Kristin Asbjørnsen (born 12 May 1971) 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer and composer whose focus is on

improvised music Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of immediate ("in the moment") musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous ...

. She is known for musical projects like Dadafon including with Carl Haakon Waadeland, Krøyt, Kvitretten, and Nymark Collective among others.

Career

Asbjørnsen was born in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

and educated at the Jazz Program at the Trondheim Conservatory of Music,

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 ...

and the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

, (in Norwegian) (in Norwegian) Her style has its roots in the singer-songwriter tradition and includes elements from

African music The continent of Africa is vast and its music is diverse, with different regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres like makwaya, highlife, mbube, township music, jùjú, fuji, jaiva ...

World music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with African Americans, which merged varied African cultural influences with the exp ...

and

. ''Wayfaring Stranger – A Spiritual Songbook'' (2006) was her first solo album, based on African-American spirituals, and the note sheets she inherited from singer Ruth Reese, her former song teacher. The album, as well as an extended European tour, was met with outstanding reviews. (in Norwegian) The album has received a Platinum Disc and nomination for the

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 ...

(Norwegian Music Awards equiv. to Grammy). A live recording, ''The

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1892 – September 26, 1937) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Empress of the Blues" and formerly Queen of the Blues, she was t ...

Songbook'', sheds new light on the songs of legendary jazz and blues singer, sung with the quartet Nymark Collective. In 2005 Asbjørnsen,

Tord Gustavsen Tord Gustavsen (born 5 October 1970) is a Norwegian jazz pianist and composer. He tours extensively worldwide, and he has been a bandleader for a trio, ensemble and quartet at various times, all bearing his name. Early life Gustavsen was born on ...

and Knut Aalefjær were asked to perform together at Molde International Jazz Festival. Two years later the concept was continued with a Norwegian tour. The concerts at ''Cosmopolite'' in Oslo and at the

Nattjazz Bergen International Jazz Festival or Nattjazz, is one of the largest jazz festivals of Norway. The festival has a musical profile with an emphasis on ethnic and jazz, contemporary jazz. It is held annually in late May, coinciding with Festspil ...

Festival in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

in 2007 were recorded. ''The Bessie Smith Songbook'' includes many of the early jazz standards, such as " Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" and "Oh, Daddy Blues". Asbjørnsen made her international debut as a film score composer for the film '' Factotum'', based on the novel of the same name by

Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German Americans, German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambien ...

. Asbjørnsen has featured on a number of album releases, as well as a series of tours and festival performances in Europe. In 2009 she won the Babel Med Mondomix Award. She is a member of the bands Dadafon and Krøyt, and was also in the Kvitretten, who split in 2001. In 2000 she received the

Gammleng-prisen The Gammleng Award () 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 artists'' (). It's awa ...

in the class jazz. For the album ''The Night Shines Like the Day'' she received the

2009 in open class. Asbjørnsen together with the world-renowned a cappella group

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of ''isicathamiya'' and ''mbube (genre), mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with American Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Grace ...

holding concerts in seven different townships in South Africa ''Back to eKasi'', organized by, among others,

Rikskonsertene Concerts Norway () was established in 1967 on the initiative of the Arts Council Norway (), with its main purpose described as follows: "Concerts Norway is to make living music of high artistic quality accessible to all people in the country." The ...

Honors

1999 with ''Krøyt'' in open class for the album ''Low'' *

2000 in the class jazz *

Edvard Prize The Edvard Prize is a Norwegian music award in given by TONO, copyright organization for musicians and composers. The honor, which was given for the first time in 1998, is given each year and is only given to organization members. The goal is to e ...

2000 for the composition ''Silent'' from the EP ''Body Electric'' *''Konon Prize'' 2006 for best film music *

2009 in open class for the album ''The Night Shines Like the Day'' *''Babel Med Mondomix Award'' 2009

Discography

Solo albums

Collaborations

;Within Dadafon *1998: ''Coloured Moods'' (Rim Records) *2002: ''And I Can't Stand Still'' (Rim Records) *2002: ''Release Me'' (Via Music) *2002: ''Visitor'' (Via Music) *2004: ''Harbour'' (Universal Music/

EmArcy Records EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by Bob Shad for the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Cl ...

) *2005: ''Lost Love Chords'' (Milan) ;Within Krøyt *1997: ''Sub'' (

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 ...

) *1999: ''Low'' (Bergland Productions) *2001: ''Body Electric'' EP (Music Network Records) *2001: ''One Heart Is Too Small'' (Yonada Records) ;Within Kvitretten *1996: ''Voices'' (Curling Legs) *1999: ''Everything Turns'' (Curling Legs) *2002: ''Kloden Er En Snurrebass Som Snurrer Oss'' (Curling Legs) ;With other projects *2001: ''Smak Av Himmel, Spor Av Jord'' (

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 ...

), with various artists *2004: '' Seafarer's Song'' (

), with

Ketil Bjørnstad Ketil Bjørnstad (born 25 April 1952) is a pianist, composer and author. Initially trained as a classical pianist, Bjørnstad discovered jazz at an early age and has embraced the emergence of "European jazz". Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian ...

*2008: ''Bessie Smith Revisited Live in Concert'' (Nymark Collective Records), with Nymark Collective *2009: ''

Restored, Returned ''Restored, Returned'' is an album by Norwegian jazz pianist and composer Tord Gustavsen Ensemble recorded in January 2009 and released on ECM later that year. Reception ''The Guardian'' review by John Fordham awarded the album 4 stars. The ...

'' (

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 ...

), within Tord Gustavsen Ensemble

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asbjornsen, Kristin Norwegian women jazz singers Norwegian jazz singers Norwegian jazz composers Norwegian women jazz composers Musicians from Lillehammer Spellemannprisen winners Norwegian University of Science and Technology alumni Living people 1971 births 20th-century Norwegian women singers 20th-century Norwegian singers 21st-century Norwegian women singers 21st-century Norwegian singers Krøyt members