Bendik Hofseth

Bendik Hofseth is a renowned musician, tenor and soprano saxophonist, composer, and singer, straddling the realms of jazz, pop, and contemporary art music. He is particularly known for being a member of the American group Steps Ahead, where he replaced the legendary saxophonist Michael Brecker in the late 1980s.
 

Hofseth has released numerous impressive albums under his own name and has been a popular sideman throughout his career. As a producer and saxophonist, he has contributed to over hundreds of Norwegian album releases with several of the country’s most famous artists. Additionally, he has created commissioned works, theater and film music, and has been a soloist with various orchestras, both nationally and internationally.
 

As a freelance musician, he has collaborated with several celebrities, including John McLaughlin, Andy Summers (The Police), Rickie Lee Jones, and Bobby McFerrin.
 

For many years, Hofseth was a representative in Norwegian and international interest organizations for musicians and composers. Today, as a professor at the Institute of Popular Music, he leads the master's program in Music Business and Management at the University of Agder. 
 

In 2011, his debut album "IX" was named one of Norway's 100 best records of all time in "Morgenbladets topp 100". Twenty-five years later, the music was celebrated with a tribute album where several of the country’s top artists, including Morten Harket, Kjetil Bjørnstad, and Silje Nergaard, presented their own interpretations of the songs. 
 

In recent years, Hofseth has released four critically acclaimed albums collectively known as the "Forest Quadrilogy", which all share a common theme of homage to the forest.
 

Bendik Hofseth has always been a wanderer in the world of music, and his many albums are difficult to categorize into specific genres. What can be said, however, is that we all recognize good music when it touches us. 
 

We can also highlight the unique quality of his tone and saxophone playing, which is easily recognizable and always melodic, powerful, and heartfelt. His playing touches everyone who hears him, perhaps most because his sound is as close to the human voice as it is possible to get with a wind instrument. 

 

Feel free to check out some great examples in the attached recordings!