Nils Petter Molvær

Biography

Molvær was born and raised on the island of Sula, Møre og Romsdal, Norway, and left at age nineteen to study on the Jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium (1980–82). He joined the bands Jazzpunkensemblet with Jon Eberson and Masqualero, alongside Arild Andersen, Jon Christensen and Tore Brunborg. Masqualero (named after a Wayne Shorter composition originally recorded by Miles Davis) recorded several albums for ECM Records, and Molvær recorded with other ECM artists before his 1997 debut solo album, Khmer. The record was a fusion of jazz, rock, electronic soundscapes, and hip-hop beats – and quite unlike the delicate "chamber jazz" typically associated with ECM. Molvær's muted trumpet sound, sometimes electronically processed, had an obvious debt to Miles Davis's work of the 1970s and 1980s, but without being a slavish copy. For the first time, ECM released singles - "Song of Sand", backed with three remixes, and "Ligotage". In 2000, a second album followed, Solid Ether, after which Molvær left ECM. He has recorded several albums since, and has also produced film and theater music.

He often works with guitarist Eivind Aarset. He has also played with Tabla Beat Science created by Zakir Hussain and Bill Laswell.

Honors

In Masqualero

Solo

With others

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