Sphinx was formed in Leeds, UK, in 1999. All four of us were studying there for a short while and although that year Anders returned to Norway to study, we managed to keep the group going. In 2000 we went on our first Norwegian tour, and the following year we released our first album (Sphinx Speaks The Riddle of the Undisputed Truth). We’ve now been on several tours around Norway, and played gigs all over the North of England. We’ve also played in jazz festivals at Kongsberg and Kristians and, and taken part in Tremplin Jazz in Avignon in the south of France, where we were fortunate enough to win the audience prize for best group. We hope to release another CD soon and undertake a tour in England.

The people:

Anders Gronseth (saxophones and bass clarinet):
Anders started playing saxophone at the age of 9, the way that most Norwegian horn-players start: in a marching band. His father, an amateur drummer, got him into jazz, and he began with an interest in "acid jazz" in the mid/late-90's. It was only after leaving high school that he began to play seriously, with John Coltrane as his major influence at the time. He was studying with renowned Norwegian sax player Knut Riisnæs and playing in a big band led by Norway’s most successful leader Jens Wendelboe, before going to England to study at Leeds College of Music in 1999. Here, he formed the group Sphinx, his most regular project since. The next year he returned to Oslo to continue his studies at the Norwegian State Academy of Music. As well as playing regularly with Sphinx in England and Norway, he has played with several groups on the Norwegian creative jazz scene. He released a duo album with drummer Ulrik Ibsen Thorsrud in February 2003 called "GT2: What’s Your Bag?"

Audun Ellingsen (double bass):
Audun started listening to rock music (AC/DC) when he was nine, borrowed an electric bass from his teacher and started playing with some friends. When he was 16 he heard 'Kind of Blue' for the first time and that was it! He got hold of a double bass and started practicing. Since then he’s played with many different jazzbands in Norway and UK, gained a Master’s degree in music and even done some solo concerts, a demanding format on the double bass. He cites his influences as Charlie Haden, Charles Mingus and Duke Ellington. He is also a talented composer who has written music for a great variety of groups – including ours!

David Skinner (piano):
Having started playing classical music at a very young age it took him until the age of sixteen to realise that he was more interested in jazz! Having always enjoyed improvising he found it a natural switch, and spent a year at Leeds College of Music before packing in his college course to go full-time as a musician. Since then he has played in a wide variety of musical contexts, accompanying many of the best-known names in British jazz and playing in various groups all over the country. He hopes to release a solo CD soon. His influences include Art Tatum, Keith Jarrett, Joe Henderson and Eric Dolphy.

Ulrik Thorsrud (drums):
He began to play drums while at high school and played in an acid jazz group. He was subsequently influenced by Jon Christensen and Tony Williams and developed his own intensely personal polyrhythmic style. Apart from playing the drum kit he usually has a considerable array of unusual percussion instruments and gadgets - which he uses to great effect. Along with Audun he gained his Master’s degree here in England and has since moved back to live in Oslo. He recently made the duo album with Anders (cited above) called GT2.