Ivar Antonsen (born April 16, 1946, in

Fauske Municipality or is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality located in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Fauske (t ...

, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz pianist and composer and had his debut at the Oslo jazz scene in 1967 together with

Jan Garbarek Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław Gar ...

Palle Mikkelborg Palle Mikkelborg (born 6 March 1941) is a Danish jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger and record producer. He is self-taught on the trumpet, although he studied conducting at the Royal Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He became a professio ...

Arild Andersen Arild Andersen (born 27 October 1945) is a Norwegian jazz musician bassist, known as the most famous Norwegian bass player in the international jazz scene. Career Andersen was born at Strømmen, Norway. He started his musical career as jazz g ...

, and Espen Rud.

Career

Antonsen started early playing the

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

and organ, inspired by jazz musician

Art van Damme Art Van Damme (April 9, 1920February 15, 2010) was an American jazz accordionist. Van Damme toured Europe and was popular with jazz enthusiasts in Japan. Van Damme was married, and had three children. After he retired to Roseville, California, ...

. 18-year-old he came in touch with bassist Bjørn Alterhaug, and they started their first jazz band together in

Mo i Rana (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ) or (and unofficially , ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city, and the administrative centre of Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Helgeland region of Nordland, just sou ...

. He moved to Oslo and studied modern composition at

Norges Musikkhøgskole 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 c ...

under Finn Mortensen and came in contact with major jazz profiles. All along he was inspired, both as jazz musician and composer, by the piano music of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

. In the late 1960s he started his own Ivar Antonsen Trio including Espen Rud (drums) and alternately Terje Venaas, Sture Janson and Bjørn Alterhaug on bass. His strong contribution to guitarist Thorgeir Stubø's album ''Flight'' (1985) can be cited as a good example of Antonsen's sophisticated style. Here you can enjoy the hard swinging interaction with Thorgeir Stubø,

Alex Riel Alex Riel (13 September 1940 – 9 June 2024) was a Danish jazz and rock drummer.''Jeg skal sgu sidde ved trommerne'' Af Bine Madsen. Dagbladenes Bureau, 9 February 2010. Same interview in Flensborg Avis, 17 February 2010, Side 18''Alex Riel ...

(drums), Krister Andersson (tenor saxophone) and

Jesper Lundgaard Jesper Lundgaard (born 12 June 1954) is a Danish jazz bassist, bandleader, composer and record producer. Since his debut in the mid-1970s, he has been among the most prominent bassists in Danish jazz and as a sideman he has appeared on more th ...

(double bass). Antonsen was principal of the "Tromsø Musikkskole" (1975–1977), and later, "Buskerud Musikkonservatorium". Then he relocated to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in US (1985), where he was a music educator and later professor in Music at

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

(1995–2004). Since 2004 he has been

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

. With residence in San Diego for 19 years, Antonsen had many interesting collaborations, including with

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitar, sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known expert of Hin ...

's tabla player Abhiman Kaushal, drummer Duncan Moore, guitarist Peter Sprague, bassist

Bob Magnusson Bob Magnusson (born February 24, 1947, in New York) is an American jazz bassist. Career Magnusson studied French horn for 12 years before switching to bass in 1967. He toured with Buddy Rich's Orchestra in 1968 and played with the San Diego Symph ...

and pianist

Andy LaVerne Andy LaVerne (born December 4, 1947) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and educator. Education and musical career Born in New York City, LaVerne studied at Juilliard School of Music, Berklee College, and the New England Conservat ...

on the album '' Dream Come True'' (2000). Antonsen's compositions often consist of strong rhythmic patterns, harmonically sophisticated and melodically complex, yet logical. His works include modern

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 ...

, and contemporary classical music. He is highly respected among both European and American musicians and has played with jazz greats such as Jon Christensen,

Palle Danielsson Nils Paul "Palle" Danielsson (15 October 1946 – 18 May 2024) was a Swedish jazz double bassist born in Stockholm, Sweden. From 1974 to 1979, he was a member of Keith Jarrett's quartet. He was the brother of pianist Monica Dominique. Daniels ...

John Surman John Douglas Surman (born 30 August 1944) is an English jazz saxophone, Clarinet family, clarinet, and synthesizer player, and composer of free jazz and modal jazz, often using themes from folk music. He has composed and performed music for danc ...

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath. Biography Heath w ...

Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombone, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tub ...

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doub ...

, and

Karin Krog Karin Krog (born 15 May 1937) is a Norwegian Vocal jazz, jazz singer. Life and career Krog began singing jazz as a teenager and attracted attention while performing in jam sessions in Oslo. In 1955, she was hired by the pianist Kjell Karlsen ...

. He established his own quartet in 2004 with Espen Rud,

Knut Riisnæs Knut Riisnæs (13 November 1945 – 22 July 2023) was a Norwegian jazz musician (saxophone and flute), arranger, and composer, son of pianist Eline Nygaard Riisnæs and brother of classical pianist Anne Eline Riisnæs (1951–) and jazz saxopho ...

and

Terje Gewelt Terje Gewelt (born 8 June 1960) is a Norwegian jazz musician (upright bass). Career Gewelt was born in Oslo and raised in Larvik, a small town on the southeastern coast of Norway. He started playing guitar at the age of 10, switched to elect ...

, documented as an EBU radio concert on

NRK P2 NRK P2 is one of three main, nationwide radio channels produced by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). Its current format – focusing on news and current affairs, debate, analysis, culture, science, and society – is the result of t ...

"Jazzklubben" in 2006 and he subsequently appeared in many other quartets with saxophone players like

Frode Nymo Frode Nymo (born 27 November 1975), is a Norwegian jazz musician (alto Saxophone), and older brother of the tenor sax. player Atle Nymo. Career Nymo was born in Egersund and brought up in Valnesfjord, near Fauske. Early in his career, he was ...

Atle Nymo Atle Nymo (born 9 June 1977) is a Norwegian jazz musician (tenor saxophone and bass clarinet), and the younger brother of Jazz saxophonist Frode Nymo. He is known for his contributions with the orchestras Motif (band), Motif, one of his main pro ...

, and

Morten Halle Morten Halle (born 7 October 1957) is a Norwegian jazz musician (saxophone), composer and music arranger. He was born in Oslo, and he is known from the city's jazz scene and from a series recordings. (in Norwegian) Career Halle participated in ...

as well as with guitarist Hallgeir Pedersen. Antonsen is considered one of Norway's foremost jazz pianists, and plays in a modern neo- bop style. His playing has a strong identity and is characterized by a sensitive approach, great imagination, complex harmony/rhythm and technical facility.

Discography

An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.

As leader/co-leader

As sideman

*1985: ''

Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

'' (

Hot Club Records Hot Club Records is a jazz record label established 1982, by guitarist Jon Larsen in Oslo, Norway.Dregni, Michael (2008) ''Gypsy Jazz: In Search of Django Reinhardt and the Soul of Gypsy Swing'', OUP USA, , p. 229 The label has released over 35 ...

), live recording with Thorgeir Stubø *2010: '' Flight Dec. 17'' (Ponca Jazz Records/Musikkoperatørene) with Hallgeir Pedersen, Bjørn Alterhaug, Roger Johansen *2011: '' Dobbeldans'' (Curling Legs) with Espen Rud Group

References

External links