Frode Berg

Frode Berg
Frode Berg
Background information
Born	24 October 1971 (age 53)
Origin	Oslo, Norway
Genres	Jazz, electronica, pop
Occupation	Musician
Instrument(s)	Double bass, cello, bass guitar
Formerly of	Oslo-Filharmonien

Frode Berg (born 24 October 1971) is a Norwegian bassist known for his works in classical and contemporary music, jazz, pop, and rock. As a jazz musician, he is known primarily for his performances with Helge Lien Trio^[1] In classical and contemporary music, he is primarily known as an orchestral bassist in the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (from 2010) and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra (2011).^[2]^[3]^[4] In addition, he has been known to play with John Parricelli, Peter Erskine, and Martin Robertson.^[5]

Career

Berg was born in Oslo in 1971. He grew up in Australia, Belgium, France and England, before returning to Norway at 11 years old.^[6] In adolescence (1984–90) he lived in Lier and took piano and trumpet lessons. He joined a rock band while he was in school, and throughout his college years he played in Ti'nok, Trio April and Jazz House, or with established musicians such as Einar Iversen, Harald Gundhus, Odd Riisnæs, Christian Reim, and others. He was a member of the local band ...and we hate Johnny who played at the Kongsberg Jazz Festival in 1990. Afterwards, Berg enrolled at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo that same year.

At the Norwegian Academy of Music, Berg studied classical bass under the guidance of Professor Knut Guettler. He has had a powerful influence on Norwegian music since 1992. In 1993, Berg toured with disco artist Donna Summer.^[7] In 2003, he released his first solo album, Dig It!. On this record, he collaborated with various well known Norwegian jazz musician such as Petter Wettre, Roy Powell, Sigurd Køhn, and Arild Andersen.

Berg has received great attention for his performances within Helge Lien Trio,^[1] and is known in Norway for his work with the musicians: Sir Paul McCartney, Bobby Shew, Andy Sheppard, Frank Gambale and Dee Dee Bridgewater, performing with Luciano Pavarotti. He has contributed to about 50 different albums, including Anno 96 with Oslo Groove Company, 8:97 with Knut Værnes, Spiral Circle (DIW, 2002) (which was nominated for the Spellemannprisen in 2002), Hello Troll (2008) (which received the Spellemannprisen in 2008), and Finger Magic with Erik Smith Trio.^[3]^[4]^[8]