Ola Mathias Calmeyer (14 April 1930 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 ...

- 5 June 2003) was a Norwegian jazz

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

. He was the brother of the actor

Joachim Calmeyer Kåre Joachim Calmeyer (23 June 1931 – 26 December 2016) was a Norwegian actor. He was born in Oslo, and grew up in Horten and Tromsø. He was the brother of jazz musician Ola and journalist Bengt Calmeyer. He made his stage debut at Rogaland ...

and the author Bengt Calmeyer, and known from a number of collaborations and album releases.

Biography

After growing up in

Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the town of Åsgårdstrand ...

, he was part of the

jazz scene (1949–53), was in U.S. (1953–63), and performed in

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered t ...

(1963–75), where he established Urijazz in

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative c ...

among other things. After moving to

and becoming a central part of the jazz scene there (1975–1990) he performed with the house orchestra at

Club 7 Club 7 was a cultural club in Oslo, Norway, active from 1963 to 1985. It was regarded a centre for counterculture in Norway in the 1960s through the 1970s. There was a wide tolerance for alternative lifestyles, including homosexuality. History Clu ...

, Winds Hot & Cool, as well as bands led by Brinck Johnsen, Alf Kjellman Ditlef Eckhoff, Paul Weeden, Odd Riisnæs, and Carl Magnus Neumann. There after he established his own label Jazzland in partnership with the jazz bassist Arne Styhr, whereupon he gave him out plate with his own band "Mallorcatrio" with Ole Jacob Hansen on drums and Terje Venaas/Kai Hartvigsen on upright bass, with contributions from his brother

, Ditlef Eckhoff, and Bjørn Johansen. Carl Petter Opsahl
Ola Calmeyer Prosjekt: «Jazzpoem»
anmeldelse fra VG (9.8.05) He also released the album ''Rainbow sessions'' with

Bjarne Nerem Bjarne Arnulf Nerem (31 July 1923 in Oslo, Norway – 1 April 1991 in Oslo), was a Norwegian jazz musician (tenor saxophone, alto saxophone and clarinet) among the foremost soloists in Norwegian jazz. He was in the tradition of Lester Young ...

, Kristian Bergheim and Eyvind Olsen. More recently, he led a new version of the orchestra "Havna Swingers 95" (which he established in 1948-49) releasing an album, and collaborated with the poet Triztán Vindtorn. In a quartet with Jørn Winnæss, Halvard Kausland, and Kristen Svendsen released on two albums (1997, 2000).

Discography

Solo albums

* ''Jazzpoem'' (1990) * ''Jazz i blått spindelvev'' (1997) with Alexander Grieg, Geir Åge Johnsen and Jørn Winnæss * ''Fingersongs'' (1999) with Jørn Winnæss * ''Oleo!'' (2006) * ''Our Buddy'' (2010)

Other contributions

* Winds Hot & Cool: ''Nostalgia Up to Date'' (1984) * Kristian Bergheim/

: ''Rainbow sessions'' (1990) * Monica Borgen: ''Choice'' (1998) * Carl Magnus Neumann: ''Live at Kongsberg and Other Unreleased Works'' (2008)

References

External links

Biography at Jazzbasen.

Discography at Jazzbasen.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calmeyer, Ola 2003 deaths 1930 births Norwegian jazz pianists Musicians from Oslo 20th-century pianists