Søyr (established 1976 in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

) is a

Norwegian 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 *The Norwegian language, including ...

musical group, led from the start of trumpeter Torgrim Sollid.

Biography

Søyr was initially inspired by folk music from

Stor-Elvdal Stor-Elvdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Koppang. Other villages in the municipality include Atna, Eve ...

(among others Ole Mørk Sandvik) and released the album ''Søyr'' (1977) and ''Cierny Peter'' (1983), and performed at

Kongsberg Jazzfestival Kongsberg Jazz Festival or Kongsberg Jazzfestival is an international jazz festival that has been held annually in Kongsberg, Norway, since 1964. Artists Several worldwide great artists have visited Kongsberg during this festival; internation ...

1977. The band is still active, and was involved on tour in South Africa in the summer of 2004. The Free State «Søyr» was established in

Moldejazz Molde International Jazz Festival (MIJF) or Moldejazz (established 1961 in Molde) takes place annually in July, and is known as one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. It was initiated by the local Storyville Jazz Club. Since 1964 it has r ...

1997. The band moved (with leader Sollid) to

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 ...

and assumed a more

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

style with a

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

flair.

Dag Arnesen Dag Syver Arnesen (born 3 May 1950) is a Norwegian jazz pianist with a series of album releases. Career Arnesen was born in Bergen, and studied classical piano under Jiri Hlinka at the Bergen Music Conservatory and got a commitment by Den N ...

was in the lineup 1981–82, and also

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active ...

played within Søyr for four years. «Nye Søyr» released compositions by Vidar Johansen, Rune Klakegg, Torgrim Sollid, Rob Waring and Jon Balke på platen ''Vectors'' (1988) with the original lineup. Then came the 25-year anniversary with a new album ''Alene hjemme'' (2001).

Original lineup

Elin Rosseland Elin Rosseland (born 5 April 1959 in Norway) is a singer, bandleader, and composer who studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music and is known from collaborations with Vigleik Storaas, Johannes Eick, Sidsel Endresen, Eldbjørg Raknes, Christian W ...

- vocals *

Tove Karoline Knutsen Tove Karoline Knutsen (born 14 January 1951 in Torsken) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Troms in 2005. She graduated as cand.philol. in 1982, and spent large parts of her care ...

- vocals (album 1) * Torgrim Sollid - trumpet (album 1) *Åge Midtgård - trumpet (album 1) *

John Pål Inderberg John Pål Inderberg (born 6 August 1950 Steinkjer, Norway) is a versatile saxophonist and one of the leading traditional musicians in Norway. His playing synthethises many different styles, not least when in partnership with Norwegian and America ...

- soprano saxophone & tenor saxophone (album 1) *Ove Stokstad - soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone & baritone saxophone (album 1) *Tore Engstrøm - alto saxophone (album 1) *Nils Tro - tenor saxophone (album 1) *Tor A. Ramstad - baritone saxophone *Jan Andresen - saxophones and bass clarinet *Nils Jansen - saxophones and bass clarinet *Per Gamre - trombone (album 1) *Bodil Vossgård - cello *

Rob Waring Rob Waring (born December 3, 1956 in Yonkers, New York) is an American-Norwegian Contemporary music composer and performer (drums and vibraphone), commonly associated with symphony orchestras and jazz ensembles. Career Waring studied with R ...

- vibraphone and percussion *Morten Lassem - piano (album 1) *

Rune Klakegg Rune Klakegg (born 19 April 1955 in Skien, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz pianist and composer, the older brother of guitarist Bjørn Klakegg, and known from a number of recordings and jazz bands including Oslo 13, Cutting Edge, Fuzzy Logic, Out ...

- piano and synth *

Bjørn Alterhaug Bjørn Alterhaug (born 3 June 1945) is a Norwegian jazz bassist, arranger, composer and professor of music. Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian) Career Alterhaug was born in Mo i Rana, Norway. He is one of the grand masters among European basspl ...

- double bass (album 1) *Tor Mathisrud - double bass *

Carl Haakon Waadeland Carl Haakon Waadeland (born 8 November 1952) is a Norwegian musicologist and jazz drummer, known from several bands and releases such as with Dadafon, Dum Dum Boys, Åge & Sambandet, Halvdan Sivertsen, Warne Marsh, Kenny Wheeler, Annbjørg Lien, ...

- drums (album 1) *

Frank Jakobsen Frank Jakobsen (born 28 April 1954) is a Norwegian jazz musician (drums), known from a number of recordings, and central to the jazz scenes in Bergen and Oslo. Career Jakobsen was born and raised in Bergen, where he played in local groups li ...

- drums * Tom Olstad - drums

New members

* Edvard Askeland - bass (album 2 & 3) *

Eldbjørg Raknes Eldbjørg Raknes (born 9 February 1970 in Midsund, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz vocalist known for her a cappella vocal performances, innovative improvised vocals and electronic effects. She has collaborated with musicians such as Jon Balke, Ander ...

- vocals (1994–96) *

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 ...

- saxophone (album 2 & 3) * Vidar Johansen - saxophone (1991–) * Astrid Kvalbein - vocals (album 3) * Christian Jaksjø - trombone (album 3) * Guro Gravem Johansen - vocals (album 3) *

Knut Aalefjær Knut Aalefjær (born 21 December 1974 in Bærum) is a Norwegian jazz musician (drums and percussion), and composer, educated at the Norwegian Academy of Music. He is known as an eminent drummer who provide significant contributions in the ''Hel ...

- drums and percussion * Per Einar Watle - guitar * Erling Aksdal - piano * Børge Petersen-Øverleir - guitar *

Torstein Lofthus Torstein Lofthus (born 10 March 1977) is a Norwegian drummer and composer who has been a member of the bands Shining, Elephant9, the Mathias Eick Band, D'Sound, and Ebersson/Zanussi/Lofthus. He is married to Hege Lofthus. Career Lofthus ...

- drums

Discography

*1977: ''Søyr'' (MAI 7705) *1983: ''Cierny Peter'' ( Odin LP 12), recorded live at Stavanger Jazz Club. *1987: ''Vectors'' (

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 350 ...

) *1994: ''Bussene lengter hjem'' (

Curling Legs __NOTOC__ Curling Legs Productions A/S (established 1992 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian record label with a catalogue encompassing all styles of jazz and improvised music. It was started by Knut Værnes and Morten Halle to release their own m ...

) *1997: ''Med kjøtt og kjærlighet'' (Curling Legs), with the poetry of

Niels Fredrik Dahl Niels Fredrik Dahl (born 11 May 1957) is a Norwegian novelist, poet and dramatist. He was awarded the Brage Prize in 2002 for the novel ''På vei til en venn''. He has also written scripts for TV series. Dahl is married to author and journalist ...

and Torgeir Rebolledo Pedersen *2001: ''Alene hjemme'' (Curling Legs)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soyr Norwegian jazz ensembles Big bands Spellemannprisen winners ECM Records artists Musical groups established in 1976 1976 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Trondheim