HÅKON KORNSTAD
Follow
Listen
Contact
Booking Roger Urhaug (+47) 916 67 587 (e-post)
Reviews
Biography
Born in Oslo, Norway in 1977, Kornstad took up the clarinet in grammar school and eventually turned to the saxophone and studies at the Trondheim Jazz Conservatory. He co-founded the group Wibutee, soon to be signed by Bugge Wesseltoft’s label Jazzland. On a visit to New York in 2009, he discovered opera and decided to take singing lessons. He applied to The Norwegian Academy of Opera, where he completed his master studies as operatic tenor in May 2014!
Kornstad Trio started performing together in 2016. Jazz saxophonist and opera singer Håkon Kornstad is joined by accordionist Frode Haltli and bass player Mats Eilertsen — three of the finest and most versatile improvisers on the European music scene today. A new album from the critically acclaimed Kornstad Trio—just in time for an anticipated re-opening of the global music scene. Maybe this album will open your ears, too? Following the 2018 release Im Treibhaus — For You Alone is a new set of songs and opera arias paired with soulful, Scandinavian jazz.
Håkon Kornstad Trio “For You Alone” (2021)
Håkon Kornstad – tenor, tenor saxophone, flute,
Frode Haltli – accordion,
Mats Eilertsen – double bass.
«[he]“ spins fine sound structures with his unpretentious cronies Haltli and Eilertsen, which transport the old songs into a beguiling new context.»Jazz Thing
“Sterkt, inderlig, vakkert – enkelt og greit unikest. Kornstad & Co befinner seg fortsatt i grenselandet de har skapt sjøl, men er nå enda tryggere både på seg sjøl og hverandre. Herlig og strålende.” ★★★★★★ Nettavisen
His first solo album was the critically acclaimed Single Engine (2007). This established Kornstad a leading jazz musician in Norway. The second solo album, Dwell Time (Jazzland 2009), was recorded by the legendary Jan Erik Kongshaug. Downbeat Magazine dubbed Kornstad “one of Norway’s most original and daring musicians.”
Håkon Kornstad in Concert
Kornstad performes his music in several formats. This includes soloperformances, the Håkon Kornstad Trio, and the orchestral formats of chamber and symphonic music. Blending opera and jazz, the Kornstad Ensemble featured harmonium and harpsichord in addition to a rhythm section. Spencer Grady in Jazzwise wrote: “Håkon Kornstad and his Tenor Battle troupe have fashioned a triumphant Bartók-reversal, the successful contextualising of high-end tropes into the folk firmament.”
The orchestral works of Kornstad has been performed with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK), WDR Funkhausorchestra in Cologne in 2018, and the Stockholm Wind Symphonic. He has also a collaboration with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and director Terje Tønnesen.
The solo concerts is performed with Solo saxophone, flute, flutonette, voice and live looping.
