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| Nils Petter Molvaer |
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Nils Petter Molvær – tr
Eivind Aarset – g
Darknose – samples, special effects
Rune Arnesen – dr
Audun Erlien – b
DJ Strangefruit – truntables
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| Molvaer |
A
flashback to 1992. – October 10; the third day of Jazzkaar’92. The time… a
half-hour past the beautiful and powerful performance by the Norwegian group Masqualero on
the main stage. A youngish man of swinging gait emerges from the backstage. Midway through
the adjacent café, he’s stopped in his tracks – to be shaken by the hand,
twice. «Great gig! Thank you. And…y’know, we’d never imagined Miles Davis
might’ve’n born in Scandinavia…» Hearing this, the thanked one throws back
his darkish hair and lets out a ROAR of resounding, hearty laughter. Shaking his head,
still smiling, he walks on.
He is Nils Petter Molvær, trumpeter extraordinaire.
Fast-forward to 1997. – «Khmer», Molvær’s debut album as a leader on ECM
emerges. To boot, its accompanied by the also ECM-sanctioned four-track record of dance
remixes! (Surely a first for the seasoned Munich label. Hopefully, not the last!?) In
its varied incarnations «Khmer» does some marvellous things. Molvær’s evocative
trumpet, by turns poignant and day-dreamy, gets enfolded with muscled back-beats and
gritty guitar-riffs, embraced by dubbed-out textures à la Laswell or Massive Attack,
engulfed in sub-bub bass-currents, enveloped in atmospheres a-full of all kinda
industro-techno debris and…And:"I grew up following the developments Miles
established from ‘Bitches Brew’ to ‘Agartha’. I still love all that»,
commenth Mr. Molvær in the press release.
"Khmer» proceeds to, firstly, sell approximately 100,000 copies globally and,
secondly, win the trumpeter the Deutsche Schallplatten Prize.
Rewind to 1960. – Nils Petter Molvær is born in Sula, on Norway’s northeast
coast. By the time he’s in his early twenties, Nils Petter is gigging with «a very
energetic, very tough» funk-out-rocking outfit of his own. In the following years he goes
on to perform with most of the leading Scandinavian improvisers, and with Elvin Jones,
Gary Peacock, George Russell. As a sideman he’ll play on eight ECM releases. (With
percussionist Robyn Schulkowsky, big band Oslo 13, singer-songwriter Sidsel Endresen. And
Masqualero)
Fast-forward to 2000. – The Nordic Council awards Molvær the prestigious Music Prize
2000. The release of Molvær & Khmer’s second album «Solid Ether», scheduled
for early May, is awaited by thousands of open-eared Europeans. With a considerable amount
of excitement. It’s just gotta be good, y’know. Very good. As should be the
electrified live-show of Khmer at Jazzkaar 2000, on April 28.
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