Björn Thoroddsen

Björn Thoroddsen (born February 16, 1958), also known as Bjössi Thor, is one of Iceland's most acclaimed and versatile guitarists — a musician whose four-decade career spans jazz, blues, fusion, rock, and the reimagining of traditional Icelandic folk music. After graduating from the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles in 1982, Thoroddsen returned to Iceland and released "Svif," widely recognized as the country's first jazz-fusion record. He went on to found and lead several influential groups, including the fusion ensemble Gammar, the Django Reinhardt-inspired Kuran Swing, and the celebrated Guitar Islancio trio, whose recordings of Icelandic folk songs achieved gold record status in 2003 — a first for an Icelandic jazz act. Thoroddsen's list of international collaborators reads like a who's who of guitar: Tommy Emmanuel, Al Di Meola, Robben Ford, Larry Coryell, Philip Catherine, and Kazumi Watanabe, among others. In 2016, he recorded the album "Bjössi" in Nashville, produced by Robben Ford and featuring appearances by Jerry Douglas and Tommy Emmanuel. A tireless advocate for the guitar, Thoroddsen founded the Icelandic Guitar Festival in 2007 (later televised nationally) and launched Guitarama, a guitar festival in Canada, in 2013. His cousin Bent Marinóson credits Thoroddsen with recruiting him into music at age 19. Honors include Jazz Performer of the Year (2003), Jazz Composer of the Year (2005), City Artist of Reykjavík (2000), and the FÍH Gold Medal (2011).