In 2000 he recorded his unofficial first CD “Presenting Frode Kjekstad”, with Paul Wagnberg (B3) and Børre Dalhaug (drums). This CD got great reviews in USA and Italy: “This young genius has a perfect sense of time and rhythm” (Frank Forte, Just Jazz Guitar 2001). After meeting New York based jazz guitarist Randy Johnston in the 1990s, he got the possibility to record his first official solo album “New York Time” in February 2002. This album was recorded in New York with Dr. Lonnie Smith and drummer Byron Landham, and with saxophonist Eric Alexander on three tunes. The band set a new record in the studio for making an album in shortest time (about 3 hours), with a lot of extra time left for socializing and sharing stories from Lonnie Smith´s career. The CD “New York Time”, released in 2004, opened up doors all over the world, and led to many new collaborations and journeys. In 2003 Kjekstad also married jazz singer Aina Fridén, and had three kids. In 2008 Kjekstad recorded a trio album with Norwegian super bass player Per Mathisen and drummer Ole Morten Summer, that was never released, due to too much work, and financial problems. Some of these tunes can be found on youtube. In 2012 Kjekstad hooked up with Italians drummer Enzo Zirilli and organist Alberto Marsico. They recorded the album “Frode Kjekstad: The Italian Job” and played gigs around Europe. After doing a tour with old friend sax player Eric Alexander in 2013, Kjekstad was invited to play some gigs at the club Smoke in New York with the legendary organ quartet “Mike LeDonne´s Groover Quartet” featuring Eric Alexander, B3 player Mike LeDonne and drummer Joe Farnsworth. Regular guitarist Peter Bernstein was out of town. Kjekstad also booked a studio to make a new CD with this band. The result was “Frode Kjekstad: A Piece Of The Apple”, released in 2017. In October 2019 Kjekstad recorded a new trio album in Norway, featuring Norwegian bass player Frode Berg and the drummer Magnus Sefaniassen Eide. The CD is called “Frode Kjekstad: In Essence”, and will be released in desember 2019.