Bendik Hofseth – vocals and saxophone
Mats Eilertsen – bass

Per Oddvar Johansen – drums

Eivind Aarset – guitar

Helge Iberg – grand piano

 

As one of the most prominent voices in Norwegian jazz for several decades, he moves between pop, jazz, improvisation and open musical landscapes.

 

It will be 35 years in 2026 since he released his first album "IX" and in 2025 he released no less than 5 albums. The 4LP box Forest, which consists of four records that represent four different sides of Bendik's life, both musically and privately. "Jazzplata" Trunks, "popplata" Branches, "contemporary/jazz/impro-plata" Roots and most recently the miniature collection Pollen and Leaves. The fifth album is called "Lux ex lacrimis". It is Latin and means "light out of tears" (or "light from tears"), and expresses the idea of finding hope or beauty in the midst of grief or suffering. The album is dedicated to Bendik's late wife, where the music expresses precisely this theme: finding light after loss. According to Dagsavisen, this has become one of the finest things he has done and named the album one of the best jazz albums of 2025.

 

Bendik Hofseth started his career as a superstar in the jazz rock band Steps Ahead, when he took over from Michael Brecker. He was then launched as Norway's Sting or perhaps Peter Gabriel on Columbia Records in the US, where he made his solo debut with IX in 1991. Twenty years later, the album was voted one of the best Norwegian albums of all time in the Morgenbladet Top 100 poll. But Bendik did not want to be dictated by American market forces and moved home and released a number of critically acclaimed albums, both in the jazz genre, but also in the crossover segment pop/world music/contemporary music... and often all at the same time. In Norwegian, English and instrumental.

Hofseth has always gone his own way and is known among other musicians for giving his fellow players plenty of space. In the 90s he brought with him musicians such as Knut Reiersrud, Audun Erlien, Eivind Aarset, Paolo Vinaccia and Øystein Sevåg. Relatively unknown at the time, but world stars afterwards. Look forward to an exciting meeting with beautiful music and fantastic musicians!