THE MUSICIANS
WOODWINDS
Michael Barnes
Elisabeth Lid Trøen
Ole Jacob Hystad
Kjetil Møster
Thomas Nøkling
TRUMPETS
Svein Henrik Giske
Are Ovesen
Børge Styve
Hans Marius Andersen
TROMBONES
Sindre Dalhaug
Håvard Sannes
Pål Roseth
Tore Bryne Berg (bass)
RHYTHM SECTION
Dag Arnesen (pn)
Magne Thormodsæter (bs)
Open spot (git)
Øyvind Skarbø (dr)
BAND MEMBERS
Who are the musicians
KJETIL MØSTER
Kjetil Møster is a Norwegian saxophone player. Since 2000 he’s been working with numerous bands, artists and projects, playing hundreds of concerts around the world and has released around 50 albums with various projects within the field of jazz, improvised music, electro-acoustic noise, contemporary music, free rock, hip hop, pop and so on. Most active bands is or has been: Møster!, Datarock, Ultralyd, Zanussi Five, The Core, Trinity and glam rockers King Midas, but he has also done projects with Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Paal Nilssen-Love, Bugge Wesseltoft, Jon Christensen, Andrew D’Angelo, Jim Black, Maja Ratkje to name a few. Is also contributing on albums and has played live with Röyksopp, Lars Vaular, Sondre Lerche and many more.
ØYVIND SKARBØ
Øyvind Skarbø is a drummer, composer and producer. He studied with Terje Isungset from 2004-2006, and has also studied Norwegian, Cuban and Yoruba traditional music. Øyvind has played on 37 albums, and performed in 29 countries. He received the Vossajazz Prize in 2016 and the TONO Edvard award in 2022. Skarbø Skulekorps is his main unit, for which he also composes the music. The ensemble, featuring the who's who of Scandinavian musicians, has received high acclaim for their two albums Skarbø Skulekorps (2019) and Dugnad (2021), both released on Hubro. Their third album Innesko is released on Skarbø's own Øyvind Jazzforum label. Since 2006 he has been a strong presence on the European scene, initiating several highly acclaimed projects. His long-running improvising trio 1982, and the electric trio Bly de Blyant released a total of 8 albums on the Hubro label. In 2016 he initiated the international quartet Inland Empire. From 2012–2018 Øyvind toured and recorded two albums for Håkon Kornstad's highly successful Tenor Battle project.Since 2017, Skarbø has been composing and producing more. Apart from his music for Skarbø Skulekorps, this has resulted in such works as 25MB RAM for video and string quartet, debuted at the Borealis-festival
MICHAEL BARNES
Michael Barnes is the lead alto and musical director of Bergen Big Band. He is a big part of the heart and soul of this band, and has contributed generously with his hard work and knowledge in the band since he moved to Bergen.
After graduating from The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts with a Bachelor of jazz w/honours in composition and arranging, Michael left Australia to move to Norway. He has since established himself as a band leader, conductor, composer/arranger, pedagog and woodwind specialist in Bergen. Michael is the musical director of Bergen Big Band together with Dag Arnesen. He is also musical director for amateur big bands Storband 90 and Fana Big Band. He has been a part of the Frode Grytten Beat Band since its inception 2008. He leads his own ensemble The Michael Barnes Octet and has released an album with this band in January 2023. He has written a hundreds of arrangements and compositions for varied ensembles throughout Norway and Australia and has worked with music education with institutions such as Bergen Kulturskole, Bit20, Den Nye Opera and Bergen Private Gymnas. In 2022 Michael was awarded Norwegian Jazz associations national big band prize.
SINDRE DALHAUG
Sindre Dalhaug is the current Lead Trombone player, head of the board, and simply Bergen Big Bands rock and foundation. Without his firm and wise leadership the last couple of years, the band would not be what it is today.
Sindre was born in Ålesund, Norway, and was educated at the Grieg Academy of Music in Bergen, and Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. At Guildhall he followed a jazz course where he played with big names such as Kenny Wheeler and Billy Cobham. After completing his education, Sindre landed a position in The Norwegian Naval Forces' Band in Bergen in 1998. This was also the same year he joined Bergen Big
Band. Sindre Dalhaug is a versatile musician, and has done everything from playing theatre shows at DNS, conducting different bands, and touring with big artists like the Ylvis brothers. He has also collaborated with many great jazz musicians throughout the years, such as Paquito D’Rivera, Diana Krall, Karin Krog, Terje Rypdal, Chris Potter, Django Bates and Marius Neset.
MAGNE THORMODSÆTER
Magne Thormodsæter is an awardwinning Norwegian jazz musician and composer, and one of Norway´s most popular bass players. He is known from a high number of national and international bands and recordings, and collaborations with musicians such as Terje Rypdal, Hildegunn Øiseth, Paolo Vinaccia and Karin Krog, to mention a few.
Magne has his musical degree from the acknowledged jazz education program at NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) in Trondheim in 1998, and has lived and worked in Bergen after completing his studies. Magne has composed, directed and arranged for many different ensembles, and received the Vossa Jazz Award in 2004 for his work with his own band, Bungalow. Thormodsæter has participated on over 100 recordings and albums throughout his career, and he is a desired musician in both national and international jazz collaborations. Some of his projects during the last few years have been with groups such as Svein Olav Herstad trio, Eivind Austad trio, Hildegunn Øiseth Quartet, Frøydis Grorud kvartett, Way Out West, Nduduzo Makhathini, Karl-Martin Almqvist, among others. He also works as Associate Professor at the Grieg Academy of Music in Bergen.
Magne is currently stepping in to the role of musical director of Bergen Big Band together with Michael Barnes.
DAG ARNESEN
Nestor in Norwegian jazz, Dag Arnesen, is a pianist/composer, born and raised in Bergen. He started his musical journey studying classical music with Jiri Hlinka at the Music Conservatory in Bergen in the early 70ties, but soon developed a strong interest in Jazz music, from which he has built his impressive career. Dag is internationally recognized for his successful project called ´Norwegian Song´, where he brings Norwegian folk music, traditional songs and Edvard Grieg´s compositions into the jazz trio formate. This project has also been released with Bergen Big Band, as Norwegian Song IV. In total, he has released 16 albums as a leader, and has been a sideman on many other recordings. Arnesen has been a regular guest at the jazz festivals in Norway, where he has toured extensively for several decades. He has also toured throughout Europe, as well as performing in Japan, China, India, Vietnam, Argentina, USA and Canada.
Throughout his long career in Jazz, Dag has played with many of the best Norwegian musicians as well as international stars such as Joe Henderson, Elvin Jones, Woody Shaw, Phil Woods, Philip Catherine, Carla Bley, John Surman, Paquito D´Rivera, Maria Schneider, Jerry Bergonzi, Adam Nussbaum, Gustavo Bergalli, among many others. He received the prestigious Buddy Award for his work as a jazz musician and composer in 2009.
ELISABETH LID TRØEN
Elisabeth Lid Trøen is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, flutist and composer based in Bergen, Norway. She graduated from the acknowledged jazz department of NTNU, (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) in Trondheim in 2015. Since then she has been an increasingly recognized name in the Norwegian jazz scene, and she has performed with many great musicians like Chris Potter, Andy Sheppard, Gianluigi Trouvesi, Marius Neset and Tord Gustavsen among others.
Elisabeth is to be heard in many great ensembles like Bergen Big Band and Vestnorsk Jazz ensemble, and she leads her own quartet with the well-recognized pianist Dag Arnesen from Bergen. They released their first album, "Tread Lightly", in 2021, and the quartet is now current with Elisabeth´s commissioned piece for Trondheim Jazz Festival, "New Paintings of Jazz". She recieved the prestigious Vossa Jazz Award in 2020.
SVEIN HENRIK GISKE
Svein H. Giske was born in Ålesund on the northwestern coast of Norway in 1973. From 1997 to date he's been a member of the Bergen Big Band. Since 1993 he has lived in Bergen, where he also studied trumpet and composition at the Grieg Academy of Music. In 1996 he landed a position as trumpeter in The Norwegian Naval Forces' Band in Bergen, where he still works. He is a frequent soloist with the band both in live performances and on recordings. Giske is versatile both as a trumpet player and as a composer/arranger. He has on many occasions played with contemporary ensemble Bit 20, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and at Den Nationale Scene, the theatre scene in Bergen. As a composer/arranger he has written and arranged a lot of music, mainly for winds and percussion, but also for choir, big band and various chamber music constellations. He has written for contemporary ensemble Bit 20, and has had commissions from The Norwegian Band Federation with trumpet virtuoso Ole Edvard Antonsen, The Arctic Philharmonic with trombone virtuoso Ian Bousfield and the Bergen Big Band. All the professional military bands in Norway play titles from Giske's pen.
BØRGE STYVE
Børge Styve is a versatile trumpet player from Evanger, Norway, educated at The Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, and at Europe´s largest music college, Hochschule für Musik Köln. He has a position as a trumpet player in The Norwegian Naval Forces' Band in Bergen, and has been a member of Bergen Big Band since 2019. As a freelancer he has played with numerous orchestras and ensembles like KORK, Oslo Filharmonic Orchestra and Bergen Filharmonic Orchestra. In addition to his career in classical music, he is also very familiar with jazz and other genres, and has played in many different jazz bands all the way since his teenage years in the Voss School of Jazz.
OLE JACOB HYSTAD
Norwegian tenorist from Stord, Ole Jacob Hystad, has been an active musician since the end of the 70’s. He has collaborated with a lot of national and international musicians, and leads his own quartet/quintet. He has released two CDs under his own name; Touch of Time (Taurus Records, 1998) and Tune In – Take Out (2002) with norwegian bassplayer Sigurd Ulveseth, danish pianist Ben Besiakov and drummer Alex Riel. He has contributed to over 40 other releases, and has been a member of BBB for over 25 years
HANS MARIUS ANDERSEN
Hans Marius Andersen is a versitile full-time freelance trumpet player and multi instrumentalist. He works as a session musician within most genres. Outside Norway, Hans Marius has performed in countries such as the USA, England, France, Hungary, Taiwan, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Poland. Including at well-known jazz clubs such as Ronnie Scott's in London and The Jazz Gallery in New York. He has worked with known artists in most genres, including Sissel Kyrkjebø, Tord Gustavsen, Jerry Bergonzi, Aurora, Sondre Lerche, Blood Command, Nat Macintosh, Jon Balke, Adam Douglas, Karoline Krüger, Herborg Kråkevik, Django Bates and Gianluigi Trovesi. In addition, he has been a soloist with, among others, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, The Norwegian Radio Orchestra and the Norwegian Armed Forces Band on several occations.
As an ensemble player Hans Marius is a sought after lead trumpet and session player. Apart from Bergen Big Band he has worked in ensembles such as EuroRadio Jazz Orchestra, The National Scene (theatre), and countless other Big Bands, Brass Bands, Wind Bands and Symphony Orchestras. Despite his young age Hans Marius has contributed on well over 40 releases.
THOMAS NØKLING
Thomas Nøkling b. 1975, is a saxophonist and big band/wind orchestra conductor based in Vaksdal. He is a member of the Michael Barnes Octet, Bergen Big Band and Coyote Salami. Since 2019 he has performed solo in the woods, in empty shopping malls and in a massive shut down factory. Since 2001 he has collaborated with artists such as: Karin Park, Rune Larsen, Ole Amund Gjersvik, Mari Persson, Bjarte Aasmul, Anita Skorgan, Tine Taule, and Frode Grytten Beat Band. In 2021 he obtained a master´s degree in jazz where he focused on solo work and combining analogue photography and solo improvisation.
PÅL ROSETH
Pål Roseth is a versatile and experienced trombone player from Stord in Norway, where he still lives, and has contributed a lot to the local music community due to his work as a teacher.
Pål Roseth has his instrumental education from Bergen Music Conservatory in the 70´s, where he studied classical music. He developed his interest in jazz from his father, who played the trumpet, and lead both a big band and a dixie band. Roseth is a founding member in Bergen Big Band, and he also played in Bergen Band, which was the forerunner of BBB. Throughout his time in BBB he has had the pleasure of playing with a number of great musicians, such as Django Bates, Marius Neset, Chris Potter, Lars Jansson and Joe Henderson, to mention a few.
TORE BRYNE BERG
Bass trombonist Tore Bryne Berg was born in Tjensvoll, Stavanger. He is educated at the Grieg academy of Music in Bergen, and The Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. Tore holds the position of bass trombone player in The Norwegian Naval Forces' Band in Bergen. In addition to this he works as a freelancer, and has throughout the years played with many of the leading symphony orchestras in the country. He is a versatile player with long experience in both the classical, jazz and military band world, and is one of the most sought after performers in his field. He appears on many recordings.
ARE OVESEN IS A
Are Ovesen, born 1969, from Trondheim is a versatile trumpet player. He has worked with different jazz bands, constellations and orchestras since the 1990s. In addition to this he is a brilliant director for many ensembles and big bands, such as Bergen Ungdomsstorband (Bergen Youth Big Band).
HÅVARD SANNES
Håvard Sannes, born in 1974, is a classically trained trombonist educated at The Norwegian Academy of Music. He has been holding a position in The Norwegian Naval Forces' Band in Bergen since 2004. He also works as a freelancer in jazz and salsa bands, and has throughout the years played with many of the leading symphony orchestras in Scandinavia and Germany.
