Ekstrakonsert!
Julekonsert på Gimle Kino, 14. desember

Etter et års avbrudd i det som for mange var blitt en tradisjon allerede, blir det nå førjulskonsert med Kornstad Trio igjen. Denne gangen på koselige Gimle kino.
Som sedvanlig blander trioen klassiske sanger, opera, folkemusikk og jazz, og på denne konserten er repertoaret blitt ekstra pyntet til jul.

Hvem visste at Richard Strauss kunne kryssklippes med julekveldsvisa av Alf Prøysen, for eksempel, eller at Santa Lucia finnes med italiensk tekst? På denne konserten får du både det sarte og det eksplosive, mens det humoristiske avløses av toner som lokker fram en tåre i øyekroken. Og du kommer til å ha hørt mange julesanger, både direkte og mellom linjene.
 
​Og midt i konserten blir det - tradisjonen tro - stumfilm; et Oslo-minne i svarthvitt med musikk til. Velkommen til en uforglemmelig førjulskonsert!

​Gimle kino, søndag 14. desember kl 18:00 SVÆRT FÅ PLASSER!
Gimle kino, søndag 14. desember kl 20:30
Håkon Kornstad  – tenor, tenor saxophone, flute
Frode Haltli – accordion
Mats Eilertsen – double bass
Photo: Silvia Bobariu, Garana Jazz, July 2025
Håkon Kornstad Trio with Frode Haltli and Mats Eilertsen continues to wow audiences wherever they go. A unique trio, consisting of three of Europe's most daring improvisers, each with a distinct expression of their own.

Whatever the trio puts on their programme — be it classical songs from the lieder repertoire, opera arias, Norwegian folk songs or even free improvised stretches in the Nordic jazz tradition — it is always with a strong interplay, and with a warmth that goes straight to the heart.

The double tenor Håkon Kornstad has found his very own way of blending his take on the Nordic saxophone idiom with the classic jazz tenor sound. He is also a fine classically trained tenor,  inspired by the golden era of singing. Accordionist Frode Haltli is a firework in his own right, navigating in uncharted musical territory, always with taste and with his heart intact. And Mats Eilertsen is the perfect binding substance for a constellation like this, with his total mastery of the instrument, and big ears.

Each and every concert with Håkon Kornstad Trio will take you on a different journey — full of freedom, warmth and musicality—and always together with the audience: Jazz fans, bel canto lovers, and all those who simply want music to be original and alive.

Some Reviews of Kornstad Trio’s Albums

"While Kornstad, as a singer, performs the melodies of the classics with Mediterranean passion, he interprets the pieces more freely on his instrument, so that Verdi occasionally lands in a bluesy groove, creating delightful contrasts. This enchanting intertwining of aria and jazz will soon open the cultural festival of jazzahead! in Bremen." Read More – JazzThing (DE)
"Tenor squared: The young Norwegian Håkon Kornstad plays saxophone and sings Italian opera arias. In a trio with accordion and double bass, he creates his own genre of opera and jazz for the label Grappa – hypnotic, elegiac, and gripping."  Read more – Bayerische Rundfunk (DE)
"All of this cannot be explained with verbal platitudes like 'crossover' or 'genre mix'; we are not dealing here with an opera singer who also dabbles in jazz on the side (as Thomas Quasthoff tried to make us believe a few years ago) or vice versa. No, this is a spectacle of the highest musical level, and the best part: it is never staged as such, but is completely unpretentious, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to belt out an aria right after a saxophone solo." Read more – CD des Monats, Nordische Musik (DE)
In general, the way the trio maintains both contact with and distance from tradition deserves high respect. Even with a heavy, sultry Wesendonck-piece by Richard Wagner – beautiful.
Neue Musikzeitung (DE) hoerbar.nmz.de/2019/05/hakon-kornstad-trio-im-treibhaus-2019/
With full fervor, he belts out a Neapolitan classic, subtly approaches the fragile Webern song, and as a saxophonist, he spins delicate soundscapes with his unpretentious companions Haltli and Eilertsen, transporting the old songs into a captivating new context.
​Jazzthing (DE) www.jazzthing.de/review/hakon-kornstad-trio-for-you-alone/
"(the interpretations) are in a way that only these three in the whole world can achieve, and Kornstad sings in English, Italian, and German. Strong, heartfelt, beautiful – simply the most unique"
​Tor Hammerø, Nettavisen www.nettavisen.no/plateanmeldelse/musikk/opera/unik-unikere-unikest/r/5-95-284186
"Håkon Kornstad has ascended to a throne that hardly anyone knew existed. Now he has taken his unique fusion of jazz and opera to yet another new level."
​Tor Hammerø, Nettavisen
"Håkon Kornstad's blend of jazz saxophone and opera is a musical world sensation."
​Audun Vinger, DN
"It is enriching, entertaining, and demonstrates that music still has untapped connections."
​Svein Andersen, Aftenposten
"Groundbreaking beauty. Håkon Kornstad's unique blend of saxophone jazz and opera singing is a genre of its own. Raw, impressive, and heavenly beautiful in a completely unpolished way that is quite rare in the classical world. (…) A golden opportunity for curious listeners to challenge their own notions of what jazz and classical singing really are."
Maren Ørstadvik, Aftenposten
"No, it is not a fusion. It is just music!"
Jazz i Norge, November 18

Albums

For You Alone (Jazzland, 2021).
Picture
Im Treibhaus (Grappa, 2018).

Some Reviews of Kornstad Trio Concerts

“Håkon Kornstad brings together the two types of musical tenor – voice and saxophone! And an expert in both, making one realise the close alignment of saxophone and voice. Much of the programme seemed built around joyful Neapolitan songs, via Richard Strauss, Greig and Pearl Fishers. But they benefited from the melodic strength of this music to give great improvisational scope, with a solid, energetic foundation of Mats Eilertsen on bass. Frode Haltli on accordion had ultimate freedom to enhance the music, with some quirky playing. Responsive, beguiling and addictive.”
​Oliver Weindling, UK Jazz News (2025)
“I have seen Håkon Kornstad several times and never fail to be impressed by his tenor sax and opera singing act. He is unique in what he does and over the years has honed this show to be an incredible experience, the crowd gave him a rousing standing ovation at the end”
Tim Dickeson, JazzWise (2022)
"The Norwegian Hakon Kornstad is a special phenomenon. After having established himself as a high-class saxophonist, he had the revelation of an irresistible attraction to opera music. Consequently, he enrolled at the Norwegian specialized Academy, graduating with a master’s degree in opera tenor. A few years ago, in Cluj, I was amazed by the way Kornstad happily combined the two musical genres. On the Bran stage, the fusion seemed even more solidly structured.
    In general, his jazz passages are marked by innate lyricism, revealed by elaborate technical procedures but without resorting to electronic adjuvants. At one point the surprise comes: the saxophonist metamorphoses into a singer, delivering arias, lieder or songs, in the best bel canto tradition. Then there are vast parts where the tenor saxophone paraphrases, through elegant volutes, the melodic substance conspicuously expounded by the vocal tenor — one and the same Hakon Kornstad.
    The minimalist formula used by the bold musician, born in Oslo in 1977, includes two other compatriots, fully empathetic: Frode Halti, accordion, and Mats Eilertsen, double bass. Pristine canzonette napoletane alternate with a lied by Schubert, or a theme by Wagner, as well as with a refined composition by Anton Webern. A sombre free episode, including the disassembly of the saxophone, dissolves into the alertness of another song. An emotional highlight is reached when, after samples of Italian and German tunes, Kornstad illustrates the universality of the musical art by singing a piece by Grieg in his mother tongue. The festival’s well-informed public enjoys such odd combinations."
Vigil Mihaiu, Jazz Journalists Association News (2021)
"Goosebumps concert on a winter evening (...) Who would have thought that a saxophone, a double bass, and an accordion could make such sounds? And that you could even add an opera voice on top, and suddenly everything turns into magic?"
​Anne Skjøtskift, Tynsetingen (2018)

Kornstad Trio live at Ingensteds


Live mini concert for Norwegian Broadcasting radio and television at Ingensteds, Oslo, October 2019
Håkon Kornstad, sax, vocals; Frode Haltli, accordion; Mats Eilertsen, double bass
2013-2021 © Håkon Kornstad, Oslo, Norway. All rights reserved.