Håkon Games Kornstad (born 5 April 1977 in

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 ...

, Norway) is a

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 ...

jazz musician (

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

bass saxophone The bass saxophone is one of the lowest-pitched members of the saxophone family—larger and lower than the more common baritone saxophone. It was likely the first type of saxophone built by Adolphe Sax, as first observed by Berlioz in 1842. It ...

, flute and

live looping Live looping is the recording and playback of a piece of music in real-time using either dedicated hardware devices, called loopers or phrase samplers, or software running on a computer with an audio interface. Musicians can loop with either loo ...

) and classically trained singer (

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

), known from bands such as Wibutee and Kornstad Trio, and collaborations with musicians such as

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) ...

Anja Garbarek Anja Garbarek (born 24 July 1970 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. She was raised in Oslo. Career Garbarek's debut album, ''Velkommen Inn'' (1992), is sung in Norwegian. She subsequently released three original albums contai ...

Live Maria Roggen Live Maria Roggen (born 22 March 1970) is a Norwegian jazz singer, songwriter and composer. Roggen was born in Oslo and educated at Foss High School (violin and vocals). She studied sociology and Musicology intermediate at the University of Osl ...

Bugge Wesseltoft Jens Christian Bugge Wesseltoft (born 1 February 1964) is a Norwegian jazz pianist, composer, and producer, son of jazz guitarist Erik Wesseltoft. Career In 1989, Wesseltoft collaborated with the Knut Riisnæs Quartet and was soon after ...

Sidsel Endresen Sidsel Endresen (born 19 June 1952) is a Norwegian singer, composer, and actress. She was part of the Jon Eberson group. Since 1987, Endresen has pursued a successful solo career, recording for ECM. Career Endresen was one of the most pronou ...

Paal Nilssen-Love Paal Nilssen-Love (born 24 December 1974) is a Norwegian drummer and composer in the jazz, free jazz and free improvisation genres. (in Norwegian) Early life Nilssen-Love was born in Molde, Norway. His parents ran a jazz club in Stavanger, and h ...

Mats Eilertsen Mats Eilertsen (born 4 March 1975) is a Norwegian jazz musician and composer. He is known for recording with numerous bands, including the Maria Kannegaard Trio, Ola Kvernberg, Nils Økland, Eldbjørg Raknes, Anders Aarum Trio, Eirik Hegdal, Sv ...

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 ...

, Jon Christensen,

Eivind Aarset Eivind Aarset (born 23 March 1961) is a Norwegian guitarist who has worked with Ray Charles, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ute Lemper, Ketil Bjørnstad, Andy Sheppard, Mike Mainieri, Arild Andersen, Abraham Laboriel, Dhafer Youssef, Django Bates, and N ...

, and

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 ...

Career

HåkonKornstad-TenorBattle1-Vossajazz2016

Kornstad was educated in the Jazz Program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium. During his studies he founded the jazz trio Triangle, together with

Per Zanussi Per Zanussi (born 1977) is an Italian–Norwegian jazz musician (double bass, upright bass) and composer, known from several bands and releases such as with Hamid Drake, Louis Moholo, Paal Nilssen-Love, Bobby Bradford, Sabir Mateen, Franklin Kie ...

(bass) and

Wetle Holte Wetle Holte (born 4 September 1973) is a Norwegian drummer and composer known for his collaborations with Silje Neergård, Kirsti Huke, Eivind Aarset, Wibutee, Bugge Wesseltoft, Anja Garbarek, and others. Life and career Holte was born in Ski ...

(drums). Later,

Erlend Skomsvoll Erlend Fredrik Skomsvoll (born 12 May 1969) is a Norwegian jazz musician (piano, keyboards, accordion, and tuba), band leader, composer and arranger, known from his own band Skomsork and the band Wibutee with Live Maria Roggen, Madrugada, and K ...

(piano) and

(vocals) joined the band, and this lineup evolved to become the band Wibutee (1998). He also put together the Håkon Kornstad Trio with

and

(1998–2003). Kornstad's collaboration with

Håvard Wiik Håvard Skarpnes Wiik (born 10 March 1975) is a Norwegian jazz pianist and composer, known from a number of recordings with bands like Atomic, and performances with musicians like Petter Wettre, Ola Kvernberg and Stian Carstensen. Career Wi ...

was manifested in two albums of duo recordings in 2001. He was involved with the free improvisation bands Tri-Dim and No Spaghetti Edition, and started the band Atomic in 2000. Kornstad has also been part of the bands of

(1999–2003),

(2006–), and

(2008–). Since 2003 Kornstad has focused on his solo projects, in which he plays acoustic saxophones along with electronics in an improvised setting, usually giving solo performances. These have also featured guest appearances from

Ingebrigt Håker Flaten Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (born 23 September 1971 in Oppdal, Norway) is a Norwegian bassist active in the jazz and free jazz genres. (in Norwegian) Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian) Career Flaten played electric bass in local funk trio ' ...

, Jon Christensen and beatboxer Julian Sommerfelt. In addition to saxophones and electronics, Kornstad plays something he calls the "flutonett", which is a flute coupled with a clarinet mouthpiece. During a stay in New York in 2009 Kornstad became interested in opera, and began taking singing lessons with teachers there. From the autumn of 2011 he has been a student at ''Operahøgskolen'' (

KHiO The Oslo National Academy of the Arts ( no, Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo, ''KHiO'') is a university college in Oslo, Norway, that provides education in visual arts, design and performing arts. It is one of two public institutes of higher learning in ...

), and debuted as a tenor singer in '' Den Norske Opera'' in February 2012 as ''Il Podesta'' in a student production of the Mozart opera ''

La finta giardiniera ' ("The Pretend Garden-Girl"), K. 196, is an Italian-language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart wrote it in Munich in January 1775 when he was 18 years old and it received its first performance on 13 January at the in Munich. There is deb ...

''. In 2011 he was nominated for the

Spellemannprisen Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizat ...

, in the category of This Year's Jazz Record, for ''Symphonies in My Head'' (Jazzland, 2011). He then presented his new project, ''Tenor Battle'', combining opera and jazz, at the International Jazz Festival

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 ...

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

. The new band could best be described as a sort of updated salon orchestra, inspired by the LP era, where jazz standards coexist with opera arias and ballads are followed by improvisations in the known Kornstad style. Kornstad is known as one of the premier Norwegian saxophonists, with a tone so hot that one can be melted freely, his voice has the same impact.

Honors

*2002:

Kongsberg Jazz Award Kongsberg Jazz Festival or Kongsberg Jazzfestival is an international jazz festival that has been held annually in Kongsberg, Norway, since 1964. Artists Several worldwide great artists have visited Kongsberg during this festival; internation ...

, within the ''Håkon Kornstad Trio'' *2012: Enlisted as "Talent deserving further recognition" on tenor saxophone in

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 ...

's annual critics poll *2014: Guinness Jazz in Europe Award *2015: Buddyprisen

Discography

As leader

;Solo albums *''Single Engine'' (

Jazzland Recordings Jazzland Recordings is a Norwegian jazz and improvised music label based in Oslo, Norway, often associated with nu jazz. It was founded in 1996 by pianist Bugge Wesseltoft to release his "New Conception of Jazz" and operate as a standalone label. ...

, 2007), with

( Hammond B3 Organ),

(guitar),

(double bass) *''Dwell Time'' (Jazzland Recordings, 2009), with recordings from ''Sofienberg kirke'', (

Jan Erik Kongshaug Jan Erik Kongshaug (4 July 1944 – 5 November 2019) was a Norwegian sound engineer, jazz guitarist, and composer. Career Kongshaug was born in Trondheim, the son of guitarist John Kongshaug. Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian) During his ch ...

(sound engineer), produced by Kornstad) *''Symphonies in My Head'' (Jazzland Recordings, 2011), with recordings from ''Sofienberg kirke'', (produced by Kornstad) ;With Håkon Kornstad Trio *''Space available'' (Jazzland Recordings, 2001) *''Live from Kongsberg'' (Jazzland Recordings, 2003) ;With Håkon Kornstad Band *''Tenor Battle'' (Jazzland Recordings, 2015) ;With Kornstad Ensemble and the

Norwegian Radio Orchestra The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Norwegian, ''Kringkastingsorkestret'', abbreviated as KORK) is a radio orchestra affiliated with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (''Norsk rikskringkasting AS'', or NRK). Its principal base is the ''Store Studi ...

*''Kornstad + KORK Live'' (

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 ...

, 2017)

As co-leader

;With '' Wibutee'' *''Newborn Thing'' (Jazzland Recordings, 1998) *''Eight Domestic Challenges'' (Jazzland Recordings, 2001) *''Playmachine'' (Jazzland Recordings, 2004) *''Sweet Mental'' (Sonne Disk, 2006) ;With ''Tri-Dim'' *''Tri-Dimprovisations'' (bp, 1999) *''Tri-Dim feat. Barry Guy'' (Sofa Recordings, 2001) ;With

(duo) *''Eight Tunes We Like'' (Moserobie, 2005) *''The Bad and the Beautiful'' (Moserobie, 2006) ;With Maria Kannegaard *''Maryland'' (Moserobie, 2008) *''Maryland – Live!'' (Moserobie, 2009) ;With

and Jon Christensen *''Mitt hjerte alltid vanker'' (Compunctio, 2011) *''Mitt hjerte alltid vanker II'' (Compunctio, 2011) ;With others *''Schlinger'' (Smalltown Supersound, 2003), with

*''Jazzland Community'' (Jazzland Recordings, 2007), with various artists *''Rite'' (Grappa, 2008), with Unni Løvlid *''Elise'' (Compunctio, 2008), with Ingebrigt Håker Flaten

As sideman

;With ''

'' *''A Passion for John Donne'' (ECM, 2014) ;With ''Sternklang'' *''My Time is Yours'' (, 2003) *''Transistor Beach'' (, 2006) ;With ''No Spaghetti Edition'' *''Listen ... and tell me what it was'' (Sofa Recordings, 2001) *''Pasta variations'' (Sofa Recordings, 2002) ;With others *''Glow'' (Curling Legs, 2000), with Jacob Young (musician), Jacob Young *''Moving'' (Jazzland Recordings, 2001), with

*''Open Reminder'' (Melektronikk, 2004), with ''ARM'' *''Retrospective'' (F Communications, 2006), with Laurent Garnier *"Liarbird" (Jazzland Recordings, 2011), with Ola Kvernberg

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kornstad, Hakon 20th-century Norwegian male singers 21st-century Norwegian male singers 21st-century Norwegian singers 20th-century Norwegian saxophonists 21st-century Norwegian saxophonists Norwegian operatic tenors Norwegian jazz saxophonists Norwegian jazz composers Male jazz composers Norwegian University of Science and Technology alumni Musicians from Oslo 1977 births Living people 20th-century saxophonists Wibutee members Jazzland Recordings (1997) artists Smalltown Supersound artists Grappa Music artists