Froy Aagre, a Norwegian jazz musician and composer, is on the rise. She is a young artist with a unique expression. Her compositions are original and imaginative, despite her youth. Aagre has been compared to saxophonists like Jan Garbarek and David Liebman. Froy Aagres’ recent album Countryside received worldwide acclaim from musicians and critics alike. Dagsavisen, a Norwegian newspaper, rated the album as one of the top ten albums of 2007. Froy Aagre was born in Tonsberg (Norway) on June 8, 1977. She began playing the saxophone when she was twelve years old and then moved to England to study saxophone with Birmingham Conservatoire. Froy Aagre’s fascination with tango music led her to spend a semester at Conservatoiro Nacional Lopez Bouchardo, Buenos Aires. After earning a Bachelor of Music with Distinction from Birmingham Conservatoire, she went to London to complete a Masters at Middlesex University. She returned to Norway and studied Twentieth-Century Composition in Oslo at the Norwegian Academy of Music. She studied in New York with David Liebman, a world-famous saxophonist. Froy is the leader of Offbeat and has performed with many musicians, including Pee Wee Ellis and Mike and Mark Mondesir and Kris Davis. Aagre has toured Europe, USA, and Africa, and performed at festivals such as Prague Jazz Open, Aarhus Jazz Festival, and Copenhagen Jazzfestival. Numerous prizes and scholarships have been awarded to her. She was awarded the Norwegian Association of Jazz’s annual jazz prize in 1999, and the Norwegian Government’s prestigious 1-year Composition Scholarship in 2005. Bio from http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=2268
