Hilde Hefte (born 1 September 1956 in

Kristiansand, Norway Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

) is a Norwegian jazz singer.

Biography

Hefte got much of her musical education from the well reputated

Barratt Due Institute of Music The Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo, Norway, is a music education institute founded in 1927 by pianist Mary Barratt Due and violinist Henrik Adam Due. It is situated in Fagerborg in Oslo and is a private foundation which receives governme ...

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( or ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of towns and cities in Norway, most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a Counties of Norway, county and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a populat ...

with piano as primary and vocals as secondary instruments. She played saxophone and

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

for ten years when she was young, as an apprentice to her father who was saxophone teacher and musician. She was also trained as an actor, first with Alex Scherpf and later joining a Theater school. She also received an increasing number of roles at

Agder Teater Kilden Teater is a Norwegian theatre based in Kristiansand. It was established in 1991, and has been the regional theatreAg ...

and at various other venues, including in plays like ''Fugleelskerne'' by

Jens Bjørneboe Jens Ingvald Bjørneboe (9 October 1920 – 9 May 1976) was a Norwegian writer whose work spanned a number of literary formats. He was also a painter and a Waldorf school teacher. Bjørneboe was a harsh and eloquent critic of Norwegian society a ...

, and ''Piaf'' by Pan Gam. During a period of some years she was also teaching music at Agder musikkonservatorium before she started as a full-time musician. Her debut solo album ''Round Chet's Midnight'' was released in 1999, and received great reviews, like

Down Beat Magazine ''DownBeat'' (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 that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

: "She's making waves on the Norwegian scene." There after Hefte has released five more albums under her own name, receiving excellent reviews in the press. She has written lyrics and composed music to both her own albums and a lot of other artists. Hilde has been given various leading roles at the theatre, among others; the main role as Edith Piaf at Agder Theatre. She has also been hired to write and arrange music for various locale theatre productions. Jazz musician - recordings: 'Round Chet's Midnight (1999), ''Playsong – The Music of Bill Evans'' (2001) ''Hildes BossaHefte'' (2003), her onely Norwegian album, ''On The Corner'' (2006), ''An Evening in Prague'' (2007), recorded in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, with

Prague Philharmonic Orchestra The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra () was established in 1995, under the German conductor Friedemann Riehle. The orchestra has since produced many classical and film music recordings, working with labels such as Decca, EMI, Sony BMG and various ...

. In 2013 she released the album ''Short Stories'', and in 2017 the album ''Quiet Dreams''. Hilde founded and runs

Norsk Jazzforlag 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 *Norwegian language, including the two ...

(2003) and the record label Ponca Jazz Records (2004).

Honors

* 2016: The Kristiansand Municipality Culture Award * 2015: Southern Norwegian jazz center award

Discography

Solo albums

* 1999: ''Round Chet's Midnight'' (

Hot Club Gypsy jazz (also known as sinti jazz, gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a musical idiom inspired by the Romani people, Romani jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–1953), in conjunction with the Fr ...

) * 2001: ''Playsong – The Music of Bill Evans'' (Hot Club) * 2003: ''Hildes bossaHefte'' (Hot Club ) * 2006: ''On The Corner'' ( Ponca Jazz) * 2007: ''An Evening in Prague'' (Ponca Jazz) * 2013: ''Short Stories'' (Ponca Jazz) * 2014: ''Memory Suite'' (Ponca Jazz), Japan release * 2017: ''Quiet Dreams'' (Ponca Jazz)

Collaborations

* 1997: ''Kråka Knas'' * 2000: ''Violin (

Ola Kvernberg Ola Kvernberg (born 16 June 1981) is a Norwegian jazz musician known for his virtuosic string swing violin playing and his international performances. He is the son of traditional musicians Liv Rypdal Kvernberg and Torbjørn Kvernberg, and the br ...

)'' * 2002: ''Spor.sorland'' * 2002: ''Nice But Easy'' (Kultur & Spetakkel), with Paul Weeden * 2003: ''The Next Step'' (Hot Club), with

Jon Larsen Jon Larsen (born 7 January 1959) is a gypsy jazz guitarist, record producer, painter, and amateur scientific researcher. He is the founder of the group Hot Club de Norvège. In 2007 he received the Buddy Award for his lifelong contribution to ...

* 2006: ''Jazz Collection 1'' (Ponca Jazz), with various artists * 2008: ''Vi Aner Deg'' * 2009: ''Fight Apathy'' * 2009: ''

A Portrait of Jon Larsen ''A Portrait of Jon Larsen'' is a compilation album by Norwegian jazz guitarist Jon Larsen that was released on his label, Hot Club Records. Review Larsen is celebrated on this album, which collects his best recordings from the past twenty y ...

'' (Hot Club) * 2011: ''Bossa Nova Around the World'' ( Putamayo)

References

External links

*
Ponca Jazz Records Website

Norsk Jazzforlags Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hefte, Hilde Norwegian women jazz singers Norwegian jazz singers Barratt Due Institute of Music alumni University of Oslo alumni Hot Club Records artists Ponca Jazz Records artists Musicians from Kristiansand 1956 births Living people 20th-century Norwegian women singers 20th-century Norwegian singers 21st-century Norwegian women singers 21st-century Norwegian singers