Torun Eriksen’s debut album, Glittercard, was released on Jazzland Recordings’s renowned label Jazzland Recordings. She has been a distinctive voice since then and is gaining a wider audience both on the Norwegian and international music scene. Torun spent her musical youth in gospel choirs. There she was able to expand her singing and soloist potential from her childhood. Her background is in gospel and soul music, so her first exposure to jazz was when she was a high school music student in Skien. Her encounter with jazz standards and The Real Book opened her eyes to a whole new world. Roger Jeffs, a teacher and pianist, saw Torun’s talent and encouraged her writing English lyrics to one his melodies. This was the beginning of a career as a song writer. She was already composing when she moved to Oslo in 1998 and enrolled at the Norwegian Institute for Stage and Studio. Although she made an impact as a singer and songwriter in several cover bands, her original material was not known to many. She had already begun to work with Kjetil Dalland (bass player, still considered one of her closest musical friends) and they formed a band. They recorded a demo featuring three of Torun’s songs. Bugge Wesseltoft heard the demo and offered Torun a record release on Jazzland Recordings. He was excited about Glittercard, which was a coincidental coincidence. Then she gathered together the musicians who had contributed to the acoustic sound of her music: David Wallumrod, Kjetil Dalland, Torstein Lofthus (percussion), Froydis Grrud (flute/saxophone), and Torstein Lofthus (bass). Together with Bugge Wesseltoft, they produced the album Glittercard. It was released worldwide in spring 2004. The sequel Prayers and Observations, also produced by Wesseltoft, was released in 2006. Passage, her third album was released in April 2010. Anders Engen produced this record, and Kjetil Steensnaes was added to the band. The acoustic sound became more string-oriented. The three solo albums by Torun, all released on Jazzland Recordings have received positive reviews from the media and allowed for international exposure. Her music has been embraced by the Germans, who have seen her tour Germany every year since her debut. Torun’s songs can also be arranged for big bands, chamber orchestras and choirs. In 2007, the German Jazzchor Freiburg began a collaboration. Since then, they have toured in Japan, Korea and Germany with their project. They have also recorded In Person (Glittercard 2002), which can be found on the choir’s album A Cappella dated 2010. Torun was a songwriter up to November 2010 when she and Froydis Grrud released Sanger omglede og frred (Songs for joy and peace), Jazzland Recordings. This album features Torun’s first song featuring Norwegian lyrics, Vente pa Jul (Waiting For Christmas), and Elv (River), her translation of Joni Mitchell’s River. from http://www.toruneriksen.no
