Jon Balke

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Jon Balke
Jon Balke.jpg
Balke at Berchidda on Sardinia, 2006
(Photo by Gianfranco Rota)
Background information
Birth nameJon Georg Balke
Born (1955-06-07) 7 June 1955 (age 69)
Furnes, Norway
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
InstrumentPiano
Website www.magnetic.no

Jon Georg Balke (born 7 June 1955) is a Norwegian jazz pianist who leads the group Siwan. He is the younger brother of saxophonist Erik Balke. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Career

Balke at Sentralen during the 2016 Oslo Jazzfestival Jon Balke Sentralen Oslo Jazzfestival (181249).jpg
Balke at Sentralen during
the 2016 Oslo Jazzfestival

Balke started playing classical piano but switched to blues at 12, though he performs within several genres. At the age of 18 he joined Arild Andersen's quartet. By the mid-1980s he worked on his own and would become one of Norway's leading jazz composers. [4] He was active in the groups of Radka Toneff and in the Afrofusion group E'olén before joining Oslo 13 and Masqualero in the early 1980s. From 1989 he focused on his own projects, such as JøKleBa (with Audun Kleive and Per Jørgensen) and the Magnetic North Orchestra for which he composed the commissioned work Il Cenoneat to Vossajazz 1992. [5]

Balke formed the percussion group Batagraf in 2002, and created the concept work Siwan with singer Amina Alaoui in 2007. He is also the creator of a series of multimedia concerts at Vossajazz festival, labeled Ekstremjazz. The concerts involve various practitioners of extreme sports, such as parachuting, paragliding, hanggliding, and BMX biking. [1] [4] In 2012 he was artist in residence at Moldejazz. [6] In 2016 he launched the solo piano concept Warp the use of live electronics accompanying the grand piano in live performances.

Awards and honors

Discography

As leader

An asterisk (*) indicates year of release.

Year recordedTitleLabelPersonnel/Notes
1994Further ECM With Morten Halle (sax), Per Jørgensen (trpt), Tore Brunborg (sax) Anders Jormin (bass) Marilyn Mazur (perc) Audun Kleive (perc)
1997Rotor Curling Legs With Morten Hannisdal (cello), Marek Konstantynowicz (viola), Henrik Hannisdal and Odd Hannisdal (violin)
1998*Saturation Jazzland/EmArcy With Nils-Olav Johansen (guitar, vocals), Fredrik Lundin (sax, flute), Sidsel Endresen (vocals)
1999SolarizedEmArcy Magnetic North Orchestra
2002Kyanos ECM Magnetic North Orchestra
2004Diverted TravelsECMMagnetic North Orchestra
2006 Book of Velocities ECMSolo piano
2007–08 Siwan ECMWith Amina Alaoui (vocals), Jon Hassell (trumpet, electronics), Kheir-Eddine M'Kachiche (violin), Helge Andreas Norbakken (percussion), Pedram Khavar Zamini (zarb), Bjarte Eike, Per Buhre, Peter Spissky, Anna Ivanovna Sundin and Miloš Valent (violin), Rastko Roknic and Joel Sundin (viola) Tom Pitt (cello), Kate Hearne (cello, recorder), Mattias Frostensson (double bass), Andreas Arend (theorboe, archlute), Hans Knut Sveen (harpsichord, clavichord)
2009Say and Play ECM With Helge Andreas Norbakken (sabar, gorong, djembe, talking drum, shakers, percussion), Emilie Stoesen Christensen (vocals), Erland Dahlen (drums), Torgeir Rebolledo Pedersen (poetry reading)
2012Magnetic WorksECMMagnetic North Orchestra
2014WarpECMSolo piano and keyboards with field recordings [8]
2017Nahnou HoumECMSecond album with the Siwan concept [9]
2020DiscoursesECMSolo album that further develops the methodology introduced on the Warp album [10]
2022HaflaECMThird album with Siwan featuring Mona Boutchebak, Derya Turkan and Pedram Khavarzamini. [11]
2025SkrifumECMSolo album that further develops the methodology introduced in the Warp and Discourses albums [12]

As co-leader

With Jøkleba

With Batagraf

As sideman

With Radka Toneff

With Masqualero

With Oslo 13

With others

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Jon Balke Biography (in Norwegian). Norsk Biografisk Leksikon . Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  2. ↑ "Europe Jazz Orchestra". EuropeJazz.net. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.
  3. 1 2 Kelman, John (2012-08-15). "Jon Balke: Magnetic Works 1993-2001 - Extended Analysis". AllAboutJazz.com. Retrieved 2012-11-09.
  4. 1 2 "Jon Balke Biography - Music Information Center Norway - MIC.no".
  5. ↑ "Jon Balke - alene med et flygel - Jazz". NRK.no (in Norwegian)
  6. ↑ "Jon Balke - Artist in Recidence". Moldejazz.no. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  7. ↑ "Jon Balke – Magnetic Works" (in Norwegian). Jazz NRK.no.
  8. ↑ "Warp". ECM Records. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  9. ↑ "Nahnou Houm". ECM Records. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  10. ↑ "Discourses". ECM Records.
  11. ↑ "Hafla". ECM Records.
  12. ↑ "Skrifum". ECM Records.
  13. ↑ "Jon Balke and Magnetic North Orchestra: Diverted travels - Listen to Norway MIC.no". Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. (by Tomas Lauvland Pettersen)
  14. ↑ "Magnetic Works 1993-2001". ECM Records. Archived from the original on 2016-01-16. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
Awards
Preceded by Recipient of the Buddyprisen
1984		Succeeded by
Preceded by Recipient of the Jazz Gammleng-prisen
2008		Succeeded by
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