Radka Toneff
Encyclopedia
Ellen Radka Toneff was a Norwegian
jazz
singer. She is still considered one of Norway's most outstanding jazz singers.
A daughter of the Bulgaria
n folk singer Toni Toneff, she was born in Oslo
and grew up in Lambertseter
and Kolbotn
.
She studied at Oslo Musikkonservatorium from 1971 to 1975. From 1975 to 1980, Arild Andersen
, Jon Balke
and Jon Eberson. among others, were members of the Radka Toneff Quintet. From 1979 she cooperated with Steve Dobrogosz
. In 1980 she participated in the Norwegian
national final of the Eurovision Song Contest
with the song Parken by Ole Paus
.
She received the Spellemannsprisen 1977 in the category best vocal for the album Winter Poem, and she posthumously received the Norwegian Jazz Association's Buddy Prize in 1982. The Radka Toneff Memorial Award is based on a fund
created with royalties
from the albums Fairytales and Live in Hamburg.
Radka Toneff lived with bassist Arild Andersen
for some years, though she was involved with jazz drummer Audun Kleive
at the time of her death. She committed suicide
.
A biography of Toneff was published in 2008.
In a poll of Norwegian musicians conducted by the newspaper Morgenbladet
in November 2011, her 1979 album Fairytales was voted the best Norwegian album.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer. She is still considered one of Norway's most outstanding jazz singers.
A daughter of the Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n folk singer Toni Toneff, she was born in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
and grew up in Lambertseter
Lambertseter
Lambertseter is a suburb of the city of Oslo, Norway, and is part of the borough of Nordstrand.Lambertseter was built over a short period starting from 1951, and was the very first modern suburb of Oslo...
and Kolbotn
Kolbotn
Kolbotn is the centre of Oppegård, Norway. The population is about 6,000.Kolbotn has several elementary schools, four middle schools and a high school.The Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone formed there in 1986....
.
She studied at Oslo Musikkonservatorium from 1971 to 1975. From 1975 to 1980, Arild Andersen
Arild Andersen
Arild Andersen is a Norwegian bass player.Born in Lillestrøm, Norway, he started out as a member of the Jan Garbarek Quartet , with Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen...
, Jon Balke
Jon Balke
Jon Balke is a Norwegian jazz pianist and composer currently known for his Magnetic North Orchestra.He began with classical piano, but switched to blues at 12, though today he performs within several genres. At the age of 18 he joined Arild Andersen's quartet. By the mid-1980s he worked on his own...
and Jon Eberson. among others, were members of the Radka Toneff Quintet. From 1979 she cooperated with Steve Dobrogosz
Steve Dobrogosz
Steve Dobrogosz is an American pianist and composer.Dobrogosz was born in 1956 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina and attended Jesse O. Sanderson High School. He studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and afterwards moved to Stockholm, Sweden in 1978, where he began...
. In 1980 she participated in the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
national final of the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
with the song Parken by Ole Paus
Olé Paus
Ole Paus is a Norwegian singer-wongwriter, author, poet and actor. He is widely considered one of Norway's most popular musicians.-Background:...
.
She received the Spellemannsprisen 1977 in the category best vocal for the album Winter Poem, and she posthumously received the Norwegian Jazz Association's Buddy Prize in 1982. The Radka Toneff Memorial Award is based on a fund
Funding
Funding is the act of providing resources, usually in form of money , or other values such as effort or time , for a project, a person, a business or any other private or public institutions...
created with royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
from the albums Fairytales and Live in Hamburg.
Radka Toneff lived with bassist Arild Andersen
Arild Andersen
Arild Andersen is a Norwegian bass player.Born in Lillestrøm, Norway, he started out as a member of the Jan Garbarek Quartet , with Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen...
for some years, though she was involved with jazz drummer Audun Kleive
Audun Kleive
Audun Kleive is a Norwegian drummer and percussionist.Audun Kleive grew up in Skien, the son of organist Kristoffer Kleive and brother of organist and composer Iver Kleive. He began to play drums in a rock and dance band, and then went to Oslo, where he studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music...
at the time of her death. She committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
A biography of Toneff was published in 2008.
In a poll of Norwegian musicians conducted by the newspaper Morgenbladet
Morgenbladet
Morgenbladet is a Norwegian weekly newspaper. It was founded in 1819 by the book printer Niels Wulfsberg, and was the country's first daily newspaper. For a long time, it was also the country's biggest newspaper. It was closed down by the German Wehrmacht during World War II...
in November 2011, her 1979 album Fairytales was voted the best Norwegian album.
Discography
- 1977 – Winter Poem – with the Radka Toneff Quintet
- 1979 – It Don't Come Easy – with the Radka Toneff Quintet
- 1982 – Fairytales – with Steve DobrogoszSteve DobrogoszSteve Dobrogosz is an American pianist and composer.Dobrogosz was born in 1956 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina and attended Jesse O. Sanderson High School. He studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and afterwards moved to Stockholm, Sweden in 1978, where he began...
- 1992 – Live in Hamburg – with Steve DobrogoszSteve DobrogoszSteve Dobrogosz is an American pianist and composer.Dobrogosz was born in 1956 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina and attended Jesse O. Sanderson High School. He studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and afterwards moved to Stockholm, Sweden in 1978, where he began...
, Arild Andersen, and Alex Riel (recorded in 1981) - 2008 – Butterfly
Toneff participated on the following records with other artists
- NationaltheatretNationaltheatretThe National Theatre in Oslo is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts.The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christiania Theatre, which was founded in 1829...
: Svartkatten (1971) - Fronteatret/Visegruppa PS: Slutt opp, kamerat (1971)
- Ole PausOlé PausOle Paus is a Norwegian singer-wongwriter, author, poet and actor. He is widely considered one of Norway's most popular musicians.-Background:...
: Lise Madsen, Moses og de andre(1975) - Ketil BjørnstadKetil BjørnstadKetil Bjørnstad is a Norwegian pianist and composer. Initially trained as a classical pianist, Bjørnstad discovered jazz at an early age and has embraced the emergence of "European jazz"....
: Leve Patagonia (1978)