Bjørn Kjellemyr
Biography Bjørn Kjellemyr
Bjørn Kjellemyr
one of Norwegian jazz’s most distinctive bassists, passed away on 9 August, aged 74, following a long illness.
Bjørn Kjellemyr was born in Bamble in Telemark on 4 December 1950. During his youth, he was active in the rock scene in the Skien area, before becoming increasingly involved in jazz. Throughout his life, Kjellemyr contributed to a wide range of Norwegian jazz.
Among other things, he was the bassist on Knut Riisnæs’ *Flukt* (1982), which won the Spellemann Prize, and in Terje Rypdal’s new band The Chasers, alongside Audun Kleive, who, amongst other things, released *Chaser* (ECM 1985) and *Blue* (1987).
His list of collaborations is long and spans multiple genres: Jon Balke, Jon Eberson, Jan Gunnar Hoff, Bugge Wesseltoft, Søyr, the Jazzpunk Ensemble, Oslo 13, Berit Opheim and Nils Økland in the BNB Trio.
He also left an equally profound mark on the Norwegian folk song tradition, working with Geirr Lystrup, Halvdan Sivertsen, Lars Klevstrand, Kari Bremnes, Anne Grete Preus and Jan Eggum. And in collaboration with the Baroque lutenist Rolf Lislevand, he helped to create a hybrid of early music and improvisation, documented on ECM releases such as *Nuove Musiche* (2006) and *Diminuito* (2009).
Internationally, he had the opportunity to play with the likes of Chet Baker, Joe Henderson and Pat Metheny, to name but a few.
From 2005, he was an associate professor of jazz at the Norwegian Academy of Music. And these days, we see many of today’s prominent Norwegian jazz musicians paying tribute to him and thanking him as an important mentor and source of inspiration. He has inspired several generations of bassists.
Kjellemyr was named Jazz Musician of the Year by the Association of Norwegian Jazz Musicians in 1990 and received the Buddy Prize in 1994 – the highest honour in Norwegian jazz.
Bjørn Kjellemyr left behind a musical legacy that has left its mark on much of Norwegian music history over the past fifty years, but he is also remembered as an open, generous and considerate colleague and friend. His deep, warm tone still resonates.
