Torun Eriksen

Though frequently identified as a Norwegian jazz singer and songwriter, Torun Eriksen commands a voice that moves fluidly beyond any single category. A seasoned recording artist, she navigates folk, pop, and rhythm & blues environments with equal ease, weaving these elements together inside her own compositions. She also excels as an interpretive vocalist, whether delivering pop standards or avant-garde classical works by other composers.

Her singing career started at age six inside a gospel choir in Lunde. During her teenage years, Eriksen and her family relocated to Skein, where she enrolled at a music high school. Continued choir work during her studies introduced her to jazz, classical, and contemporary music, while instructors encouraged her to compose and perform original material. At 19 she became a featured soloist. Her wide-ranging influences encompass Aretha Franklin, Randy Crawford, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny, and Rickie Lee Jones.

After settling in Oslo in 1997, she entered the Norwegian Institute for Stage and Studio. By then she had already met bassist Kjetil Dalland; together they assembled a band to perform Eriksen’s songs. One early composition, “Glittercard,” reached Bugge Wesseltoft through a demo she had recorded in Sweden, prompting him to sign her to his Jazzland Recordings label, where she has remained ever since. The debut album named after that song appeared internationally in April 2004 and received extensive critical praise. Extensive regional touring sharpened her stagecraft alongside a tight-knit group that included Dalland, David Wallumrød, and saxophonist/flutist Frøydis Grorud. Prayers and Observation followed in 2006. In 2007 she traveled to Japan as special guest with Jazzchoir Freiburg, whose orchestral arrangements highlighted her material. The acoustic album Passage arrived in 2010, produced by drummer Anders Engen and featuring guitarist Kjetil Steensnæs. Although Eriksen composed and recorded exclusively in English, she and Grorud issued the Norwegian Christmas recording Sanger om Glede og Fred, which contained her translation of Mitchell’s “River.”

Prolonged touring and club dates eventually led Eriksen to take a break, though she contributed to albums by Synne Sande and Grorud. She resurfaced in 2013 with Visits, a set of covers produced by Tobias Frøberg (Ane Brun). The collection traversed the pop spectrum and included songs by Prince, Pink Floyd, Randy Newman, D’Angelo, Jimmy Webb, and Tom Waits. The release not only drew widespread attention but also supplied the creative momentum to resume writing. In 2015 she appeared on Wesseltoft’s Bugge & Friends, toured with German jazz guitarist Susan Weinert, and joined her on the album Fjord. Eriksen and bassist Dalland co-produced 2016’s stylistically expansive Grand White Silk, which consisted entirely of original material. Wallumrød on keyboards, drummer Andreas Bye, and electric guitarist André Berg completed the lineup. That same year she and pianist Julia Hülsmann performed across Europe, presenting both songs and poetry.