Knut Værnes

Knut Værnes
Knut Værnes at Oslo Jazzfestival 2016
Background information
Born	(1954-04-01) 1 April 1954 (age 63) Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag
Origin	Norway
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Jazz musician, composer
Instruments	Guitar
Labels	Curling Legs
Associated acts	Cutting Edge
Website	Official website

Knut Værnes (born 1 April 1954 in Trondheim, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (guitar), composer and band leader, known from several recordings in the jazz rock genre. He grew up at Bøler in Oslo, where he already as young, mark himself as an accomplished guitarist.

Værnes is a graduate from the University of Oslo and has attended master classes at the Manhattan School of Music, and played within pop and rock bands like «Salt & Pepper», «Shimmy», and the fusion band «Vanessa» with the record release City Lips (1975). Then musical studies in Oslo and Bergen brought him on to the Norwegian jazz scene with albums like Anatomy of the guitar (1979), in collaboration with his guitar teacher Jon Eberson, within Nils Petter Molvær's funk band «Punktum» and Håkon Graf's «Graffiti». In the 1980s, he studied with John Scofield at the Manhattan School of Music.

Værnes led his own Trio and Quartet with co-musicians Morten Halle (saxophone), Edvard Askeland (bass) and Frank Jakobsen (drums). The Quartet continued as the band Cutting Edge resulting in four album releases. In duo with Terje Gewelt bass was released Admission for guitars and basses (1992) with their own compositions. KVT (with Kim Ofstad drums and Frode Berg bass) released Jacques Tati (1995), and with Danny Gottlieb, drummer of Pat Metheny Group as substitute for Ofstad, «8:97» (1997) as well as Super Duper (1999). Knut Værnes Band (Morten Halle, Nils Petter Molvær, Rune Arnesen og Gewelt) released Roneo (1993). The guitar quartet composed of Knut Reiersrud, Bjørn Klakegg and Frode Alnæs released «4G» (2000).