Caecilie Norby

Danish singer Cæcilie Norby has never cared for musical stereotypes. To her, the melody of a song is the music’s essence and the only attribute to judge a composition – regardless of the genre. An attitude eminently suitable to describe her fascinating career and the secret to her success: Norby’s parents are classical musicians. But only after she had discovered jazz and blues for herself, she decided to follow in the foodsteps of her parents and to become a professional musician. As a teenager, she was very much into rock and pop music. She soon made herself a name as a traveler between the genres with her funk-jazz-band „Frontline“ and won every Danish jazz award in the early 80es. In collaboration with Nina Forsberg Norby founded the pop-rock band „One Two“ in 1985. The duo sold quarter of a million records only in Denmark. Working with Forsberg and as a solo artist, Norby was the most important Sacndinavian singer to combine pop and jazz music and paved the way for the international success of singers like Rebekka Bakken, Silje Nergaard or Viktoria Tolstoy. Norby was the first Scandinavian singer signed to ”Blue Note” and published four albums on this legendary label. She collaborated with many international stars - from Bugge Wesseltoft to Mike Stern, Chick Corea or Kurt Elling. Her most important musical partner and producer of almost every of her solo albums likewise is the most important person in her privat life: Her husband, bass-player Lars Danielsson. „Arabesque“ is Cæcilie Norby’s 2011 ACT-debut: For the first time she wrote lyriks to classical, impressionistic compositions by composers like Satie or Ravel. But Norby not only manages to find the right jazz-tone to suite this classical melodies, but also impressively proves what a great ”classical composer” Michel Legrand can be. Cæcilie Norby constantly builds bridges with her music: She attracts classical music fans, jazz freaks or pop fans and everyone keen on good melodies.