"Thomas is born and raised in Skien,Telemark. With a bachelor degree from the University of Stavanger, and Masters from The Norwegian Academy of Music, he is a part of the strong young Norweigan jazz elite. He has done extensive touring in Scandinavia, Europe, Japan and USA, with both his own projects and as a sideman in several other bands.

His main project is Cortex, which is a quartet consisting of Thomas, Kristoffer Alberts, Ola Høyer and Gard Nilssen. Cortex is a Norwegian band which plays enerergetic jazz of the finest brand. With over one hundred live perfomances and four highly acclaimed albums, they position themselves as one of the strongest additions to the Norwegian jazz scene.

Thomas is also active in several other projects, such as: All Included, Friends & Neighbors, Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit, and Scheen Jazzorkester.

Thomas currently lives in Skien, working as a freelance trumpet player and composer. Thomas has in recent years toured and played at several festivals and clubs at home and abroad, with both his own and others projects. For projects and livedates, check the pages on the menu at the top of the page."

"Mats Aleklint is a freelance trombone player, born 1979, that lives in Stockholm, Sweden.

I work mostly in the fields of improvisation and jazz, but also blues, soul, theater music, pop and rock. I have been working as a freelance since the year 2000, and touring in Sweden, Norway, Canada, Slovenia, Portugal, England, Germany, and many other countries. Toured with/Recorded with: Alberto Pinton Quintet, YunKan10, Torbjörn Zetterberg Octet, Norrbotten Big Band, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Dave Holland, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra, The Thing XXL, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Brus Trio+2, Big Band Splash, Per-Henrik Wallin, Harmonica Henry, Lisa Ullén Quartet, Blacknuss, Angles, Je Suis!, All Included, LED, and many many others. I also have a band of my own, Mats Äleklint Kvartett."

"Saxophonist, flautist and composer Julie Kjær's edgy and thoughtfull playing and 'dark, otherworldly imagery' (Jazzwise) has become incerasingly evident around Europe, inhabiting ground between composition and free improv. Experimenting with extended techniques, sound and rhythm she pushes her instruments to their limits.

She has toured internationally and recorded with Django Bates and his band StoRMChaser. Currently her main focus is on her trio, Julie Kjær 3, with bass player John Edwards and drummer Steve Noble. Their debut album 'Dobbeltgænger' was just released on 14th March '16 on Clean Feed Records.

She tours internationally with Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love and his Large Unit. Other main projects are a trio with Rachel Musson and Hannah Marshall and Danish-English sextet 'Pierette Ensemble', which she co leads with Danish composer and piano player Signe Bisgaard. The ensemble's debut was cd released February 2014. She plays with London Improvisers Orchestra and is a leader and sidewoman of several other English and Danish ensembles.

She associates herself with prized performers like Mark Sanders, Dave Douglas, Louis Moholo-Moholo, John Russel, Dave Liebman, Laura Jurd, 'Leafcutter' John, Mira Calix, Veryan Weston and Steve Beresford."

"Per-Åke Holmlander...

...born in 1957 in Skellefteå in the very north of Sweden. Holmlander received his diploma in classical tuba in 1983 at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm with Michael Lind as a teacher. Holmlander has always worked simultaneously with improvisation, jazz and rock music as well as classical and contemporary music.

As an improviser Holmlander has worked with - Eje Thelin, Marilyn Crispell, Paul Lovens, Folke Rabe, Phil Minton, Sten Sandell, Sven-Åke Johansson, Mats Persson, Gunter Christmann, Kjell Westling, Keith Rowe, Jan Allan, Georg Riedel, Position Alpha, DJustable, Jon Vanderlander Trio, The Swedish Radio Jazz Group, Ken Vandermark - Territory Band & Resonance Ensemble, The Frontroom Ensemble, London Jazz Composers Orchestra, Torden Kvartetten & Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet...among many others.

Holmlander works a lot with theatre music, sometimes he plays solo and he regularly works with Fire! Orchestra, Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit, Barry Guy New Orchestra, Fredrik Ljungkvist and his Yun Kan 5 & 10 and recently with Parti&Minut, Swedish azz, Inner Ear & Mats Gustafsson NU-Ensemble.

Per-Åke has participated in more than 100 records and 1800 theatrical performances. He has given concerts in 38 countries and he is since December 2008 a member of the government run - Musikalliansen."

"Borre Molstad is a tuba player, a member of Cabinet Trio, Circulasione Totale Orchestra, and Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit."

"Ketil Gutvik, jazz- guitarist/composer/improviser, born in Norway 1972. His style of playing and writing is inspired by the sixties American jazz, but also contemporary European jazz and impro-music has been a major influence to him. He is also a huge admirer of Sonny Rollins recordings from the fifties.A native of Trondheim, but moved to Oslo in 1992. During the mid nineties he formed what would become his major artistic project for many years, the quartet Presence. At this time he also joined vocalist Marvin Charles' trio with bassist Eivind Opsvik. In 1994 Ketil was introduced to the young pianist Håvard Wiik. From 95 to 98 they worked together regularly in different constellations. In 1996 Ketil formed the trio, plusthree, together with bassplayer Eivind Opsvik and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love. A private recordingsession of this trio with guests, summer 98, resulted in the sensational and critically acclaimed impro-group, The Quintet. From 97 to 99 Ketil run the weekly jazzclub concept, Drazztic Acoustic, at Oslo's hippest scene for DJs and club music, Jazid Club. Drazztic Acoustic evolved into the most important venue for free music in Norway at the time . The quartet, Walkie Talkie, with alto saxophonist Frode Nymo, was formed summer 2000. The group's repertoire has been based upon (bassist) Per Zanussi- and Gutvik-compositions, and it's activity includes several festival- and club-concerts. Together with other improvising musicians from different musical genres Ketil started the impro concert series, Fritt Fall (means: free fall), at the club Blå in the beginning of 2001. After this Ketil has performed regularly at Blå with free improvised music in many different constellations. A Fritt Fall-concert in 2001 led into the impro-ensemble, Gutvik/Vinaccia/Wallumrød/Kornstad. This group did a number of successful club- and festival-concerts in both 2001 and 2002. In 2002 Ketil met Klaus Ellerhusen Holm for the first time, and this meeting sparked their strong and lasting duo (Kongsberg Jazzfestival 2005, Oslo Jazzfestival 2005). At the beginning of 2003 Ketil also formed a duo with saxophonist Kjetil Møster. The duo toured Norway in 2003 and 2004. After avoiding the classic guitar-trio-fomat for many years Ketil formed a trio with drummer Per Oddvar Johansen and bassist Per Zanussi back in 2001. Playing trio again inspired him to write and play music in a different way and after hearing Jack deJohnette's first Special Edition album from '79 in 2003, he got new ideas to the concept of combining written and free form music within the same group. He decided to start a group with the guitar trio sound at the core, sorrounded by strong saxophone voices. Ketil Gutvik F E M did it's first concert at Ketil's summer concert series, Gutvik Ukentlig, in 2003. By 2005 this was Ketil's major project having toured Norway and Sweden, played at Oslo Jazz Festival in 2004 and Kongsberg Jazz Festival in 2005. Also to be mentioned is the Gutvik&Hana Drum-ensemble. This group, with guitarist Anders Hana and two drummers, did a number of concerts from summer 2004. Other groups and projects include the duo with Klaus Ellerhusen Holm. Duo with Kjetil Møster. Trio with Atle Nymo and Mats Monstad. Quartet with Øyvind Brække, Eivind Opsvik, and Andreas Bye. Trio with Stig Rennestraum and Bjørn Thevik. Quartet with Kjetil Møster, Niklas Korssell, Johan Berthling. Duo with Tanja Orning. Quartet with Frode Gjerstad. Duo with Niklas Korssell. In 2007, after working on and off with a big number of projects for several years, Ketil decided to focus on just a one impro-group besides a few duo-collaborations. With noise-tuba-wizard Børre Mølstad and the amazing drummer Dag Erik Knedal Andersen the trio NO, GUTVIK performed several concerts in 2007. NO, GUTVIK works in the field of improvised texture music with noise- and freejazz-elements. Other activities the latest years includes duo with Michael Francis Duch, duo with Harald Fetveit, duo with english percussionist Patrick Farmer, duo with Frode Gjerstad, duo with Espen Reinertsen, duo with Axel Dörner, duo with english guitarplayer John Russell.

Through his permanent groups and different projects Ketil works/has worked with musicians like; Paal Nilssen-Love, Nils-Olav Johansen, Knut Riisnæs, Carl Magnus Neumann, Bjørnar Andresen, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Vidar Johansen, Eivind Opsvik, Christian Wallumrød, Håkon Kornstad, Johan Berthling, Kjetil Møster, Paolo Vinaccia, Frode Nymo, Håvard Wiik, Per Oddvar Johansen, Petter Wettre, Mats Eilertsen to mention a few."

"Tommi Keränen is a noise maker from Helsinki. Active since the late 1990s, he performs and records as a solo artist, and is a member of Testicle Hazard, Large Unit, Köttskogen, Gentle Evil and the Truckfuckers. He primary uses primitive electronics and non-standard digital synthesis - the resulting music is rugged slabs of vivid swirling noise. His discography consists of over two dozen entries ranging from cryptic tapes to critically acclaimed releases like the bats in the attic cd (among the wire's rewind picks in 2010). He has collaborated with many artists including Florian Hecker, The Incapacitants, Lasse Marhaug and Phill Niblock."

"Paulinho Bicolor - Musician and researcher, 31 years old, holds a bachelor's degree in Social Sciences with emphasis on Production and Cultural Policy from IUPERJ - Cândido Mendes University. Author of the blog Cuiqueiros, he has been researching Cuíca for five years, a musical instrument that is the subject of his future master's thesis in Music by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ."

"Célio was born in Rio de Janeiro on the February 16 - 1959 in a family of classical musicians. As he says he doesn't remember when he started to play drums "ever, since I remember it has always being a drum around me".

At the age of ten he studied clarinet in the music corps the Colegio Salesianos Santa Rosa under the direction of Mestre Afonso dos Reis. Playing Capoeira and Samba on the streets he got the contact with some of the Brazilians rhythms. At the age of 16 he started to join local groups at the trap drums. He played with numerous local groups in an intense activity carrying his drums in the busses around Rio going from rehearsal to rehearsal, from gig to gig in an exhausting marathon.

Three years later started a classical percussion studies at Instituto Villa Lobos under leading of Edgar Nunes Roca and Hugo Tagning, five years in the conservatorium ended up in a meeting with Hermeto Pascoal...he abandoned school five months before getting his diploma. "Hermeto gave me, in a couple of months, much more then what I got in five years in the school".

In 1983 he was invited to teach samba in Oslo for the Norwegian Carnival. He was planning to stay one year in Norway but he stayed since then. More than seventy records recorded in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, USA, Germany, Brazil, Denmark and Russia. Five of these records have got the Spelemans Pris, the Norwegian Grammy.

Celio has performed/ recorded with numerous groups and artists, to name some: The Talisman Group, The Hammocks, Trio de Janeiro, Jørn Hoel, Jan Eggun, Øystein Sunde, Nuku, Jon Christensen's Bestillingsverk, Tone Holbækmo and Hans Frederik Jakobsen, Kalenda Maya, Håkon Grafs Grafitti, Geir Lystrup, David Chocron, Kringkastingsorkesteret, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Oslo Gospel Choir and more, (Norway), Mezzoforte, Gaia (Iceland), Phip Hamilton, Full Circle ( USA), Artur Maia, Robertinho Silva, Ju Cassou,Carlos Negreiros, Catia de Franca, SESC ( Brazil), Bye Bye Brazil ( Netherlands) Oleg Kireyev, Arkady Kilkloper ( Russia)and many more.

Celio has a duo with the most celebrated drummer of Brazil, Robertinho Silva and take part in this groups: Combonations, Zanza, Philip Hamilton's band, A Primal Spirit, Oleg Kirevs band Claudio Dauelsberg Quartet, to name a fell.

He has got a big reputation in Russia where he has performed couple of times with his own group, A Primal Spirit.

Courses, clinics or workshops: Music Høyskolen - Oslo, Summer Jazz - Finland Slagverk Festival - Stockholm, Bergen Harmonien ( Philharmonic Orchestra) - Bergen, Førde internationale folk music festival, Lørenskog musikkskole, Kringkastingsorkesteret and much more.

In 1996 he released his solo album Avenida Brasil sponsored by Norsk Kassett Avgifts Fond and Fond For Utøvende Kunstnere. In the latest 8 years has Célio started a cultural project involving Brasil and Norway, until now has he taking Norwegian musicians for tours in Brasil 7 times with a great success. Celio's project has touring around Brasil for an organization called SESC and is the first time in SESC's history that an artist do more than one "whole country" tour, more tours is to come. Célio has been working for the Norwegian state organization Rikskonsertene since 1986, travelling the whole country playing for children and adults."

"Strøm grew up on an island in the north-west of Norway. Influenced u. A. By Gary Peacock and Frode Gjerstad , with the first shots were (East of the West, 2011), he plays in the Norwegian free jazz scene with Paal Nilssen-Loves Group Large Unit, Petter Wettre and Mats Gustafsson Nu Ensemble, also with musicians like Mats Äleklint , John Dikeman , Martin Kitchen , Thomas Johansson and Tollef Østvang in formations such as SAKA Trio, Universal Indians, All Included and Friends & Neighbors. 2013, it issued a solo album Jøa.

"Svendsen started his jazz career within Kongsberg Big Band, was a year at Toneheim folkehøgskole and later studied Performing jazz music at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. In 2007 he was awarded Kongsberg Jazzfestival's talent scholarship. During the Kongsberg Jazzfestival in 2010, Svendsen referred to as The festival's busiest musician by Laagendalsposten[1] when he performed seven gigs in different constellations during the festival. In 2011 he received Kongsberg Municipality's Cultural Grant.[2] for sitt arbeid med byens tradisjonelle julejam.

Together with his own quintet Mopti he won the 2012 JazzIntro award.[3][4] After this he has performed among others with the brilliant Japanese pianist and band leader Ayumi Tanaka in the band Nakama with the release Before The Storm (2015) and the exiting Ayumi Tanaka Trio with the release Momento (2016)."-Wikipedia

"Andreas Wildhagen was raised in Oslo and attended the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2012, earning his Masters degree in 2014. He is a sought-after jazz drummer and participates on a series of records with bands like like Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit, Nakama, Lana Trio, Momentum, Jonas Cambien Trio, and Mopti. He has released a solo drum album in 2016 on the Nakama Records label, No Right No Left"

"Paal Nilssen-Love was born in Molde, Norway, Dec 24. 1974, and raised at a jazz club in Stavanger, run by his parents. It was natural to choose his fathers drums as his instrument and jazz as his work. From 1990 on he took actively part in the jazz milieu in Stavanger and joined bands with established musicians such as trumpeter Didrik Ingvaldsen and saxophonist Frode Gjerstad. In many ways, these collaborations were essential as they pointed out the directions for Paal's later musical development and career. During his studies at the Jazz dept at the University in Trondheim, where the first self initiated bands were established, things developed really fast - and Paal was nationally acknowledged at the age of 20.

The forming of the quartet Element in 1993 in many ways represented the start of a new phase in Paal's musical life. Element musically became a platform for several other groups with bassist Flaten and pianist Wiik, and lead to collaborations with Iain Ballamy and Chris Potter, amongst others. Paal moved to Oslo in 1996, where he joined and/or took part in the forming of bands like Vindaloo, SAN, Håkon Kornstad Tio, The Quintet and Frode Gjerstad Trio. He later on got more into self initiated projects and collaborations with Swedish musicians, such as pianist Sten Sandell and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson.

Paal played his first solo concert in 1999, and since then the solo concept has been an important part of his work: "Everyone should try doing some solo work, just to feel who you really are and what gets you going". His solo album "Sticks and stones" was put out in 2001 on SOFA Rec.

Being active in several bands at the same time has always been Paal's deliberate working method. He is constantly conscious about the projects he is in, as his participation in each and one of them is fully dedicated. Playing is not about getting from start to goal, but rather being in an everlasting process, a continuous movement where each new piece of music performed is a prolongation of the latest. Hence, keeping focused and concentrating all energy around what's happening there and then is of greatest importance - as is the freedom in the music, the ability of being free within the expression.

All bands, although various styles and musical versatility in general, represent important pieces that make up a total, and all bands are formed or joined with a clear vision. Today Paal's portfolio includes Atomic, School Days, The Thing, Frode Gjerstad Trio, Sten Sandell Trio, Scorch Trio, Territory Band, FME, and various duo projects such as with reedmen Ken Vandermark, John Butcher, Mats Gustafsson, organist Nils Henrik Asheim and noise wizard Lasse Marhaug. And not to forget the recently joined Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet."