (Røde Kors) 2001 *''Årets Gromgutt i Møre og Romsdal''

Discography

Solo albums

*1996: ''Frode'' ( Universal) *2013: ''Envy The Man'' (Big Box) *2016: ''Kanestrøm'' (Øra Fonogram)

Collaborations

;With

*1987: ''Dance with a Stranger'' (Norsk Plateproduksjon) *1989: ''To/Fool's Paradise '' (Norsk Plateproduksjon/RCA) *1991: ''Atmosphere'' (Norsk Plateproduksjon) *1994: ''Look What You've Done!'' (Norsk Plateproduksjon) *1994: ''Unplugged Hits'' (Norsk Plateproduksjon), live *1995: ''The Best of Dance with a Stranger'' (Mercury) *1998: ''Happy Sounds'' (Mercury) *2007: ''Everyone Needs a Friend... The Very Best Of'' (Mercury) ;With Masqualero *1988: ''Aero'' ( ECM) ;With Arild Andersen *1990: ''Sagn'' (ECM) ;With Ketil Bjørnstad *1990: ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'' ( Kirkelig Kulturverksted) *1990: ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

'' (Kirkelig Kulturverksted) ;With

*1995: ''Wild Seed'' (

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

) *2007: ''Movies'' Single (

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

) *2008: ''Letter From Egypt'' (Polydor) ;With Ole Edvard Antonsen *1997: ''Read My Lips'' (EMI) ;With Arild Andersen & Stian Carstensen *1998: ''Sommerbrisen'' (Kirkelig Kulturverksted) *2003: ''Julegløggen'' (Kirkelig Kulturverksted) *2006: ''Høstsløv'' (Kirkelig Kulturverksted) ;With Jan Erik Vold *2005: ''Vold synger svadaåret inn'' ( Hot Club) ;With other projects *1983: ''Lone Attic'' (

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

), with Jens Wendelboe *1984: ''Keep Nose in Front'' (Hot Club), with ''AHA'' *1984: ''Silhouette'' (RCA Victor), with Silhouette *1986: ''Dansere I Natten'', with Bjørn Eidsvåg *1986: ''Folk Er Rare!'', with Maj Britt Andersen *1988: ''Interlude'' (Norwegian Composers), with Alfred Janson *1988: ''Constellations'' (

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

), with Bjørn Alterhaug *1988: ''Fullmåne''), with Anne Grete Preus *1988: ''Vertigo'', with Bjørn Eidsvåg *1989: ''Heartache Caravan'', with

*1991: ''Te Sola Rinn'', with Lynni Treekrem *1991: ''Black Rock on Ice'' *1992: ''Nesten Ikke Tilstede'', with

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 often revolve around broken hearts, loneliness, and sorrow. Sometimes, his lyrics include s ...

*1992: ''Æ, Rosalita'' *1994: ''Beat'' (Norsk Plateproduksjon), with Tall Trees *1995: ''Spor Av Ungdom'' (Valley) *1995: ''Strong Love Affair'' ( Qwest), with

*1997: ''Thirteen Rounds'' (

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 m ...

), with Jon Eberson Jazzpunkensemble *1997: ''Towards the Sea'' (Brazz), with The Brazz Brothers *1997: ''Hermetic'' (

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 a ...

), with Deathprod *1997: ''Towards the Sea'' (Brazz), with The Brazz Brothers *2000: ''4G'' (Curling Legs), with 4G ( Knut Værnes, Knut Reiersrud, Bjørn Klakegg) *2004: ''Veldig Respektable Menn'' (Tylden & Co), with '' De Musikalske Dvergene'' *2008: ''Breeze'' (Brazz), with Jan Magne Førde *2008: ''Donna Bacalao'' *2009: ''Make Her Believe'' Maxi-Single (PennyLane), with the XO Project *2010: ''Julefest I Vest'', with "Vassendgutane" and friends *2011: ''Celebrating 30th anniversary'' (Brazz), with The Brazz Brothers

Literature

*''Frode Alnæs – mannen som er en gitar'' (2009) by Stig Nilsson, Schibsted Forlag.

References

External links

*
Dance with a Stranger Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alnaes, Frode 1959 births Living people 20th-century Norwegian guitarists 21st-century Norwegian guitarists 20th-century Norwegian male musicians 21st-century Norwegian male musicians Norwegian male jazz musicians Norwegian jazz guitarists Norwegian male composers Norwegian University of Science and Technology alumni Musicians from Kristiansund Dance with a Stranger (band) members Masqualero members