Bio
Haftor Medbøe is a Norwegian-born guitarist, composer and academic living in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Haftor has released 15 albums with collaborating international artists including Jacob Karlzon (SWE), Espen Eriksen (NO) and Gunnar Halle (NO), Fabio Giachino (IT), Pete Furniss (UK) Tom Bancroft (UK)), Anneke Kampman (UK), Eva Malling (DK), Signy Jacobsdottir (IS), Konrad Wiszniewski (UK), Chris Greive (AUS).
As a composer, Haftor has scored music for numerous film and television productions including Building a Nation (Wark Clements for BBC) and the multi award-winning Tartan Short, Cry For Bobo (David Cairns). Other composition credits include the 2014 son et lumiere production, A Night at The Royal Botanical Gardens (Edinburgh), collaborative installation pieces with artists Tove Hirth, Niina Turtola, Alan Kilpatrick, Michele Marcoux, productions by choreographer/film-maker Katrina MacPherson and commissioned responses to a number of major exhibitions for the National Galleries of Scotland.
Haftor is Professor Emeritus of Jazz & Improvised Music, Edinburgh Napier University, where he gained his doctoral degree in 2013. He is an internationally published researcher in the field of new jazz studies and has presented conference papers throughout Europe. Haftor is founding Chair of the Scottish Jazz Archive, on the board of Directors for the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival and a Trustee for An Tobar and Mull Theatre. He is also co-Editor in Chief for Jazz Research Journal, Equinox Publishing.
Haftor runs his own record label, Copperfly Records and partner in its consultancy spin-off, Copperfly Collective.
Recordings
MEDBØE/MCKENZIE – REUNITED
February 20, 2024 | Copperfly Records
A long overdue reunion of Haftor Medbøe on electric guitar and effects and Sue McKenzie on soprano and alto saxophones. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Graham Coe.
MEDBØE/WISZNIEWSKI – POIESIS
February 2, 2023 | Subcontinental Records
A freely improvised suite featuring Haftor Medbøe on electric guitar and effects alongside Konrad Wiszniewski on soprano and tenor saxophone. Engineered by Garry Boyle at Slateroom, mixed and mastered by Graham Coe.
HAFTOR MEDBØE [Scandinavian] GROUP, Live in Edinburgh
November 2, 2019 | Subcontinental Records
Featuring Gunnar Halle (trumpet), Espen Eriksen (piano), Eva Malling (bass) and Benita Haastrup (drums). Recorded live at Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival 2013. Engineered, mixed and mastered by Michal Jankowski.
WILL OF THE PEOPLE
July 1, 2019 | Copperfly Records
Featuring Pete Furniss (bass clarinet) and Tom Bancroft (drums) in a sonic response to ongoing political frustrations. Recorded live at the Reid Concert Hall in 2017.
News
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New beginnings
Celebrating a quarter of a century working in Higher Music Education, I have recently stepped away from full time employment in academia to focus on creative projects and the launch of a new UK/EU music consultancy venture, Copperfly Collective. Stay tuned in 2026 for news on upcoming album releases and the unfolding of other exciting…
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Reunited – Sue McKenzie/Haftor Medbøe
After a lengthy and necessary break of 15 years, Sue and Haftor reunite in presenting a suite of freely improvised of burning intensity and emotive depth. Amongst ten tracks inspired by the poetry of Christina Georgina Rossetti, Fragility Made Plain is a song title that alludes to personal struggles overcome and the mutual understanding arrived…
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Summer Gigs 2023
First up is Glasgow Jazz Festival on Wednesday 14th June with Konrad Wiszniewski presenting our recent release on Subcontinental Records, Poiesis. Click on image for info and tickets. Next up is Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival on Monday 17th July with maestro Fabio Giachino playing a set of originals old and new. Click on image…
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Poiesis – album release
On Friday 3rd February 2023 the album Poiesis is released on Subcontinental Records in Bangalore India on limited edition compact cassette at on Bandcamp and via the usual digital channels. The album features Konrad Wiszniewski on saxophones alongside my new Telecaster and a truck-ton of effects.
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New release and summer gigs
After a great summer of returning to music making following the corona hiatus with friends and collaborators new and old, there’s a new album about to land this autumn. A day in the studio with Konrad Wiszniewski has produced a collection of freely improvised material that we’re both really excited about. Stay tuned for release details
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Medbøe | Halle | Malling – Hvor En Var Baen
Alongside Eva Malling and Gunnar Halle, I’ve been making a project that brings together the songs and texts of Danish poet Martin N Hansen on a vinyl release on Copperfly and as a film featuring local people and landscapes. We’ll be touring the project in 2020 and hope to see you all at a gig or…
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Haftor Medbøe Scandinavian Group on Subcontinental Records
November 2nd 2019 sees the release of a live recording in the finest company of Scandinavian musicians on Subcontinental Records. The recording was made at Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival in 2013 and features Gunnar Halle, Espen Eriksen, Eva Malling, Benita Haastrup and special guest Konrad Wiszniewski.
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Live Dates – Summer 2019
Wednesday 19 June, 20:00 – Haftor Medbøe | Jacob Karlzon – Glasgow Jazz Festival, Recital Room at City Halls Friday 19th July, 22:30 – Will of the People Quartet – Global Jam Session – Durham Brass Festival, Venue TBC Sunday 21st Jul, 17:30 – Haftor Medbøe | Jacob Karlzon – Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, Teviot…
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New Recordings for 2019
The duo album with Jacob Karlzon is now on limited edition release on 10″ vinyl from Copperfly and is attracting some kind and lovely press acknowledgements (visit the press page on this site to read more). You can catch the project live at Glasgow and Edinburgh jazz festivals on 19 June and 21 July respectively. In early…
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Haftor Medbøe / Jacob Karlzon – Album available for pre-order
The new album is released on 05 April 2019. To pre-order a copy of the hand-numbered, limited edition (250) 10″ 45RPM vinyl please visit the Copperfly online store