A classically trained jazz pianist with a bent toward avant-garde improvised music,
Ketil Bjørnstad is a well-known musician and writer in Europe. With his cerebral, atmospheric style that belies a palpable inner passion and an inclination toward genre-crossing compositions,
Bjørnstad helped develop and popularize the "European jazz" aesthetic. He is also a writer and poet and has published over 30 works beginning with his 1972 poetry collection Alone. He began recording a year later with
Apning, and issued some 24 studio outings include 1977's
Selena for Phillips, 1983's Bjørnstad/Paus/Hamsun with singer
Ole Paus, and lyrics by author Knut Hamsun for KKV, and 1990's
The Shadow, wherein
Bjørnstad set the poems of
John Donne to music. After signing to ECM he issued 1993's
Water Stories; it marked the beginning of a series of H2O-themed outings for the label that included 1995's The Sea, 1997's
The River, and 1998's
The Sea II, (like its predecessor it featured with
David Darling,
Jon Christensen, and
Terje Rypdal). After 2000's
Epigraphs (with
Darling),
Bjørnstad moved over to Universal Jazz for a series of albums that included 2003's
The Nest featuring
Anneli Drecker and lyrics by Hart Crane. 2006's solo offering
Rainbow Sessions won acclaim from jazz and classical critics.
Bjørnstad returned to
ECM for 2008's
The Light, and notably, 2014's
A Passion For John Donne that showcased the pianist adapting the work of his favorite poet. He returned to Grappa for a series of recordings and audiobooks. In 2018, the pianist and
Drecker reunited with
ECM for
A Suite of Poems.
Bjørnstad followed with three albums for Grappa including the 20-track solo outing The World I Used To Know in 2019.
Born in Oslo, Norway,
Bjørnstad studied classical piano in London and Paris before making his debut in 1969 at age 16 with
the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra playing
Béla Bartók's third piano concerto. Surrounded by the vibrant arts scene in Oslo during the '70s,
Bjørnstad became interested in jazz and developing his own style of music. Citing an array of influences from
Bach and
Ravel to
Thelonious Monk and
Miles Davis,
Bjørnstad began working in an improvised idiom. In 1973, he released his debut album
Åpning featuring what would become a core group of longtime associates in drummer
Jon Christensen, guitarist
Terje Rypdal, and bassist
Arild Andersen. The album would be the first of several outings
Bjørnstad would record for Phillips. Over the years,
Bjørnstad's particular mix of jazz, classical, folk, and rock music would become highly influential in the development of what became known as "European jazz." Although he has become well-associated with the premier European jazz label
ECM, he did not record for the label until later in his career with 1993's
Water Stories, 1994's The Sea, 1997's
The River, and 1998's
The Sea II. In 2000,
Bjørnstad released the duo album
Epigraphs with cellist
David Darling on
ECM. That same year, he composed the millennium oratorio "Himmel Rand," featuring the texts of the poet
Stein Mehren. In 2002, he released the cinematic soundscape album
Before the Light on
Universal. In 2004,
Bjørnstad released the rock-oriented
Seafarer's Song featuring his ensemble with vocalist
Kristin Asbjornsen. Four years later, he returned to
ECM for the concert album
Live in Leipzig with guitarist
Rypdal. In 2008,
Bjørnstad once again worked with drummer
Christensen as well as tenor saxophonist
Tore Brunborg for the
ECM release Remembrance. In 2011,
Bjørnstad delivered the duo album
Night Song with cellist
Svante Henryson on
ECM. The pianist, who is also a published poet, novelist, and essayist, has stated that the Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni was one of his greatest influences; to that end, he composed a series of works meant to act as "a soundtrack to an inner film." Recording with bassist
Arild Andersen percussionist
Marilyn Mazur, cellist
Anja Lechner,
Eivind Aarset on guitar and electronics, and saxophonist
Andy Sheppard,
Bjørnstad released the live suite
La Notte in the late spring of 2013.
2014 proved prolific for the composer and pianist. His first release of the year, appearing in March, was a 2012 recording entitled
Sunrise: A Cantata on Texts by Edward Munch, performed by the pianist, his quartet, vocal soloist
Kari Bremnes, and the Oslo Chamber Choir under the direction of conductor Egil Fossum. The musical work was set to surviving written texts by the famous painter.
In October of that year,
ECM also released the 2014's premier performance of
Bjørnstad's
A Passion for John Donne, a work based on the poet's life, commissioned by the Oslo International Church Festival, and performed live with the pianist's group the Oslo Chamber Choir under the direction of
Hakon Daniel Nystedt. Interestingly, it featured the saxophonist
Hakon Kornstad in a dual role, not only playing his horn but as a vocal soloist. In 2015,
Bjørnstad returned to Grappa to release four very different albums: The solo outings
Shimmering and
Images, Bartók|Debussy|Ravel, a retrospective of his classical work from 1969 played solo and with the Oslo Symphony Orchestra, and a band collaboration with vocalist
Ole Paus, entitled Frolandia. In 2018, the pianist and
Drecker released
A Suite of Poems for
ECM.
Bjørnstad followed with the 20-track solo outing The World I Used to Know in 2019. ~ Matt Collar