Frans Bak (born 7 February 1958 Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish composer, choral conductor, saxophonist, and pianist. He is a graduate of the

Royal Danish Academy of Music The Royal Danish Academy of Music, or Royal Danish Conservatory of Music ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium), in Copenhagen is the oldest professional institution of musical education in Denmark as well as the largest, with approxima ...

and has worked as a

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 majo ...

performer and composer of

film music A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

. In 1994, he founded the composer's association Den 3. Vej. He plays saxophone, keyboards, and piano. Bak was a member of the bands Blast, Buztop, Santa Cruz, Det Glatte Lag, and Jazzgruppe 90. He was the leader of a quartet and of a big band that included

Bob Berg Robert Berg (April 7, 1951 – December 5, 2002) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Berg was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States. Berg started his musical education at the age of six when he began studying classical piano. He be ...

and

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on N ...

. He recorded with

Hans Ulrik Hans Ulrik (born 28 September 1965) is a Danish jazz saxophonist and composer who has recorded with Gary Peacock, Adam Nussbaum, Niels Lan Doky, Audun Kleive, Marilyn Mazur, John Scofield, and Steve Swallow. Career Ulrik studied jazz sax ...

on the album ''Fusion''. He wrote the score for the Danish television series '' Forbrydelsen'' and American remake, '' The Killing'' on AMC. He worked on ''

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'' on

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Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

starring

Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin ...

, the British adaption of the

Ruth Rendell Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...

novel ''

Thirteen Steps Down ''Thirteen Steps Down'' (2004 in literature, 2004) is a psychological thriller novel by Ruth Rendell. Its publication in the UK marked Rendell's 40th anniversary of being published, and all hardcover copies of the book had a special promotiona ...

'' and in 2015 the first series of ''Doctor Foster'' for the BBC. Bak has scored commercials, short films, and feature films, including three

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

-nominated shorts: ''Ernst & The Light'', ''Sweethearts?'', and '' Helmer & Son''. In 2016 Bak released the album Sound of North which featured new compositions plus selections from The Killing. He went on to perform the album live i
Beijing's Danish Cultural Centre
in March 2017. In 2020 Bak released the album PIANO. He discovered the piano he learned to play on as a child in a Copenhagen music shop window for sale, and bought it. Playing on this piano again, he revisited his childhood years and his love of creating simple and beautiful piano melodies.

Discography

* ''Hymn to the Rainbow'' (L+R, 1992) * ''Live in Copenhagen'' (Olufsen, 1993) * ''Natsange'' (Stunt, 1999) * ''Bossa Nuts'' (Stunt, 2011) * ''The Killing'' (Decca, 2012) *''Doctor Foster OST'' (Drama Republic, 2015) * ''The Sound of North'' (Mercury Classics, 2016) * ''Conspiracy of Silence OST'' (Spinnup, 2018) *''Piano'' (Dharma Records, 2020)

Film scores

* ''

Huller i suppen ''Holes in the Soup'' ( da, Huller i suppen) is a Danish comedy film released in 1988. A farce, it features comedians Morten Lorentzen and Povl Erik Carstensen as John and Aage. Lorentzen and Carstensen later recorded a live stand-up comedy ver ...

'' (1988) * '' Lad isbjørnene danse'' (1990) * ''Casanova'' (1990) * ''Karlsvognen'' (1992) * ''Sidste time'' (1995) * ''Operation Cobra'' (1995) * ''Davids bog'' (1996) * ''Albert'' (1998) * ''Hatten i skyggen'' (2002) * '' Forbrydelsen'' (2007) * ''Forbrydelsen II'' (2009) * ''

Den som dræber ''Those Who Kill'' ( da, Den som dræber) is a Danish crime TV series from 2011, which follows a fictitious unit within Copenhagen Police which specialises in investigating serial murders. The series was aired as five two-part stories in Denmar ...

'' (2011) * '' The Killing'' (2011) * ''

'' (2011) * ''Min søsters børn alene hjemme'' (2012) * '' The Killing season 2'' (2012) * ''

'' (2012)

References

External links

*
Silvana Malta & Frans Bak - Bossa Nuts (Sundance Music)
* 1958 births Living people 21st-century male musicians 21st-century pianists 21st-century saxophonists Danish film score composers Danish jazz pianists Danish saxophonists Male composers Male film score composers Male jazz musicians Male pianists Male saxophonists {{Denmark-composer-stub