Frode Kjekstad

In October 2019 Kjekstad recorded a new trio album in Norway, featuring Norwegian bass player Frode Berg and the drummer Magnus Sefaniassen Eide. The CD is called “Frode Kjekstad: In Essence”, and will be released in desember 2019.

After doing a tour with old friend sax player Eric Alexander in 2013, Kjekstad was invited to play some gigs at the club Smoke in New York with the legendary organ quartet “Mike LeDonne´s Groover Quartet” featuring Eric Alexander, B3 player Mike LeDonne and drummer Joe Farnsworth. Regular guitarist Peter Bernstein was out of town. Kjekstad also booked a studio to make a new CD with this band. The result was “Frode Kjekstad: A Piece Of The Apple”, released in 2017.

In 2012 Kjekstad hooked up with Italians drummer Enzo Zirilli and organist Alberto Marsico. They recorded the album “Frode Kjekstad: The Italian Job” and played gigs around Europe.

In 2008 Kjekstad recorded a trio album with Norwegian super bass player Per Mathisen and drummer Ole Morten Summer, that was never released, due to too much work, and financial problems. Some of these tunes can be found on youtube.

Playing in the Sandvika Bigband in the late 1990s; at that time considered to be Norway´s best Big Band, Kjekstad got the opportunity to meet and play with a lot of legendary American and European jazz musicians.In 1999, at age 24, he was asked to join Swedish B3 organ player Paul Wagnberg´s Organ Unit trio. This position established Kjekstad as one of the top jazz guitar players in Norway, and made him grow a good reputation, leading to all kinds of other gigs. In 2000 he recorded his unofficial first CD “Presenting Frode Kjekstad”, with Paul Wagnberg (B3) and Børre Dalhaug (drums). This CD got great reviews in USA and Italy: “This young genius has a perfect sense of time and rhythm” (Frank Forte, Just Jazz Guitar 2001).

After meeting New York based jazz guitarist Randy Johnston in the 1990s, he got the possibility to record his first official solo album “New York Time” in February 2002. This album was recorded in New York with Dr. Lonnie Smith and drummer Byron Landham, and with saxophonist Eric Alexander on three tunes. The band set a new record in the studio for making an album in shortest time (about 3 hours), with a lot of extra time left for socializing and sharing stories from Lonnie Smith´s career. The CD “New York Time”, released in 2004, opened up doors all over the world, and led to many new collaborations and journeys. In 2003 Kjekstad also married jazz singer Aina Fridén, and had three kids.

Guitars: Kjekstad bought a blond 1983 Gibson ES-175D with mahogany body in 1992, and played only this guitar until 2016. In 2016 he got a 1974 Gibson Johnny Smith, which now is his main instrument.

Frode Kjekstad (born 23 November 1974 in Lier, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz guitarist, married to jazz singer Aina Fridén, and known from collaboration and recordings with jazz musicians Lonnie Smith, Eric Alexander, Mike LeDonne, Joe Farnsworth, Byron Landham, Alberto Marsico,Frank Foster, Johnny Griffin, Don Menza, Jim Morrison, Mark Nightingale, Claire Martin, Deborah Brown, and Wendell Brunious.