Collaborators
The musicians who have performed with Björn Thoroddsen on stage, at festivals, and in the studio.
Al Di Meola is an American guitarist who joined Chick Corea's Return to Forever in 1974 at the age of nineteen. His solo albums Elegant Gypsy and Casino became among the most influential records in jazz fusion. In 1980 he recorded Friday Night in San Francisco with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía, an album that has sold in the millions. He won a Grammy Award with Return to Forever in 1976 and holds an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music.
Bjarni Sveinbjörnsson is an Icelandic bassist, composer, and music teacher whose professional life has combined performing with sustained educational work. He moved to the Reykjavík district of Breiðholt with his parents at about the age of seven and has remained closely associated with the area apart from his years of study in Los Angeles. A 2009 profile identified him as both a bassist and teacher, working with his wife, Edda Borg, in operating a music school while also composing and performing. That combination of practical musicianship, composition, and teaching has remained central to his documented career. ([rafhladan.is](https://rafhladan.is/bitstream/handle/10802/86/8.%20tbl..pdf?sequence=8)) Sveinbjörnsson began learning guitar and bass at Tónskóli Sigursveins, then continued bass studies at Tónlistarskóli FÍH. He graduated as a bassist from Musicians Institute in Los Angeles in 1985. In comments published around his first solo release, he said that he began playing bass at sixteen, and that some of the oldest pieces on the record dated back to his student period in Los Angeles. His training therefore connects Icelandic music-school study with an American professional-music education, a background reflected in his later work across jazz, fusion, studio production, and ensemble performance. ([teb.is](https://teb.is/um-skolann/kennarar-og-starfsfolk/)) After completing his studies, Sveinbjörnsson developed a broad career as a professional bassist. Gammar’s biographical material describes work in jazz clubs, theatre, radio, television, and recording studios, and credits him with performances or studio recordings involving Björk, Edda Borg, Geir Ólafsson, Don Randi, Brandon Fields, Bernie Dresel, and Dave Weckl. Icelandic reporting also places him in Guðmundur Ingólfsson’s Trio, Gunnar Þórðarson’s large Broadway orchestra, and the fusion group Gammar. Taken together, these sources document a career shaped substantially by collaborative playing, recording work, and changing ensemble contexts rather than by a single fixed project. ([gammarband.com](https://gammarband.com/gammar-the-band)) One well-documented strand of that collaborative work was with drummer Guðmundur Steingrímsson. In 1992, Sveinbjörnsson played in the Guðmundur Steingrímsson Jazz Ensemble alongside Carl Möller, Bjorn Thoroddsen, Stefán S. Stefánsson, and Andrea Gylfadóttir, among others; the ensemble performed at a cultural festival in London that autumn. He also played on the 1997 album Hafnarfjörður í tónum with a Guðmundur Steingrímsson quintet, and joined Steingrímsson’s group for Múlinn jazz evenings in 2000. These engagements place him within a network of Icelandic jazz musicians assembled for distinct line-ups, recordings, and live events. ([glatkistan.com](https://glatkistan.com/2025/01/08/hljomsveit-gudmundar-steingrimssonar/)) In 2009 Sveinbjörnsson released his first solo album, ...About Time!. He described it as material accumulated over many years, combining compositions written during his Los Angeles studies with newer pieces. The release contains nine tracks: “405 North,” “…To Old Friends,” “Actively Serene,” “Conversations,” “Lets Go!,” “Lullaby for a Small Electric Base,” “Bass In Tune,” “About Time,” and “The Last Five Minutes.” Amazon Music lists a 2009 copyright year, while the Iceland Jazz database catalogues About time as a 2008 release; it is most conservatively described as an album issued across the 2008–2009 period, with press coverage of its first-solo-album status appearing in November 2009. ([visir.is](https://www.visir.is/g/2009984220935/longu-timabaer-soloplata)) Sveinbjörnsson joined Gammar in the late 1980s and is the bassist in its later documented line-up with guitarist Bjorn Thoroddsen, saxophonist Stefán S. Stefánsson, keyboard player Þórir Baldursson, and drummer Sigfús Óttarsson. Gammar is described as an Icelandic jazz-rock or jazz-fusion group that has presented original music in Iceland and elsewhere in Europe. Sveinbjörnsson plays bass on As Time Goes By, released on 7 November 2023 and credited to Jóhann Helgason and Gammar. In 2024, the group marked the release of its fifth album with a concert. His solo work and long involvement with Gammar establish jazz, fusion, and jazz-rock as the clearest documented musical settings of his work. ([gammarband.com](https://gammarband.com/gammar-the-band)) Teaching is an enduring part of Sveinbjörnsson’s professional contribution. Tónskóli Eddu Borg lists earlier teaching posts at Tónlistarskóli FÍH, the Hafnarfjörður Music School, and the Mosfellsbær Arts School. He now teaches bass, guitar, and ensemble playing at Tónskóli Eddu Borg, the school he co-founded with Edda Borg in 1989. The school’s account and contemporary reporting therefore show an artist who has maintained music education alongside performance and recording, passing on experience in instrumental technique and group playing while continuing to work as a bassist and composer. ([teb.is](https://teb.is/um-skolann/kennarar-og-starfsfolk/))
Björgvin Gíslason was an Icelandic guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He began his band career in the mid-1960s and subsequently played with numerous groups, including Flamingo, Falcon, Zoo, Pops, Opus 4, and Náttúra. Known for his versatile guitar playing, he also performed on keyboards, piano, and sitar. Alongside his own releases, Gíslason worked in recording and arranging and contributed to a large number of Icelandic albums. His solo work appeared at different stages of his career, including Bio, Púnktur, Slettur, and Jarðarbunga. His work in rock, progressive music, and studios had a wide influence on Icelandic musical life.
Bjorn Thoroddsen is an Icelandic guitarist, composer, and producer whose work has moved between jazz, rock, and Icelandic music since the early 1980s. He graduated from the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles in 1982 and released Svif that same year, a recording described as a starting point for Icelandic jazz fusion. His career has included leading the fusion group Gammar as well as work in a wide range of ensembles and collaborations. Thoroddsen’s work brings together original music, arrangements, and collaborative playing. With Gunnar Þórðarson and Jón Rafnsson, he founded Guitar Islancio, a trio that recast Icelandic folk songs through jazz and earned a gold record. He has also performed with international guitarists and musicians, released solo work, and recorded Bjössi in Nashville. Thoroddsen founded the Icelandic Guitar Festival in 2007 and Guitarama in Canada in 2013, and has received Icelandic Music Awards for jazz performance and composition.
Brynhildur Oddsdóttir is a singer, guitarist, and music teacher who has appeared in a range of Icelandic music projects. She has worked as both a performer and songwriter, bringing together song writing, guitar, and voice in her own music. Her work has appeared in recordings and concerts in varied settings. Oddsdóttir also places emphasis on teaching and sharing music. As a performer, she has collaborated with other musicians and appeared in Reykjavík Jazz programming. Her career reflects a combination of personal creative work, instrumental performance, and music-making with others.
Bubbi Morthens is an Icelandic singer-songwriter, guitarist, and lyricist who has been one of the most influential voices in Icelandic rock since the late 1970s. He began writing and performing music at a young age and became known both as a solo artist and through bands. His lyrics have often addressed society, working life, and personal experience. Morthens was a member of Utangarðsmenn and later formed Egó, alongside a long solo career and work with several other groups. His releases span rock, blues, reggae, folk music, poetry, and other forms. His sustained work as a songwriter, performer, and writer has produced a large and varied catalogue of songs.
Börkur Hrafn Birgisson is an Icelandic guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, recording engineer and producer whose documented work spans bands, studio production, arranging and collaborative recordings. Contemporary sources associate him particularly with the funk group Jagúar, the Benzin Music label and studio, and the trio Mono Town. His career is therefore rooted not only in performance but also in the practical making of records across Icelandic pop, rock and funk contexts. Birgisson played guitar in Jagúar alongside his brother Daði Birgisson, the group’s keyboard player. Accounts of the band describe its original line-up as pursuing funk, soul and jazz, while a 2003 Reykjavík Grapevine listing specifically identifies Börkur as Jagúar’s guitarist. The group issued original instrumental material on its 1999 debut album and subsequently became associated with a funk-centred repertoire. Börkur and Daði remained connected with the group into the middle of the 2000s. In 2006, Birgisson released the ten-track solo album Þriðja leiðin under his own name. Its programme includes “Tregagleði,” “Páskaliljan mín,” “Dagar ganga í barndóm,” the title track, “Á morgun skín sólin” and “Ástarbirta.” Singer Ellen Kristjánsdóttir appears with him on “Gestaþáttur” and “Úr tómleikans gjá.” The release establishes a recorded solo credit alongside his continuing ensemble and studio work, while its guest performances place it within a collaborative Icelandic-song setting. With Daði, Birgisson operated the Benzin Music label and recording studio. Their 2008 Christmas record Rauð jól was jointly arranged by the brothers and included two original songs written by them. In 2009 they produced and mixed María Magnúsdóttir/MIMRA’s debut album, Not Your Housewife, under the Benzin Music name. Börkur also played guitar on that album and shared arrangement duties with Daði. Those credits document a role extending from instrumental performance to arranging, production and mixing. His credited collaborations also reach across Icelandic popular music. On Bubbi Morthens’s 2013 album Stormurinn, Birgisson played electric guitar, sang backing vocals and performed percussion. He was co-recording engineer with Daði, shared the arrangements with Bubbi and Daði, and Daði mixed the album. In the same year, Birgisson played guitar on “Summer vibes” from Bistro Boy’s Journey. He was also part of the rhythm section listed for Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson’s 2011 concert film release Páll Óskar og Sinfó. Mono Town became his principal later band project with Daði Birgisson and singer-guitarist Bjarki Sigurðsson. Coverage of the group’s debut calls Börkur its guitarist, while other music listings identify him as a multi-instrumentalist; the most conservative description is therefore that he was an instrumentalist and co-writer within the trio. The band’s first full-length album, In the Eye of the Storm, arrived in 2014. A contemporary review characterized its sound as British 1990s-oriented indie rock, noting its elaborate production and the participation of Hallgrímskirkja Chamber Choir. Mono Town’s work received major recognition at the 2015 Icelandic Music Awards: In the Eye of the Storm won Rock Album of the Year, and “Peacemaker” won Rock Song of the Year. Award coverage credits Börkur, Daði and Bjarki as the writers of “Peacemaker.” The trio’s second album, Time Vol. I, was released in 2021 and won Rock Album of the Year at the 2022 Icelandic Music Awards; Mono Town also received Songwriter of the Year in the pop, rock, rap and electronic category. These honours identify Birgisson’s recognised authorship as part of a collective band practice. Birgisson’s documented artistic profile rests on the intersection of guitar-led ensemble work and studio craft. Jagúar links him with funk, soul and jazz-informed band music; his solo record and vocal collaborations show work in song-based Icelandic repertoire; and Mono Town placed him in an indie-rock setting. His engineering, arranging and production credits at Benzin Music, with MIMRA and on Bubbi Morthens’s recordings demonstrate that his contribution has often shaped the recorded framework as well as appearing in the instrumental performance itself.
Didier Lockwood was a French violinist and a leading pioneer of the electric violin in jazz. He played with the French band Magma during the 1970s and released his first solo album, New World, in 1979. He recorded more than twenty albums and paid tribute to his mentor Stéphane Grappelli with a record in 2000. In 2001 he founded the Centre des Musiques Didier Lockwood, a school near Paris dedicated to jazz and improvised music, where he taught violin and improvisation. The school continues his teaching legacy today.
Friðrik Karlsson is an Icelandic guitarist and composer who has worked professionally since his teens. He completed studies in classical guitar and jazz-rock guitar, and his playing combines technical range with a clear stylistic voice. He has worked both on his own music and as a sought-after session musician. Karlsson is known for his work with Mezzoforte, which achieved international success with Garden Party in 1983. Alongside his work with the group, he has contributed to recordings and concerts with many artists. His career connects Icelandic jazz fusion with international studio and live work.
Gunnar Þórðarson was an Icelandic guitarist, singer, and composer whose decades-long career encompassed rock, pop, film, and theatre music. He first became known with Hljómar and later worked with Trúbrot and Ríó Tríó, while also maintaining an extensive career as a songwriter and arranger for a wide range of artists and projects. In later years, Þórðarson also wrote orchestral and choral works and the opera Ragnheiður. His career crossed many musical styles and made him one of Iceland’s most prolific composers. His honours included the Icelandic Music Awards’ honorary award and recognition as Reykjavík City Artist.
Guðmundur Pétursson is an Icelandic guitarist, composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer who has worked in Icelandic music for many years. The available sources describe him as one of the country’s leading blues and guitar figures and note collaborations with a wide range of artists, including Pinetop Perkins, Patti Smith, John Grant, Erlend Øye, Júníus Meyvant, and others. He has also composed for the Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra, the Reykjavík Big Band, and SinfoNord, and he has received the Icelandic Music Awards for both guitar performance and composition. Verified released material shows a body of work that includes his own projects and albums such as You Got to Move, Sensus, and Wandering Beings, alongside credits in performance, production, engineering, and mixing. Recent sources indicate that he remained active in concert performance in 2026 and that Wandering Beings won Album of the Year in the open category at the 2025 Icelandic Music Awards.
Halldór Snorri Bragason, widely known as Dóri, was an Icelandic blues guitarist and singer who helped lead the country’s blues scene for many years. He was involved in founding and building the Reykjavík Blues Festival, organised workshops and concerts, and worked with his groups Vinir Dóra and The Blue Ice Band. Dóri performed and recorded with Icelandic and international blues musicians and appeared at festivals on both sides of the Atlantic. He also played with Landsliðið, The Riot, Þrælarnir, Blúsboltarnir, and Big Nós Band. The Reykjavík Blues Society named him an honorary member in 2013 in recognition of his contribution to music and festival work.
Janne Schaffer is a Swedish guitarist and songwriter who has been one of the most prolific session musicians in the Nordic countries since the early 1970s. He is best known for his guitar work on ABBA's records, including Ring Ring, Waterloo, SOS, and Super Trouper. Alongside his studio work, Schaffer has sustained a long career under his own name. His 1973 debut album reached number one in Sweden, and he has since released many albums and worked with artists such as Bob Marley and Johnny Nash. He has played on well over five thousand recordings.
Jón Páll Bjarnason was a jazz guitarist and one of the pioneers of Icelandic modern jazz. He worked professionally from a young age, performed in Iceland and abroad, and was known for an exploratory approach to guitar playing and musical study. His career included periods in Denmark, Sweden, and the United States before he returned to Iceland. In later years, Bjarnason taught at the FÍH Music School and the Akranes Music School. He helped establish the Reykjavík Jazz Club and appeared on numerous recordings under his own name and with others. His 2002 collaboration 2 jazz gítarar with Ólafur Gaukur brought together two influential Icelandic jazz guitarists.
Jón Rafnsson (born 1958) is an Icelandic bass player, music teacher, and record publisher whose work encompasses electric bass and double bass in jazz, blues, rock, classical music, theatre, and dance-band settings. He is the founder and owner of JR Music and has worked in music since his teenage years. His career began in the mid-1970s, when he was self-taught on electric bass and guitar and played with rock and dance groups on Iceland’s south coast. That early practical ensemble experience became an important counterpart to his later work as a versatile accompanist, collaborator, and organiser of recording and performance projects. ([jrmusic.is](https://jrmusic.is/en/jon-rafnsson/um-jon-rafnsson/?utm_source=openai)) From 1976 to 1983, Rafnsson studied classical music at Sigursveinn D. Kristinsson’s School of Music, studying violin, piano, and double bass. He subsequently continued advanced double-bass study in Stockholm with Thorvald Fredin. He also earned a music-teaching qualification from Stockholms musikpedagogiska institut (SMI), with pedagogy and double bass among his principal subjects and additional study in choir and orchestra conducting. His education therefore joined instrumental training, a classical foundation, and pedagogical preparation. Since returning to Iceland from Sweden in 1990, he has combined performing with teaching at the Hafnarfjörður Music School. ([jrmusic.is](https://jrmusic.is/jon-rafnsson/um-jon-rafnsson/)) After returning to Iceland in 1990, Rafnsson became active across several parts of the country’s musical life. His published CV describes work in jazz, blues, rock, and classical music; with dance bands; and in theatre, both as a musical director and instrumentalist. It also credits him with playing on numerous recordings. His selected-recordings list documents work with Guitar Islancio, DJÄSS, Delizie Italiane, and the Svare/Thoroddsen Trio, as well as recordings involving singers and performers including Andrea Gylfadóttir, Kristjana Arngrímsdóttir, Thor Breiðfjörð, Margrét Eir, and Anna Pálína Árnadóttir. This recorded output places him in a continuing bass-player role across many kinds of repertoire and ensembles rather than in a single permanent band. ([jrmusic.is](https://jrmusic.is/jon-rafnsson/helstu-hljodritanir/)) A major part of Rafnsson’s career is Guitar Islancio, the trio he founded in 1998 with guitarists Bjorn Thoroddsen and Gunnar Thórdarson. The group has worked with folk songs sung and played across generations, using improvisation to give concise melodies a contemporary character while retaining their connection to Icelandic cultural heritage. Rafnsson’s double bass is part of the trio texture in which guitars and bass shape harmony and pulse. Releases involving him include the first three Guitar Islancio albums, Scandinavian Songs, Icelandic Folk, Best of, and the 2017 collection Þjóðlög / Folksongs / Volkslieder. The project also issued a music book containing arrangements of 22 Icelandic folk songs. ([jrmusic.is](https://jrmusic.is/jr-utgafa/book-and-cd/)) Rafnsson has also participated in projects that bring distinct musical traditions into contact. Delizie Italiane, formed in 2000, consists of Leone Tinganelli on vocals and guitar, Jón Elvar Hafsteinsson on guitar and vocals, and Rafnsson on double bass and vocals. The trio has released Passione, Delizie Italiane, and La vita con te. The latter focuses on Icelandic songs given Italian lyrics, alongside two Italian songs performed in their original language and three compositions by Tinganelli. Rafnsson’s bass playing thus forms part of an ensemble project that connects Italian song repertory with Icelandic popular-song material. ([jrmusic.is](https://jrmusic.is/en/delizie-italiane/um-delizie-italiane/?utm_source=openai)) In the Svare/Thoroddsen Trio, Rafnsson played double bass alongside Danish clarinettist Jørgen Svare and guitarist Bjorn Thoroddsen. The group was formed in 2002 following a concert in Akureyri commemorating clarinettist Finn Eydal, although Svare had previously appeared with Guitar Islancio at the Reykjavík Jazz Festival in 2000. Its repertoire centred on swing jazz inspired by earlier masters, original compositions, and music by Django Reinhardt. Jazz Airs was released in 2003, followed by Sweet and Lovely; the compilation Radio Jazz appeared in Mexico in 2008. The trio performed at jazz festivals in Iceland, Denmark, and the United States, and Jazz Airs appeared in Steve Rubin’s JazzTimes Critics’ Picks for 2004. ([jrmusic.is](https://jrmusic.is/jr-verkefni/svare-thoroddsen-trio/)) In the trio DJÄSS, Rafnsson plays bass with Karl Olgeirsson on piano, Rhodes, and vibraphone, and drummer Kristinn Snær Agnarsson. On the group’s self-titled album, he is credited as co-composer with Olgeirsson of “29,” while the remaining listed pieces are by Olgeirsson. DJÄSS releases associated with Rafnsson include Songs from the Top of the World, We Ride Polar Bears, the self-titled album, and Tilbrigði um Gunnar Þórðarson, jazz arrangements of eleven songs by Gunnar Thórdarson. More recently, Rafnsson played bass on Bjorn Thoroddsen’s Friday Night @ Hringbraut, released in January 2026, with Sigfús Örn Óttarsson on drums. He also performed with Thoroddsen, Janne Schaffer, Jonas Gideon, and Sigfús Örn at Salurinn in Kópavogur on 21 February 2025. ([jrmusic.is](https://jrmusic.is/en/jr-utgafa/djass/?utm_source=openai))
Kazumi Watanabe is a Japanese guitarist who released his first album in 1971 and became a leading figure in Japanese jazz fusion. He recorded Kylyn in 1979 and toured with Yellow Magic Orchestra the same year. During the 1980s he appeared as a guest soloist with the Brecker Brothers and with Jaco Pastorius's Word of Mouth ensemble, and in 1983 he formed the fusion band Mobo.
Kristján Eldjárn was an Icelandic classical guitarist and teacher. He began studying guitar at a young age at the Reykjavík School of Music Education and the Reykjavík Music School, studied with, among others, Eyþór Þorláksson and Páll Eyjólfsson, and completed his final examination in classical guitar at Tónskóli Sigursveins in 1996. Eldjárn worked as an instrumentalist and taught at music schools for a period. He performed in Iceland’s varied musical life and had a particular ability to share classical guitar with students and audiences. The Kristján Eldjárn Guitarist Memorial Fund maintains his name and memory.
Krummi Björgvinsson is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist whose work has moved among heavy rock, electronic music, and roots-oriented songwriting. He became widely known as the frontman of Reykjavík band Mínus, which emerged in the late 1990s and won the Icelandic battle-of-the-bands competition Músíktilraunir around the turn of the millennium. Coverage uses both Krummi and his full name. Rather than following one fixed genre, his career has alternated between ensemble work and recordings in his own name, encompassing Mínus, Esja, LEGEND, and solo releases. ([haustgildi.is](https://haustgildi.is/thatttakendur-2023/?utm_source=openai)) His musical interest began early in a home where instruments were readily available. In a 2012 interview, Björgvinsson said that drums were the first instrument he loved; he played drums in his first band and studied at FÍH, Iceland’s music school, for one winter. He subsequently moved to lead vocals because he felt singing offered a fuller means of expression. This account helps place his later work in context: he is principally identified with a distinctive voice, but has also been presented as a musician involved in instrumental work and songwriting. ([mbl.is](https://www.mbl.is/monitorblod/M2012-04-19.pdf?utm_source=openai)) With Mínus, Björgvinsson stood at the front of a particularly abrasive strain of Icelandic rock. The band released Hey Johnny! in 1999, Jesus Christ Bobby in 2001, Halldór Laxness in 2003, and The Great Northern Whalekill in 2007. Jesus Christ Bobby was issued through Smekkleysa, and Mínus later secured international label and distribution connections. Contemporary accounts document touring in Europe and appearances alongside Metallica, Foo Fighters, and Queens of the Stone Age. Björgvinsson was consequently the voice of a band that brought Icelandic post-hardcore and alternative rock into international touring and release circuits during the early 2000s. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%ADnus?utm_source=openai)) Mínus became less consistently active after the mid-2000s, alongside personnel changes and members’ other commitments. It nevertheless reunited for a short set in July 2020 and later announced performances for May 2024. A 2026 report also confirms that Björgvinsson and fellow members discussed the group’s history publicly. The available sources do not, however, substantiate a new Mínus studio album, so it is more accurate to describe the band as an enduring reference point in his career rather than to claim a specific current recording programme. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%ADnus?utm_source=openai)) In 2008 Björgvinsson collaborated with Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson in Esja, which released a self-titled album. The project has been described as country-blues or Southern-inflected rock, a marked contrast with Mínus’s post-hardcore sound. He then developed LEGEND with composer and producer Halldór Á. Bjornsson. LEGEND’s debut, Fearless, arrived in 2012 via Artoffact Records; accounts of the duo identify Krummi as singer and songwriter, with Halldór as his compositional and production partner. This was a significant collaborative shift from a guitar-band format toward electronically built songs. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan%C3%ADel_%C3%81g%C3%BAst_Haraldsson?utm_source=openai)) LEGEND placed Björgvinsson’s voice in a darker electronic setting combining industrial textures, electro, rock, and melodic pop construction. Fearless uses synthesizers, forceful programmed or processed rhythms, and dense arrangements around his low vocal register. The duo’s second album, Midnight Champion, was released in 2017. Reviews characterized it as more guitar-driven than its predecessor while retaining a mix of industrial elements, synth-pop, and darker pop and rock forms. The project therefore preserved his emphasis on vocal presence and song melody while placing it in a production environment far removed from the rawer band sound of Mínus or Esja. ([music.apple.com](https://music.apple.com/us/album/fearless/577255995?utm_source=openai)) In his solo work, Björgvinsson increasingly turned during the last decade toward country, Americana, and folk-tinged rock. His single Stories To Tell was released in 2019, followed by releases including Frozen Teardrops in 2020, Naglar og salt in 2021, and a version of Brothers in Arms in 2022. He has connected this direction to music heard while growing up, saying it is the form that comes naturally when he sits down with a guitar. Reporting on Frozen Teardrops further identifies homelessness and street life as its subject, though that specific theme should not be generalized across his entire solo catalogue. ([music.apple.com](https://music.apple.com/us/album/stories-to-tell-single/1629278925?utm_source=openai)) The most recent reliable source located for his solo activity concerns Smile Till It Ends, discussed by American Songwriter in 2025. The song was linked there to writing begun during the 2020 pandemic and to an idea of resilience under difficult circumstances. Across the documented record, Björgvinsson has continued to work across clearly different musical languages: forceful rock with Mínus, country-blues with Esja, electronic dark pop and industrial-inflected music with LEGEND, and more singer-songwriter-oriented Americana under his own name. No personal official website could be verified with sufficient confidence. ([americansongwriter.com](https://americansongwriter.com/krummi-delivers-song-of-hope-when-its-needed-most-smile-till-it-ends/?utm_source=openai))
Larry Coryell was an American guitarist often called the godfather of fusion for bringing jazz together with rock and country in the 1960s. He played with Chico Hamilton and founded the band The Eleventh House in 1973. He performed in a guitar trio with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía in 1979, and worked as an educator and columnist alongside his playing.
Matthías Þór Bjarkason is an 11-year-old guitarist who studies with Bjorn Thoroddsen and also attends guitar lessons at the Hafnarfjörður School of Music. Matthías is an exceptionally accomplished guitarist for his age. He has shown great dedication and has progressed rapidly. His interest in playing with others started early, and he formed his first band at just nine years old. Matthías also plays guitar regularly at the Sunday school of Fríkirkjan in Hafnarfjörður, where he has gained valuable experience performing and playing with others. He has a particular passion for rock and energetic guitar playing, and enjoys taking on challenging songs and new musical challenges.
Mike Stern is an American jazz and fusion guitarist who has built a career as a performer, recording artist, and collaborator. He studied at Berklee College of Music and received an early opportunity with Blood, Sweat & Tears. His guitar playing brings together influences from rock, blues, and jazz, with an emphasis on an electric sound and improvisation. Stern has worked with Miles Davis, Billy Cobham, Jaco Pastorius, the Brecker Brothers, Joe Henderson, and many other musicians. He has released sixteen albums as a leader, six of which have received Grammy nominations. His long career has made him an influential guitarist in contemporary jazz and fusion.
Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen was a Danish double bassist and one of the most admired bass players in jazz. He was performing at Copenhagen's Jazzhus Montmartre as a teenager, accompanying visiting artists including Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, and Bill Evans. He played in Oscar Peterson's trio from 1972 to 1987, won a Grammy Award in 1974, and received the Nordic Council Music Prize in 1991. He recorded dozens of duo albums with pianist Kenny Drew and released around forty records under his own name.
Philip Catherine is a Belgian guitarist who began performing professionally at seventeen and released his debut album, Stream, in 1972. Charles Mingus called him "Young Django". He has played with Larry Coryell, Chet Baker, and Stéphane Grappelli, and recorded with Bjorn Thoroddsen on BT Jazz Guitar in 1997. Catherine studied at Berklee College of Music and replaced Jan Akkerman in the Dutch band Focus in 1976. He has recorded extensively as a leader and sideman since the 1960s.
Richard Gillis is a Canadian trumpeter and a professor at the Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba, where he has taught since 1991. He is artistic director of the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra. He has recorded eight albums with Bjorn Thoroddsen and performed with him in Iceland, Canada, and the United States, including at Lincoln Center in 2006 and with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in 2017.
Robben Ford is an American guitarist known for bringing together blues, jazz, rock, and R&B. He began his career in blues, performing early on with Charlie Musselwhite and Jimmy Witherspoon. He later became part of the L.A. Express and worked with Joni Mitchell before developing a personal sound that combines blues-based phrasing with jazz harmony. Ford was a founding member of Yellowjackets and has had a long career as a solo artist and collaborator. He performed with Miles Davis in 1986 and has also worked with George Harrison, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, and Larry Carlton, among others. He has received five Grammy nominations and also teaches through the Robben Ford Guitar Dojo.
Tommy Emmanuel is an Australian guitarist known for a fingerstyle approach that carries melody, bass, and accompaniment at once on a single acoustic guitar. He began performing at the age of six and moved to Nashville in 1997 at the invitation of Chet Atkins. Atkins gave him the title Certified Guitar Player in 1999, one of only five guitarists to receive it. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2010.
Ólafur Gaukur Þórhallsson was a guitarist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and teacher who played an important part in the development of popular and jazz music in Iceland. He began as an instrumentalist, worked briefly in journalism, and then returned to music as his main profession. Across his career he composed, arranged, led groups, and contributed to recordings and publishing. He was also a teacher, founding Ólafur Gaukur’s Guitar School in 1975 and running it for the rest of his life. Jazz remained central to his work, and in 2002 he released 2 jazz gítarar with Jón Páll Bjarnason. His work as both a performer and educator links several generations of Icelandic guitarists.
Óskar Logi Ágústsson is an Icelandic guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter with The Vintage Caravan. He formed the band in 2006 with Guðjón Reynisson and has been one of its principal writers and voices from the beginning. The group’s music draws on classic rock, blues rock, psychedelia, and progressive rock. With The Vintage Caravan, Ágústsson has released several albums and performed internationally at concerts and festivals. The band has appeared at Wacken Open Air and Hellfest, toured as a headline act, and performed with Opeth. In the current lineup, he is the group’s vocalist and guitarist.