Multi-award-winning Norwegian jazz singer Silje Nergaard is a well-established artist with the world as her playground. She has released 16 albums since her debut in 1990. Her musical career got off to a flying start when she, at only 16, got up on stage in an impromptu jam session with Jaco Pastorius Band at Molde International Jazz Festival. The legendary jazz music critic Randi Hultin was in the audience – and the result was next-day newspaper reviews announcing Norway’s new big jazz discovery.  

Silje’s debut single Tell me Where You’re Going – recorded with guitar legend Pat Metheny – was released in 1990 and instantly became an international success. It went straight to the top of the Japanese charts (where they even named a wine after her!)

Her album At First Light (2001) is to this day the best-selling jazz album of all times in Norway, selling more than 140.000 copies and spending 17 weeks on the charts. The single Be Still My Heart became Silje’s signature hit and from then on, she has been a household name in the international jazz scene. In 2008, she recorded the album A Thousand True Stories with the Metropole Orchest in Holland, under the baton of Grammy Award-winning composer Vince Mendoza. The title track received a Grammy Nomination in the US. 

Silje is a pioneering artist in the international jazz scene and has developed her own unique sound and style – both as a singer and a composer. She has toured worldwide with her music, performing and collaborating with the likes of Al Jarreau, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Kurt Elling, Toots Thielmans and Morten Harket. Manhattan Transfer is one of many acts that have covered Silje’s music.

Alongside composing, Silje frequently tours both domestic and internationally, and Germany is to date her biggest market.

In 2020, Silje Nergaard will be celebrating her 30-year anniversary as an artist by releasing two new albums, which will be followed up by international touring.

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

• 2010: Grammy Nomination (Best Arrangement) for Based on a Thousand True Stories (Vince Mendoza). Recorded with the Metropole Orchestra of Holland

• 2007: Dutch Edison Jazz Vocal Award for vocals on Darkness out of Blue

• 2003: Årets Spellemann (Artist of the Year, the Norwegian Grammy Awards)

• 1999: US Songwriting Contest Honorable Mention for I Don’t Wanna See You Cry