Erik Balke (born 7 November 1953)

Store Norske Leksikon The ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia'' ( no, Store Norske Leksikon, abbreviated ''SNL''), is a Norwegian-language online encyclopedia. The online encyclopedia is among the most-read Norwegian published sites, with more than two million unique vis ...

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 (saxophone), known as leader of the "Lille Frøen Saksofonkvartett" with Vidar Johansen, Arne Frang and Odd Riisnæs/

Tore Brunborg Tore Brunborg (born 20 May 1960) is a Norwegian jazz musician and composer who plays saxophone. He was born in Trondheim but grew up in Voss where a jazz environment was flowering. Known from numerous appearances with international greats inclu ...

/ Olav Dale, as member of his younger brother

Jon Balke Jon Georg Balke (born 7 June 1955) is a Norwegian jazz pianist who leads the Magnetic North Orchestra. He is the younger brother of saxophonist Erik Balke. Career Balke started playing classical piano but switched to blues at 12, though he ...

's early orchestras, and for cooperations with

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

Ed Blackwell Edward Joseph Blackwell (October 10, 1929 – October 7, 1992) was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, known for his extensive, influential work with Ornette Coleman. Biography Blackwell's early career began in New Orleans ...

, Per Jørgensen,

Audun Kleive Audun Kleive (born 20 October 1961) is a Norwegian jazz drummer.) He was raised in Skien and is the son of organist Kristoffer Kleive and brother of organist Iver Kleive. Career Kleive began to play drums in a rock and dance band, and then we ...

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 c ...

, Torbjørn Sunde,

Paolo Vinaccia Paolo Vinaccia (Camerino, 27 March 1954 – Oslo, 5 July 2019) was an Italian jazz drummer who lived in Norway. He died on July 5, 2019 after almost ten years of living with pancreatic cancer. Career Vinaccia worked with Terje Rypdal, Bendik ...

, and

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 ...

Career

Balke was born 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 of ...

. In 1973–94 he worked with his brother,

. He studied at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top univers ...

, where he was a member of the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

, and at

Berklee School of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

in Boston (1977–79). He played with the Carl Morten Iversen Trio (1980–81), the Gambian/Norwegian Friendship Orchestra (1982), with Miki N'Doye in E'Olen and Tamma (

Finn Sletten Finn Sletten (born 11 August 1952) is a Norwegian jazz musician (drums and percussions). Career Sletten was born in Bodø. After a study tour to Arizona (1968–70), he played in his home town with such musicians as Paul Weeden, Paul Weeden B ...

, Miki N'Doye, Per Jørgensen & Sveinung Hovensjø), and established Lille Frøen Saksofonkvartett (1979–89), played with Jazzpunkensemblet (1983–), Oslo 13 og Extended Noise (1983–94). He also chaired the Foreningen norske jazzmusikere before he moved to

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. Back in Norway, he participated in Baktruppen and Ignore. He and Jon Balke composed the commissioned work ''Palmevinsdrankeren'' for the

Kongsberg Jazz Festival 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 ...

(1984). Balke was part of the band E'Olen with Jon Balke, Miki N'doye (percussion), Sveinung Hovensjø (bass),

(drums), and Zakhir Helge Linaae (percussion).

Discography

* ''E'Olen'' (Mai, 1979), with E'Olen * ''Tamma'' (Odin, 1985), Tamma with

* ''4 menn'' (Odin, 1986), with Lille Frøen Saksofonkvartett * ''Off Balance'' (Odin, 1988), with Oslo 13 * ''Joko'' with Miki N'Doye Orchestra feat.

Solo Cissokho Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ...

(2002)

References

External links

Erik Balke Biography – Norsk jazzarkiv JazzBasen.noLille Frøen Saxophone Quartet – Kanal 1 10.01.1986
on NRK {{DEFAULTSORT:Balke, Erik 20th-century Norwegian saxophonists 21st-century Norwegian saxophonists Norwegian jazz saxophonists Norwegian jazz composers ECM Records artists 1953 births Living people Musicians from Oslo 20th-century saxophonists 1300 Oslo members Extended Noise members Jazzpunkensemblet members