Jon Larsen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jon Larsen
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Jon Larsen, 2008
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| Background information | |
| Born | 7 January 1959 Bærum, Norway |
| Genres | Jazz, gypsy jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, painter, scientific researcher |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Labels | Hot Club |
| Associated acts | Hot Club de Norvège |
Jon Larsen, born on January 7, 1959, is a talented musician, artist, and even a scientist! He plays gypsy jazz guitar, produces music, paints, and studies tiny space dust. He is famous for starting the band Hot Club de Norvège. In 2007, he won the Buddy Award, a special prize for his amazing work in jazz music.
Contents
Jon Larsen's Amazing Career
Early Music Days
When Jon was a teenager, he started playing rock and soul songs on his guitar. He learned about different music styles like blues, jazz, and flamenco from his friends. One day, he heard a song called "Tears" by Django Reinhardt on the radio. He loved the sound of the guitar and knew that's how he wanted his own guitar to sound.
At just seventeen, Jon formed a small music group. This was his very first professional job as a musician!
Starting Hot Club de Norvège
In the 1970s, Jon Larsen also worked as a painter. But his love for music grew. In 1980, he started a band called Hot Club de Norvege. He formed it with two other musicians, Per Frydenlund and Svein Aarbostad.
The band became quite popular. They even had a hit song when they played with a famous pop singer named Lillebjørn Nilsen.
Music Producer and Collaborations
Jon Larsen also started his own music company called Zonic Entertainment. He used it to record musicians who were inspired by Frank Zappa, a very unique artist.
Over the years, Jon has worked with many famous jazz musicians. Some of them include Chet Baker, Stéphane Grappelli, and Biréli Lagrène. He has produced more than 450 jazz albums for his own record label, Hot Club Records.
He even led a group of musicians who used to play with Frank Zappa. They recorded an album together called Strange News from Mars.
Films and Awards
In 2008, a film called Symphonic Django was released. The same company also made a documentary about Jon Larsen and another amazing guitarist, Jimmy Rosenberg. This documentary was called Jon & Jimmy. In 2012, Jon & Jimmy won a special prize called the Dutch Edison Award.
In 2020, Jon Larsen appeared in a documentary film by Werner Herzog called Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds. In the film, Jon showed how he finds tiny space rocks, called micro-meteorites, in cities.
Discovering Space Dust
Jon Larsen has a very unique hobby: he searches for cosmic dust! This is tiny dust from space that falls to Earth. After eight years of research, he wrote a book about it in 2017. The book is called In Search of Stardust: Amazing Micro-Meteorites and Their Terrestrial Imposters. It has even been translated into several languages!
Jon Larsen's Works
Music Albums
Jon Larsen has released many albums both as a solo artist and with his band, Hot Club de Norvège.
- He released albums like Superstrings and The Next Step on his own.
- With Hot Club de Norvege, he released albums such as String Swing and Django Music.
- He also played on albums for other artists, like Lillebjorn Nilsen.
Books Written by Jon Larsen
Jon Larsen has written several books, showing his many talents.
- Maler I Solnedgang (Painter in the Sunset) – 2009
- Norske Meteoritter – 2014
- Zappa I Norge – 2015
- In Search of Stardust – 2016 (This book is about finding tiny space dust!)
- Star Hunter – 2017
- Hot Club de Norvège 1979-2019 – 2019
- On the Trail of Stardust – 2019
- Atlas of Micrometeorites – 2020
- How To Find Stardust – 2021
Films Featuring Jon Larsen
Jon Larsen has been part of some interesting films.
- Symphonic Django – 2007
- Jon & Jimmy – 2010 (This film won the Dutch Edison Award!)
- Fireball – 2020 (A documentary by Werner Herzog where Jon shows how he finds space dust.)
