Norwegian jazz musician
Musical artist
Hakon Games Kornstad
(born 5 April 1977 in
Oslo
, Norway) is a
Norwegian
jazz musician (
tenor saxophone
,
bass saxophone
, flute and
live looping
) and classically trained singer (
tenor
), known from bands such as
Wibutee
and Kornstad Trio, and collaborations with musicians such as
Ketil Bjørnstad
,
Anja Garbarek
,
Live Maria Roggen
,
Bugge Wesseltoft
,
Sidsel Endresen
,
Paal Nilssen-Love
,
Mats Eilertsen
,
Knut Reiersrud
,
Jon Christensen
,
Eivind Aarset
, and
Pat Metheny
.
[1]
Career
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]
Kornstad was educated in the Jazz Program at
Trondheim Musikkonservatorium
. During his studies he founded the jazz trio Triangle, together with
Per Zanussi
(bass) and
Wetle Holte
(drums). Later,
Erlend Skomsvoll
(piano) and
Live Maria Roggen
(vocals) joined the band, and this lineup evolved to become the band
Wibutee
(1998). He also put together the Hakon Kornstad Trio with
Paal Nilssen-Love
and
Mats Eilertsen
(1998?2003). Kornstad's collaboration with
Havard Wiik
was manifested in two albums of duo recordings in 2001. He was involved with the free improvisation bands Tri-Dim and No Spaghetti Edition, and started the band
Atomic
in 2000. Kornstad has also been part of the bands of
Bugge Wesseltoft
(1999?2003),
Anja Garbarek
(2006?), and
Sidsel Endresen
(2008?).
[1]
Since 2003 Kornstad has focused on his solo projects, in which he plays acoustic saxophones along with electronics in an improvised setting, usually giving solo performances. These have also featured guest appearances from
Knut Reiersrud
,
Ingebrigt Haker Flaten
,
Jon Christensen
and beatboxer Julian Sommerfelt. In addition to saxophones and electronics, Kornstad plays something he calls the "flutonett", which is a flute coupled with a clarinet mouthpiece.
[1]
[2]
During a stay in New York in 2009 Kornstad became interested in opera, and began taking singing lessons with teachers there. From the autumn of 2011 he has been a student at
Operahøgskolen
(
KHiO
), and debuted as a tenor singer in
Den Norske Opera
in February 2012 as
Il Podesta
in a student production of the
Mozart opera
La finta giardiniera
. In 2011 he was nominated for the
Spellemannprisen
, in the category of This Year's Jazz Record, for
Symphonies in My Head
(Jazzland, 2011). He then presented his new project,
Tenor Battle
, combining opera and jazz, at the International Jazz Festival
Nattjazz
in
Bergen
. The new band could best be described as a sort of updated salon orchestra, inspired by the LP era, where jazz standards coexist with opera arias and ballads are followed by improvisations in the known Kornstad style. Kornstad is known as one of the premier Norwegian saxophonists, with a tone so hot that one can be melted freely, his voice has the same impact.
[3]
Honors
[
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]
- 2002:
Kongsberg Jazz Award
, within the
Hakon Kornstad Trio
- 2012: Enlisted as "Talent deserving further recognition" on tenor saxophone in
Down Beat
's annual critics poll
- 2014: Guinness Jazz in Europe Award
[4]
- 2015:
Buddyprisen
[5]
Discography
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]
As leader
[
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]
- Solo albums
- Single Engine
(
Jazzland Recordings
, 2007), with
Bugge Wesseltoft
(
Hammond B3 Organ
),
Knut Reiersrud
(guitar),
Ingebrigt Haker Flaten
(double bass)
- Dwell Time
(Jazzland Recordings, 2009), with recordings from
Sofienberg kirke
, (
Jan Erik Kongshaug
(sound engineer), produced by Kornstad)
[6]
- Symphonies in My Head
(Jazzland Recordings, 2011), with recordings from
Sofienberg kirke
, (produced by Kornstad)
[7]
- With
Hakon Kornstad Trio
- Space available
(Jazzland Recordings, 2001)
- Live from Kongsberg
(Jazzland Recordings, 2003)
- With
Hakon Kornstad Band
- Tenor Battle
(Jazzland Recordings, 2015)
- With
Kornstad Ensemble and the
Norwegian Radio Orchestra
As co-leader
[
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]
- With
Wibutee
- Newborn Thing
(Jazzland Recordings, 1998)
- Eight Domestic Challenges
(Jazzland Recordings, 2001)
- Playmachine
(Jazzland Recordings, 2004)
- Sweet Mental
(Sonne Disk, 2006)
- With
Tri-Dim
- Tri-Dimprovisations
(bp, 1999)
- Tri-Dim feat. Barry Guy
(Sofa Recordings, 2001)
[8]
- With
Havard Wiik
(duo)
- Eight Tunes We Like
(Moserobie, 2005)
- The Bad and the Beautiful
(Moserobie, 2006)
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- With
Maria Kannegaard
- Maryland
(Moserobie, 2008)
- Maryland ? Live!
(Moserobie, 2009)
- With
Ingebrigt Haker Flaten
and
Jon Christensen
- Mitt hjerte alltid vanker
(Compunctio, 2011)
- Mitt hjerte alltid vanker II
(Compunctio, 2011)
- With others
As sideman
[
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]
- With
Ketil Bjørnstad
- A Passion for John Donne
(ECM, 2014)
- With
Sternklang
- My Time is Yours
(dBut, 2003)
- Transistor Beach
(dBut, 2006)
- With
No Spaghetti Edition
- Listen ... and tell me what it was
(Sofa Recordings, 2001)
[8]
- Pasta variations
(Sofa Recordings, 2002)
[8]
- With others
- Glow
(Curling Legs, 2000), with
Jacob Young
- Moving
(Jazzland Recordings, 2001), with
Bugge Wesseltoft
- Open Reminder
(Melektronikk, 2004), with
ARM
- Retrospective
(
F Communications
, 2006), with
Laurent Garnier
- "Liarbird" (Jazzland Recordings, 2011), with
Ola Kvernberg
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References
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External links
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International
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National
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Artists
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Other
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