Egil Kapstad facts for kids

Egil Kapstad (born August 6, 1940 – died July 13, 2017) was a talented Norwegian jazz musician. He was a pianist, a composer who wrote music, and an arranger who helped put music together. He created music for over 50 theatre plays. He also composed for movies and TV shows.

Egil Kapstad wrote classical music too. This included pieces for orchestras, choirs, and smaller groups. He was also a leader for the Ny Musikk association. This group supports new music. He even worked as a TV host for NRK, Norway's public broadcaster. His group, the Egil Kapstad Trio, played as a small orchestra in the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix in 1965.

Egil Kapstad's Music Career

Egil Kapstad was born in Oslo, Norway. He taught music history and how to improvise jazz at a music school in Kristiansand. As a pianist, he played on more than 60 music albums. He worked with many famous jazz musicians. These included Karin Krog, Chet Baker, and Red Mitchell. He also worked a lot with the poet Jan Erik Vold.

Kapstad received many important awards for his music. In 1977, he won the Buddyprisen. This is a big award from the Norwegian Jazz Federation. He also won an award from NOPA in 1984 for his work called Epilog. In 1985, he received the Gammleng-prisen for jazz music.

He won the Spellemannprisen twice. This is like the Norwegian Grammy Awards. He won it first for his album Cherokee in 1989. Then, he won it again in 1994 for Remembrance. This album was with his group, the Egil Kapstad Trio.

In 2003, Kapstad became a government scholar. This means he received support from the government for his artistic work. He passed away in Kristiansand in July 2017.

What Music Did Egil Kapstad Compose?

Egil Kapstad wrote many different kinds of music. Here are some of his selected compositions:

• Syner (1967): This piece was performed again in a new version in 1990.
• Epilog – Bill Evans in Memoriam (1983): This was a special piece for a jazz festival called Vossajazz. It honored another famous jazz pianist, Bill Evans.
• Døgn for kammerorkester: This was a piece for a chamber orchestra.
• Theater music: He wrote music for many plays. These included Shakespeare's King Lear. He also wrote music for Ibsen's Kongsemnerne. Another play he wrote music for was Helge Hagerup's Kuler i solnedgangen.

Egil Kapstad's Albums

Egil Kapstad released several albums where he was the main artist or a co-leader. Some of these include:

• Syner (around 1967)
• Friends (around 1980 and again around 2003)
• Epilog: Bill Evans in Memoriam (around 1984)
• Cherokee (1988): This was a trio album with Terje Venaas on bass and Egil Johansen on drums.
• Remembrance (1993): Another trio album with the same musicians.
• Storytellers (1998): This album featured spoken word by Jan Erik Vold.
• Wolfvoices (around 2003)

He also played piano on many albums for other artists. Some of his notable collaborations include:

• With Karin Krog on By Myself (1964).
• With Lars Klevstrand on Twostep og blå ballader (1974) and I fløyterens hjerte (1990).
• With Bjarne Nerem on Everything Happens to Me (1977).
• With Magni Wentzel on Sofies plass (1983) and All or Nothing at All (1985).
• With Totti Bergh on I Hear a Rhapsody (1985) and Major Blues (1990).
• With Laila Dalseth on Time for Love (1986) and A Woman's Intuition (1995).
• He worked a lot with Jan Erik Vold on many albums. These included Den dagen Lady døde (1986), Blåmann! Blåmann! (1988), and Storytellers (1998).
• He also played with Hilde Hefte on several albums. These were Round Chet's Midnight (1999), Playsong (2001), and Quiet Dreams (2017).