Jono El Grande

Infobox musical artist |
Name = Jono El Grande


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Background = Composer
Birth_name = Jon Andreas Håtun
Alias =
Born = Birth date and age|1973|7|29|mf=y
Died =
Origin = Norway
Instrument = Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Kazoo
Genre = Progressive rock, Avant garde, Art rock
Influences = Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, The Residents, Igor Stravinsky, King Crimson, Henry Cow
Occupation = Musician, Composer, Copy writer
Years_active = 1994 -
Label = Rune Grammofon
Associated_acts = Jono El Grande & The Luxury Band
URL = http://www.jonoelgrande.com/
Notable_instruments =

Jono El Grande is the artist name of Jon Andreas Håtun (b. 1973-07-29).

Jono El Grande is an autodidactic Norwegian composer, band leader, guitarist and dancing conductor, inspired by Captain Beefheart, '60s Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Igor Stravinsky and art rock. Jono El Grande is an artist modestly growing on the European avantgarde scene, yet best known in his home country with his eccentric and funny performance art/dada-inspired live shows. He formed in 2000 The Jono El Grande Orchestra. The orchestra got a new lineup and was re-named in 2005 to Jono El Grande & The Luxury Band.

Jono El Grande is festival composer for "Happy Days 2007", presented by [http://www.nymusikk.no Ny Musikk] , the Norwegian section of [http://www.iscm.org ISCM – International Society For Contemporary Music] .

Jono El Grande & The Luxury Band

Discography

Utopian Dances (Krusedull prod. - 1999)

Fevergreens (Rune Grammofon - 2003)

Money Will Ruin Everything (Rune Grammofon - 2003),"Contribution with the composition "Tango On The Crest Of Reality"."

Bands

*Menü Tizz Aura (1995 - 96)

*The Gringo Quartet (1996)

*Grande Corpse (1996)
* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=168388661 Vidunderlige Vidda] ("The Wonderful Mountain Plateau") (1996 - 98)

*The Jono El Grande Orchestra (2000 - 05)
* [http://underskog.no/kalender/3264/forestilling/4569 Jono El Grande & The Luxury Band] (2005 -)

Trivia

* At ten, long before touching his first instrument, he invented his first band, slightly inspired of dada art, The Handkerchiefs.

* Jono El Grandes first real band was formed with three school buddies in 1989 - a teen-age art rock combo called Mannes Fatales, performing surrealist poetry combined with arranged electric noises. Jono El Grande was the lead vocalist and lyricist. Mannes Fatales did three concerts before it was disbanded in 1990.

* During 1990 - 1992, Jono El Grande formed several concept bands for one-night performances and recordings and/or rehearsings only: The Terror Duo, Black Satan, The Pez Dispensers, Acetaded Beat, As Drosera in addition to a handful of school bands formed to mark end-of-term celebrations and similar occasions.

* From 1991 - 92 Jono El Grande got a job as a radio host at the local station Radio Express. Two hours every Sunday for about a year, he played pure Frank Zappa- and art rock-related music. He also guest-hosted the prog rock post Uhørt at its very beginning, a program still active today at FM 99,3.

* After finishing high school in 1992, Jono El Grande went to art school in Bergen.

* In 1994 he worked as a decoration assistant at Norwegian Film, making props for the movie Pakten (movie) ("Waiting For Sunset") with Robert Mitchum. Eventually, in 1995, he quit the job to become a full-time composer.

* Jono El Grande was a central member of the group of six Norwegian artists called "Den Nye Vinen" (The New Wine) with Ari Behn.

* In Henrik Langelands novel "Wonderboy" (Gyldendal 2003), in chapter 21 ("Siste fredag på Huset") where the story culminates in a surrealistic mass fight at a famous Norwegian gallery, Jono El Grande is mentioned among other artists like Walt Whitman and Robert Mapplethorpe.

* He is the godfather of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and husband Ari Behns daughter Leah Isadora Behn.

* In 2004 Jono El Grande won the Norwegian award [http://www.modist.net/modistforbundet.htm Hat User of The Year] .

* The jewelry artist [http://www.grandics.se/jewellery.html Owe Egon Grandics] has named a set of silver cufflinks "Jono El Grande".

* In his book [http://www.cappelendamm.no/main/Katalog.aspx?f=8559&isbn=9788202238384&view=text_13 "Sverres Sjokolade" (Cappelen Damm - 2004)] , author and World Champion pastry chef Sverre Sætre names a cake invention after Jono El Grande, "El Grande".

* Author and personal friend Ari Behn use Jono El Grande as a role model for Ivo Fanfare in his book "Entusiasme og Raseri" (Enthusiasm and Fury) (Gylddendal - 2006).

Musical highlights

* Oslo City Suite I-IV
* Tango on the Crest of Reality
* Centrifugue in D minor
* The Death of Contemporary Music
* Finnish Dance of Cysts
* Le Roi de Chocolate

Sources

* [http://www.jonoelgrande.com Jono El Grande official website]
* [http://www.runegrammofon.com Rune Grammofon]
* [http://www.mic.no/english Music Information Centre Norway]