Frode Thingnæs

Frode Thingnæs (20 March 1940 - 15 November 2012) was a Norwegian jazz composer, arranger, conductor, trombone player, married on 2 June 1979 to actor and drama teacher Marianne Mørk (b. 16 May 1953) and they gave birth to the pianist Magnus Alexander Mørk Thingnæs (b. 1984), and Filmstudent, Maren Victoria Thingnæs. He formed the quintet Frode Thingnæs Quintet.

Thingnæs picked up the trumpet at eight, when he started to play in Sinsen school band. In 1953 he switched to trombone. He received his music education at th in Sinsen school band. In 1953 he switched to trombone. He received his music education at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. From 1959 onwards he played in orchestras led by Bjørn Jacobsen, Gunnar Brostigen, Mikkel Flagstad and Kjell Karlsen. His own F. T. Quintet, formed in 1960, was included on Norway's first jazz album, released in 1963. He contributed to releases by Egil Kapstad, Terje Rypdal, Laila Dalseth, Espen Rud, Bjørn Alterhaug and Per Husby. In 1967 he was named best trombonist in the magazine 'Jazznytt musician vote', and in 1969 he led his Norwegian sextet at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival.

He was kapellmeister at Norway's most famous revue theater, Chat Noir in 1960. On the pop music scene he made contributions over a period to Popol Ace. He conducted the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. Together with Philip Kruse he wrote the music for the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest entries "Hvor er du?" (1974, English title "The First Day of Love") and "Mata Hari" (1976), both performed by his former wife, Anne-Karine Strøm. At the time both Thingnæs and Strøm were members of jury member Finn Eriksen's orchestra. Frode Thingnæs has also conducted and been a member of the Defense Staff Marching Orchestra (FSMK) and for more than 30 years he has conducted Norway's most high-profile Janissary orchestra, Kampen Janitsjarorkester. Other pop music collaborations include Wenche Myhre, Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson. For a number of years Thingnæs worked together with Einar Schanke, Alfred Næss and Yngvar Numme. He has composed a lot. His most renowned works may be Wheels and the Flåklypa ballet (1985) at the Norwegian National Opera. He also produced records for, among others, Bodega Band (1977). In latter years he led a quintet together with Harald Gundhus. Thingnæs died, aged 72, in Oslo.

• 1970: Buddyprisen awarded by the Norwegian Jazz Federation
• 1980: Spellemannprisen in the class Jazz for the album Direct to Dish
• 1999: The Norwegian King's Medal of Merit in gold
• 1999: Honorary citizen of New Orleans

Solo albums

• 1974: Feelin' All Right (Polydor Records)

• 1978: Nightsounds (Talent Records)
• 1980: Direct to Dish (Philips Records)
• 1981: Queen Python (Philips Records)
• 1994: Watch What Happens! (Gemini Records), including with Svein Christiansen & Terje Gewelt

Collaborations

• 1990: Sing as we Go (Kampen Janitsjar)
• 2002: From Kampen to New Orleans (Kampen Janitsjar)
• 2008: Samspill(Kampen Janitsjar)

• 1991: Some Other Time (Gemini Records)

• 2007: Antonsen Big Band (Ponca Jazz)

• 2008: Edvard Grieg in Jazz Mood (Universal Music)