Stig Kristoffersen asked:


The boy’s name Stian \s-tian\ is of Old Norse origin, and its meaning is “voyager, pilgrim”. The name is popular in Scandinavia. The different-sounding Stig is from the same source.

Stian has 3 variant forms: Stig, Styg and Stygge. Stian is a male first name and a very rare surname. Stian is a short form of the Old Norse Stigandr “wanderer”, which is derived from the root stig “step, mounting upward”

There are found 87 Old Norse baby names for boys.

We know about 9 Voyager baby names for boys. Brendan and Ferdinand are popular Voyager baby names. Arvad, Beattie, Farold, Farr, Hernando, Stian and Viator are uncommon Voyager baby names.

There are 5 Pilgrim baby names found for boys. Christian, Miles and Palmer are popular Pilgrim baby names. Standish and Stian are uncommon Pilgrim baby names.

Stians name day is September 13th .

In the end of 1980’s the name was used amongst 2% of male Norwegians were called Stian, this was the peak usage of this name. At the present around 0.5% of the male Norwegian population is called Stian.

Around 15.000 norwegians are called Stian at the moment.

Stian is known as a first name in Norway since the 12th century. The name is most used in Norway with Sweden and Denmark as the runner ups using this name. Rarely, but occationally we find the name used in other countries such as in the US.

Some known people called Stian.

Stian Lindaas Kristoffersen (born December 24, 1976 in Porsgrunn, Norway) is a heavy metal drummer. His main band is the progressive metal band Pagan’s Mind, who he helped form in 2000.

Stian has also played drums for Jorn Lande, Firewind, and Dimension F3H and is currently part of the project band Kinrick.

Nagash or Lex Icon (born Stian Arnesen, May 7, 1978) is a Norwegian black metal musician. He plays guitar, bass, drums and keyboards.

He began writing music in 1992, together with Fafnir and Glaurung for a project called Troll. Fafnir and Glaurung soon left the band, but Nagash continued Troll as a solo project, playing guitar and keyboard. Wanting to be in a band and “express himself on all levels”, he founded the band Covenant together with Blackheart in 1993. (However, after having released two albums, they had to change the name to The Kovenant due to a Swedish band already called Covenant.)

Gaining a good reputation in the black metal scene, Nagash was recruited as bass player for Dimmu Borgir in 1996. In 1999, he left Dimmu Borgir to concentrate on his career with The Kovenant. At the same time, he changed his stage name to Lex Icon in order to reflect the artistic direction The Kovenant had taken.

In 2004, now known as Lex Icon, he teamed up with Shagrath and formed a new stoner rock band called Chrome Division. In this band he played drums.

Lex has reported that he was fired from Chrome Division and is now 100% dedicated working on the next Kovenant album. He also now currently reported to have joined one of his favorite bands, Crowhead.

He has also been involved in Nocturnal Breed (as a session drummer, under the name of Rick Hellraiser) and Carpe Tenebrum.

Stian Grimseth (born July 24, 1972) is a world-known weightlifter from Naustdal in Norway. He won the European Championship in 1996 and at some time held the 6th position in the world ranking.

He has competed many times in the Olympics, World Cup, European Cup, and in Norway. Stian Grimseth is currently retired.

Stian Aarstad is a Norwegian pianist and keyboard player best known for his four-year (1993-97) stint with the black metal band Dimmu Borgir during which he played keyboards and synthesizers while engendering criticism and controversy for appearing onstage and performing in an infamous top-hat-and-cape outfit reminiscent of Jack the Ripper, while wearing minimal corpse makeup.

Subsequent stories indicated that during his period with Dimmu Borgir, Stian Aarstad did not even listen to any metal sounds, preferring classical music instead. His departure from the band came as a result of unresolved issues regarding compulsory service in the Norwegian Army. In 1998 to 1999, he produced a demo-EP for the unblack metal band Vaakevandring.

In the 2000s, Stian Aarstad had been the pianist for the band Enthrall, but left his regular position during the recording of the band’s third album. Reports have mentioned that he has also performed as a session player and engineer for the band and, in 2007, has been working as a sound engineer.

Stian Aarstad “adapted” the melody “Sorgens Kammer”, the fourth song on the Stormblåst album, from the Amiga game “Agony”.

Stian Eckhoff, born 3 September 1979 in Trondheim, is a Norwegian biathlete.

Stian Carstensen (born in 1971) at Eidsvoll) is a multi-instrument musical virtuoso.

He started as an accordion player at the age of 9. He first learned from his father, and later from a classical player which he attended for 4 years. During this time he played in Norwegian tv, radio, festivals etc. He also toured in America, playing classical music. At the same time he was also into swing jazz, and his father who also played bass, played standard tunes with him.

When he was 15 he started to play electric guitar in a rock band. After a while he started to get back the interest for jazz again, and formed a trio with some local artists. He lived as a freelancer a year or so and then he began to study in the conservatory in Trondheim, jazz department with the guitar as a main instrument. During his two years of study in Trondheim (91-93) he formed the group Farmers Market. Farmers Market was originally a free jazz quintet, until they one day found a note with a Bulgarian folk tune in 11/16. This was a great experience for the boys,and they practiced day and night to be able to play this asymmetrical music.

After a while Stian bought a ticket to Bulgaria, and went around in the villages there to collect, and study the folk music there. The result of the tour was a live record with singers & musicians from the famous “Le mysteres des voix bulgares” recorded at Molde international jazz festival in Norway. After this Stian was totally dedicated to the Bulgarian music. He toured a lot with musicians from Bulgaria, and Romania, and learned a lot from them.

Besides of being dedicated to this kind of music,he also took lessons in Composition, learned to play the 5-string banjo in bluegrass style, played with various jazz groups (be-bop, and experimental) with Jon Christensen and Bendik Hofseth to mention some.

In 97 Farmers Market made their second album with saxophonist Trifon Trifonov from Bulgaria. This was an extreme album with elements of many different styles and ideas from bluegrass in odd meters, To metallica like versions of traditional balkan tunes,and slick commercial music mixed with Stockhausen. The album got very good rewiews from many contemporary music magazines as well as rock,folk and jazz magazines in Europe.

In 1998 he was asked to write music for a Norwegian festival; Vossajazz. He wrote some music and put together a band consisting of his colleague Jarle Vespestad (one of the most talented young drummers in Norway which also play in Farmers Market), Django Bates from England, and Ernst Reijseger from Holland. The music was performed in April 98, with a great success. The choice of musicians was made by a careful hand, because they each had one thing in common; they were into a lot of styles at the same time. The music was composed in a contemporary spirit, but contained elements from many different styles without being artificial.

This seems to be a highlight in S.C.’s career, and he has been working a lot with that ensemble after this. Another highlight was his release of the new record Farmers Market on the German label Winter & Winter, he toured Europe and Japan with this band in 2000. They got very good rewiews both on the album and the concert in magazines like The Wire, Rolling Stone etc. This year Farmers Market played at the worlds biggest jazz festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Hague, Holland.

He also playes with Dutch cello player Ernst Reijseger. They work as a duo playing only self written stuff in various improvisational folk styles.

Last year he studied Bulgarian polyphony in Bulgaria, and rural American Afro-Celtic music in the Appalachians, on a fee from the Norwegian cultural department. He is currently on a two year state fee to study Bulgarian traditional music. His instruments are: Accordion, kaval (Bulgarian flute), bagpipes, guitar, violin, mandolin & banjo.

He recently recorded his solo album, with only his own compositions for Winter & Winter ,it will be released in 26 countries!

Stian Piene Ohr (born 4 January 1978) is a football midfielder/attacker for Strømsgodset IF. He has formerly played for the clubs Hødd, Start, Vålerenga, Stabæk and Molde.

Stian Johannsen is a Norwegian musician known under the stage name Occultus. He was briefly a vocalist and a bassist for the black metal band Mayhem. Occultus was in the band for a very short time in 1991 after the ******* of Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin).

Stian Theting (born 21 October 1976) is a Norwegian football defender/midfielder who currently plays for F.K. Bodø/Glimt.

He joined Bodø/Glimt in 2004 from Skeid, and stayed there even after their relegation from the Norwegian Premier League in 2005.

Stian Hole (1969–), norwegian graphic designer, illustrator and childrens book writer

Stian Carstensen (1971–), norwegian musician

Stian Bromark (1972–), journalist, critics, translater and chief editor

Stian Heimlund Skjæveland (1973–), norwegian figurative painter

Stian M. Landgaard (1978–), norwegian writer

Stian Barsnes Simonsen (1979–), norwegian acter and TV host

Stian Sørlie (1982–), norwegian car sport driver

Performing a Google search for Stian gives 1,990,000 hits in total.

Performing a Google search for Stian-Andre gives 830 hits in total.

Performing a Google search for Stian-Andre Kristoffersen gives 195 hits in total.

Performing a Google search like “Stian-Andre Kristoffersen” gives only 3 hits.



Marjorie

Chris Chew asked:


The piano is an important musical instrument for jazz bands since the origin of jazz music and it can be played in the style of a solo performance or as part of a band. Like the guitar, the piano is one of the few musical instruments in a jazz band which can play chords as well as notes instead just single notes only instruments such as the saxophone, trombone, trumpet or even the vibraphone (1 or 2 notes together).

Gone were the days when a jazz pianist’s role is just to keep tempo with repetitive chord combinations. Nowadays, the pianist is free to choose any technique or style to accompany a band or a singer using both short and sustained chordal and melodic fragments called comping.

An accomplshed jazz pianist must not only be good at sight-reading as well as good at improvising chord symbols but also must be able to adapt to the different playing styles of various bands he jams with. Jazz pianists must balance this interpretation and improvisation to the musical style the bands are playing.

The jazz pianist is indeed a happy musician because of the extended range of the piano. The piano offers the pianist with a much greater number of choices and techniques for improvisation, much more so than any other instruments in a jazz band.

In a jazz musical style known as “striding”, the left hand of the pianist alternates positions very quickly playing notes in the bass register and chords in the tenor register. The right hand will usually play the melody, but might also play harmonic content, chordally or even in octaves.

Jazz pianists play the solo with 3 basic objectives to fulfill simultaneously. The techniques are as follows :-

a) To provide a clear and swinging rhythm. This style is usually done by striking a beat with the right hand just after a weaker beat with the left hand. The objective of this technique is to mimic the combination of a cymbal ride as well as the walking bass. This technique can also be executed deftly with the left hand alone, by imitating the weaker beat preparatory swing note that is played by a bassist just before he strikes some of the notes of the bass phrasing.

b) Play the melody or solo improvisation with the right hand.

c) Establish the guide tones for chord changes.

One method commonly used by jazz pianists for tackling this triple situation simultaneously is to hold the hands together in a fork-like shape with the index and the third finger joining the thumbs to form a central group, whilst the fourth and fifth fingers are spread outwards.

This is done so that the pianist can use the left branch fingers to play bass notes, the middle fingers to moderate the guide tones and the right branch fingers to play the upper lines of the melody.

It is indeed challenging for the pianist to meet all these demands at the simultaneously. However these skills are inherent in most competent jazz pianists.

What is commonly called the ‘circle of fifths’ is also an important element in playing jazz piano because it provides harmonic diversity through a well guided harmonic phrase. Playing the circle of fifths technique is very much related to chord “planing” techniques which shift a chord, often voiced in fourths, up the scale, while implying a repeated harmonic pattern of tonic-dominant-tonic-dominant.

If you intend to be a good at playing jazz piano, then mastering these styles and techniques is a required skill.



Tom