Born: 1952 in Norway
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Classical, Folk Jazz, Avant-Garde Jazz, Post-Bop
Instruments: Piano

Although not too well-known in the United States, Ketil Bjornstad has been active in improvised jazz-oriented music for 30 years. Classically trained (studying in Oslo, London and Paris), Bjornstad performed as a soloist with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra in 1969. However when he heard Miles Davis' In A Silent Way, the pianist decided to switch careers and head towards jazz. In 1973 he led his first session (a quartet outing with Jon Christensen and Arild Andersen) which was one of several that he would cut for Philips. Bjornstad's spacey piano playing (icy cool but full of inner heat) was a natural to be featured on ECM yet surprisingly he would not debut for that label for two more decades. In the meantime he appeared on thirty recordings which ranged from borderline New Age to rock, and he also wrote 18 books (including 14 novels) in Norway. Finally in 1993 Ketil Bjornstad recorded Water Stories (a 12-piece work) for ECM, featuring a quartet that co-stars guitarist Terje Rypdal.

- Scott Yanow (All Music Guide)

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Ketil Bjornstad is a unique figure in the arts in Norway, recognized not only as a composer/pianist but also as a writer. He has published some 25 books, mainly novels, collections of poetry and essays. His history as a musician is also unorthodox: Classically trained, he made his debut in 1969 at the age of 17 as a soloist, playing Bartok's Piano Concerto No. 3. In the same year he changed his musical priorities and left the classical world behind him. Concentrating on improvised/experimental music, Bjornstad set up his own group and recorded his first album in 1973 with Arild Andersen and Jon Christensen. Since then he has recorded over 40 albums, many of them for ECM, making an important contribution to the rise of Scandinavian Jazz. Apart from writing music for films (amongst them Jean-Luc Godard's 'Forever Mozart') he has been playing all over the world as a solo performer and with musicians such as Terje Ripdal, Jon Christensen and David Darling.

www.tp60.dial.pipex.com/Ketil.htm