Sigurd Køhn

Career

Køhn was born in Kristiansand, Norway, and started playing the violin and the clarinet at the age of 9, and begun playing the alto saxophone when he was 14.

He moved to Oslo when he was 19 years old, and became quickly a part of the city's jazz life. In the 1980s he played the saxophone with different fusion- and soul bands («Lava», «Son of Sam», «The heavy gentlemen» and more), to return to the jazz in the 1990s. He played with the jazz quartet The Real Thing from 1992 until his death, in addition to his own «Sigurd Køhn Quartet» from 1994 and «Køhn/Johansen Sextet» from 1999. In 1996 Køhn's first record under his own name was released, More pepper, please. Here Køhn performed the music of Art Pepper, in cooperation with, among others, Dag Arnesen and Jarle Vespestad. The album was well received.

He performed with the band a-ha on their tours between 1991–1994, and also recorded a jazz cover of their song October.

He had just finished his last record This Place before the tsunami disaster, due to be released in January 2005 along with a release concert planned January 17. Because of the tragic events the release of his record was delayed but the concert became a tribute concert to Køhn's music, where many of his friends participated. The record was released by his widow Heidi Køhn on 26 October 2005.

Death

Sigurd Køhn and his 16-year-old son Simen drowned after being struck by the tsunami during their vacation in Khao Lak, Thailand on 26 December 2004.

Solo albums

Collaborative works