Rolf Graf (28 April 1960 in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

– 1 July 2013 in Oslo) was a Norwegian singer,

bass guitarist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low bra ...

, composer and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, and the younger brother of keyboardist

Haakon Graf Haakon Graf (born 21 March 1955) is a Norwegian jazz musician, composer, arranger and producer. Biography Graf was born in Oslo, Norway. He is the older brother of the bass guitarist of LAVA, Rolf Graf (musician), Rolf Graf (1960–2013), and t ...

(b. 21 March 1955) and the

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 ...

singer Randi Elisabeth Graf (b. 12 September 1966). He is best known as the bassist in the band

Lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

, but was also recognized as music producer, musician and songwriter for other artists like

Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American retired jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, sh ...

, Mezzoforte and

Sissel Kyrkjebø Sissel Kyrkjebø (; born 24 June 1969), also known abroad as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano. She is considered one of the world's top crossover sopranos. Her musical style ranges from pop recordings and folk songs to classical vocals and operati ...

. He also released three solo albums and was editor of the journal ''Musikkpraksis''.

Career

Musician

Graf was raised in a musical family and was greatly inspired by his older brother Haakon known from bands like 'Ruphus', 'Hawk on Flight', and collaborations with such as

Terje Rypdal Terje Rypdal (born 23 August 1947) is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. He has been an important member in the Norwegian jazz community, and has also given show concerts with guitarists Ronni Le Tekrø and Mads Eriksen as "N3". Career Rypd ...

and

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 ...

. Graf started his career in 1967 on trumpet, and debuted as a soloist 1 Christmas Day 1972 in Manglerud church. In 1974 he substituted the trumpet to bass guitar and started the following year a rock band together with the guitarist Marius Müller. In 1979 he got his first professional studio job as a funk bass player. Graf was among the first

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

bassists in Norway that restrained slap and snap technique, and the artist and vocalist Alex, or Alex Naumik Sandøy, who was among the first artists to introduced the funk rock in Norway, hired him to play on her album ''Daddy Child'', because her bass player and producer Svein Gundersen failed to play this new style. The same year he also received a request from Svein Dag Hauge to join the band

, where Marius Müller just had joined and recommended Graf, after meeting with Hauge. Lava's second album ''Cruisin, sold to Silver and climbed the charts. Grafs first composition, "Take Your Time" (with lyrics by

Ivar Dyrhaug Ivar (Old Norse ''Ívarr'') is a Scandinavian masculine given name. Another variant of the name is Iver, which is more common in Norway. The Old Norse name has several possible etymologies. In North Germanic phonology, several of the elements c ...

), climbed to the top of the European summit. Seven CD album was recorded at Lava and a variety of studio work, as well as a composer and producer on numerous recordings. In 1985 Graf recorded his debut solo album ''The Boy Next Door'', which was released in 13 European countries. This led to appearances in British and Danish TV shows. From the mid 1980s onwards 1990s Graf worked in various compositions, including with Olav Stedje og Egil Eldøen in the band project 'Stedje/Graf/Eldøen', and this was the first band to play at the opening of

Rockefeller Music Hall Rockefeller is a concert venue with audience entrance at Mariboes gate 5B, downtown Oslo, Norway. The building, known as "Torggata Bad" ("Market Street Bath"), used to house a public bathing facility. To this day the surrounding floors of the bui ...

in 1986. Otherwise contributed Graf as a studio musician with artists like

and

Elisabeth Andreassen Elisabeth Gunilla Andreassen (; born 28 March 1958), also known simply as Bettan, is a Norwegian-Swedish singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest. Career Her talent was discovered in 1979 by Swedish musician an ...

. For a period in the 1990s, Graf worked in Los Angeles and New York as a songwriter and producer, and had the production of an American band called 'The Ancestors' where he replaced the producer

Eddie Kramer Edwin H. Kramer (born 19 April 1942) is a South African-born recording producer and engineer. He has collaborated with several artists now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, L ...

, and collaborated with musician and actor

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

as songwriter. Graf has also produced the debut album ''Stille vann'' by Norwegian artist Torhild Nigar in the New York studio Manhattan Center Studios. Lava made their comeback album ''Polarity'' in 2003. This led to a lot of activity on the Norwegian music scene, and appearances on NRK television along with

Hanne Boel Hanne Boel (born 31 August 1957 in Bagsværd, Copenhagen) is a Danish singer. Hanne Boel covers in her songs a range of styles including pop, soul, gospel, rock, and jazz. Over the course of her career, she has sold over 2.5 million records, an ...

, among others. In 2005 the band released the sequel ''Alibi'', and in 2009 Lava released their last album, ''Symphonic Journey'', in collaboration with

Kringkastingsorkesteret The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Norwegian, ''Kringkastingsorkestret'', abbreviated as KORK) is a radio orchestra affiliated with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (''Norsk rikskringkasting AS'', or NRK). Its principal base is the ''Store Studi ...

Composer

Graf was invited to participate as a composer in

Melodi Grand Prix Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norsk Melodi Grand Prix, is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster (NRK). It determines for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been sta ...

1983, and delivered the song "Melodi" performed by

Olav Stedje Olav Stedje (Born 8 June 1953) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter, known for a number of soft rock recordings, six silver albums and three attempts in Melodi Grand Prix. Early life Stedje was born in Sogndal, and made his debut as a solo singe ...

as number four. In Melodi Grand Prix 1985 he performed his self-composed song, "II & II". Since this he participated several times in the 1980s and 1990s, but then only as a songwriter. In 1984 he launched a side project called 'Mr. Walker & The Walkmen' together with Steinar Fjeld and Ståle Rasmussen, and got a hit with "This Is Your Walkman Talking". During 1985, 30 of his compositions released on record with different musicians, including himself. Best known from this time were the ballad "Shine", performed together with Egil Eldøen and the Swedish singer Frank Ådahl. The song was the highlight of Grafs debut solo album, ''The Boy Next Door''. The album was released in 13 countries, and Graf appeared on television in England and Denmark.

Producer

As a producer worked Graf with several other musicians, including

(USA), Mezzoforte (Iceland), The Ancestors (USA), Tindrum, Aina Olsen,

Trine Rein Trine Rein (born November 11, 1970) is an American-Norwegian singer. Her album sales have exceeded more than a million records. Career Debut Trine Rein released her first solo album in 1993, ''Finders, Keepers''. It peaked at the top of the No ...

, Jan Werner Danielsen, Torhild Nigar and 'Floweryard'. He also created music for the movies ''Frida – med hjertet i hånden'', ''Petra og kuule småkryp'' by Torhild Nigar and ''Brødrene Dal Og Vikingsverdets Forbannelse''. In 1996 he produced the album ''I evighet'' by

, who received second place in the international

final in Oslo Spektrum. Late 1980s Graf started a trio with Egil Eldøen and

. Musically, this was a continuation of the acoustic,

country rock Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...

, inspired by

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

and

Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) was a folk rock supergroup comprising the American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and the English-American singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by the Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Youn ...

. The trio was disbanded before they managed to make a record together. In the early 1990s he was oriented towards

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and ) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America, which encompasses Music of Latin America, Latin America, Music of Spain, Spain, Mu ...

within the trio 'Some Like It Hot' including Lakki Patey (band leader) and Sergio Gonzales (reunited in 2004). In 2001 Graf finally found time to record a new solo album ''Oddity Two Acceptance'', where he played almost all the instruments by himself. The album also includes a retake of "Shine". Graf also taught in 'Knowledge of the music industry' at 'Nordisk Institutt for Scene og Studio', and wrote a recipe for the project ''Opp og Fram'' on behalf of Høgskolen i Harstad. In 2011 Graf worked with other musicians and artists including

Ronni Le Tekrø Ronni Le Tekrø (born Rolf Ågrim Tekrø, 5 October 1963) is a Norwegian musician best known as the guitarist and one of the founders of hard rock band TNT, as a solo artist and for his work with Vagabond and Terje Rypdal. He has been describe ...

and Jan Ingvar Toft. Graf was buried in

Holmenkollen Chapel Holmenkollen Chapel (''Holmenkollen kapell'') is located in the neighborhood of Holmenkollen in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. The original chapel from 1903 was destroyed by arson in 1992. The new chapel was completed in 1996. Holmenk ...

on 11 July 2013.

Discography

Solo albums

*1985: ''The Boy Next Door'' (Mariann) *1997: ''Floating'' (MultiMusic) *2001: ''Oddity To Acceptance'' (MultiMusic)

Collaborations

;Tom Bråthen & Phoenix *1979: ''Jeg Drømmer Om Nashville'' ;

*1980: ''Lava'' (

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

) *1981: ''Cruisin (Polydor Records) *1982: ''Prime Time'' (Polydor Records) *1984: ''Fire'' (Polydor Records) *1985: ''Prime Cuts'' (Polydor Records) *1990: ''Rhythm of Love'' (Polydor Records) *1996: ''The Very Best of Lava'' (Polydor Records) *2003: ''Polarity'' (Polydor Records) *2005: ''Alibi (album), Alibi'' (Polydor Records) *2009: ''Symphonic Journey'' (Polydor Records) ;Svein Strøm *1980: ''My Life Is My Life'' ;Gry Jannicke Jarlum *1981: ''Min Stil'' *1983: ''Draculas Datter'' *1989: ''Svake mennesker'' *2005: ''Aksepterad – De 18 Beste Norske'' ;Eigil Berg *1981: ''Alhambra'' *1986: ''Here We Go Again'' ; Trond-Viggo Torgersen *1981: ''Det by'ner nå!'' *1997: ''Trond-Viggos beste'' ; Marius Müller *1981: ''Den Du Veit'' *1982: ''Er'e Så Nøye 'A'' *1983: ''Marius'' ; Prima Vera *1981: ''Den 5te'' ;

Dollie de Luxe Dollie de Luxe were a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Benedicte Adrian (lead vocal) and Ingrid Bjørnov (keyboard and vocal). Their debut album ''Første Akt'' from 1980 was awarded Spellemannprisen. They represented Norway in the Eurovision ...

*1981: ''Dollies dagbok'' *1982: ''First Act'' ;

Trond Granlund Trond Granlund (born in Oslo, Norway, on 29 July 1950) is a Norwegian rock and folk singer, composer and guitarist. Granlund grew up on Torshov and Manglerud in Oslo, and has lived in Lørenskog since 1968. He started performing in 1973, releasi ...

*1981: ''Pleasant Surprise'' ;

*1982: ''Olav Stedje'' *1982: ''Tredje Stedje'' *1995: ''Bot og bedring'' *1998: ''21 Beste'' *2009: ''I Levande Live'' ;

Hilde Heltberg Hilde Heltberg (30 September 1959 – 4 September 2011) was a Norwegian singer, guitarist and songwriter, born in Oslo, Norway. Career Heltberg started her career in the late 70s when she entered a talent competition judged by Stein Ove Berg, wh ...

*1982: ''Hilde Heltberg'' *1991: ''Girls Don't'' ;Thorleif Larsen alias Igor Kill *1983: ''Igor Kill'' ; Vazelina Bilopphøggers *1983: ''Vælkømmin Tel Øss'' ;Bjarte Leithaug *1984: ''En underlig familie'' ; Arnold Børud *1984: ''Balladen Om Jesus – Rock-Opera'' ;Forente artister *1985: ''Sammen For Livet'' ; Alf Cranner *1985: ''Din tanke er fri'' ; Bobbysocks *1985: '' Bobbysocks'' *1986: '' Waiting for the Morning'' ;

Randi Hansen Randi Hansen (born 24 November 1958, in Tromsø) is a Norwegian pop singer who formerly lived in Harstad, where she had a background as a music teacher at Heggen videregående skole. She was most active in the 1980s, and is best known for the son ...

*1985: ''Ansiktet i speilet'' ;Mr. Walker and the Walkmen *1985: ''Walking'' ;

*1986: '' Abstract Emotions'' *1992: ''

Through the Eyes of Love "Through the Eyes of Love (Theme from ''Ice Castles'')" (sometimes incorrectly referred to as "Looking Through the Eyes of Love"), is an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in bo ...

'' *1999: ''Hits'' ;Aina S. Olsen *1988: ''Living in a Boy's World'' ;Small Affairs *1988: ''Out of Memory'' ;

Rita Eriksen Rita Eriksen (born May 26, 1966, in Sola, Norway) is a Norwegian singer, as solo artist and in the 1990s, as part of the Norwegian singing duo Eriksen with her sibling guitarist and singer Frank Eriksen. Rita Eriksen was also briefly a member of ...

*1988: ''Back from Wonderland'' (1988) ; Mezzoforte *1989: ''Playing for Time'' *2003: ''The Very Best of Mezzoforte'' *2007: ''Anniversary Edition'' *2008: '' Live in Reykjavik'' ;Tvers *1989: ''Tvers synger Crouch'' ;Viggo & Reidar *1989: ''Tidligere utgitt på alvor'' ; Romance *1989: ''Angel'' ;Ola Fjellvikås *1989: ''Min Mona Lisa'' ;Captain Miracle *1990: ''Voyage To Sensational Alex Harvey Band'' ; TinDrum *1991: ''Cool, Calm and Collected'' ;Oks Singers & Band *1992: ''Live! Camp Meeting'' ;

Hanne Krogh Hanne Krogh (born 24 January 1956) is a Norwegian singer and actress from Haugesund and Oslo. Krogh is among the most selling record artists in Norway ever. She represented Norway alone at the age of fifteen at the "Eurovision Song Contest 1971" ...

*1994: ''40 Beste'' ;Torhild Nigar *1994: ''Stille Vann'' ; Jan Werner Danielsen *1994: ''All By Myself'' ;

*1996: ''I evighet'' *1996: ''Eternity'' ;Bare Egil Band *1996: ''Absolutt Ikke Bare Egil Band'' ;

Merethe Trøan Merethe Trøan (born 19 May 1970) is a Norwegian singer, best known for her participation in the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest. In her teens, Trøan and her sister were members of vocal group Pastel together with two brothers (not related to the ...

*1996: ''Æ Gir Dæ Min Vår'' *1996: ''Søtt & Salt'' (1996) *1996: ''Kom Te Mæ'' (1996) *1997: ''Ild & vann'' (1997) ;Jannicke Abrahamsen *199: ''Jannicke 7'' ;KLM *1997: ''Viking Arne'' *1997: ''Brødrene Dal på vikingtokt'' *2002: ''De Beste'' ; Triple & Touch *1998: ''De 3 Vise Männen'' *2008: ''1000 Gånger'' ;

Oslo Gospel Choir Oslo Gospel Choir is a Norwegian gospel choir based in Oslo, Norway, conducted by Tore W. Aas. The choir started up in 1988 and has since then become a successful gospel choir in Europe as well as America. As of 2024, they have released 33 albums ...

*1999: ''Millenium'' *1999: ''Power'' ;Øyvind Blunck *1999: ''Fridtjofs Helaften'' ;

Kikki, Bettan & Lotta __NOTOC__ Kikki, Bettan & Lotta was a Sweden, Swedish-Norway, Norwegian Supergroup (music), super trio, active 2001-2004 and consisting of Kikki Danielsson, Elisabeth Andreassen, Elisabeth "Bettan" Andreassen and Lotta Engberg. Career In November ...

*2002: ''

Vem é dé du vill ha Vem é dé du vill ha ("Who is it you want") is a pop music, pop song in Swedish language, Swedish, written by Thomas G:son and Calle Kindbom. With the song, Kikki, Bettan & Lotta competed in the Swedish Melodifestivalen 2002, where the song finish ...

'' ;Floweryard *2003: ''The Rain'' *2003: ''Path of Tears'' *2003:''Morning Mist'' ;Clausen + Wille *2003: ''Fri'' ;Tommy Michaelsen *2005: ''Completely'' ;Trygve Wikstøl *2006: ''Hei'' ;Det Betales *2007: ''Har du det bra?'' *2007: ''Guri & en Chevy'' ;Hovedøen Social Club *2009: ''Ay caramba!'' ;Otto Graf *2009: ''Autographs'' ;Cecilie Nesstrand *2011: ''Tør du tenke'', with

Jan Toft Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

*2011: ''Ett Liv'' ;Other projects *1983: ''DEFA-kampanjen 83–84'' *1989: ''Musikalen Jungelboken'' *1992: ''Norwegian Power Ballads'' *1994: ''Up And Coming: The Sound Of Young Norway'' *1994: ''Fine Norske Vinterlåter'' *1994: ''Gloryland WorldCup USA 94'' *1995: ''Solskiva – Årets Nye Sommersanger'' *1996: ''Topp Hits 2'' *1996: ''Smurfehits 1'' *1996: ''Norsk Gull! Topplag Med 20 Norske Artister'' *2003: ''Våre Beste Vinterlåter'' *2004: ''En Annen Dans'' *2006: ''Barna Synger Pophits''

References

External links

*
Rolf Graf: – Når historien må kjempe mot kunnskapsløshet
at Ballade.no (in Norwegian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Graf, Rolf 1960 births 2013 deaths Musicians from Oslo 20th-century Norwegian bass guitarists Norwegian male bass guitarists 21st-century Norwegian bass guitarists Norwegian jazz bass guitarists Norwegian jazz composers Jazz-pop musicians 20th-century bass guitarists 21st-century Norwegian guitarists Norwegian male jazz composers 20th-century Norwegian male musicians 21st-century Norwegian male musicians Lava (band) members