Jazz Articles about Gard Nilssen

About Gard Nilssen

Album Review

Bushman's Revenge: Ah, Les Vaches

Read "Ah, Les Vaches" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
October 13, 2026

Norway's Bushman's Revenge has long occupied its own corner of the Scandinavian progressive music scene, where jazz improvisation, psychedelic rock and heavy guitar music regularly cross paths. Guitarist Even Helte Hermansen, drummer Gard Nilssen and new bassist Tor Egil Kreken retain the power-trio format, but brute force is only part of the equation. What distinguishes the band is its ability to turn open-ended improvisation and prog-rock architecture into something unusually organic, moving from atmospheric restraint to near-chaos without sounding as ...

Live Review

Südtirol JazzFestival AltoAdige 2026

by Libero Farnè
July 6, 2026

Südtirol JazzFestival AltoAdige 2026 Varie sedi Bolzano e provincia 26 giugno-5 luglio 2026 Insignito del prestigioso premio EJN Award for Adventurous Programming, assegnato da Europe Jazz Network per il 2026, il Südtirol JazzFestival AltoAdige ha aperto i battenti, esordendo con la Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra, una delle formazioni più emblematiche dell'attualità scandinava. “La mia orchestra da sogno," così l'ha definita il batterista quarantatreenne che vanta ormai un'invidiabile carriera alle spalle. La formazione, nata nel 2019 ...

Radio & Podcasts

Gard Nilssen, Shoko Nagai, Aaron Parks, Maryanne de Prophetis & More

by Ludovico Granvassu
February 10, 2026

Enjoy a playlist that brings together energy, intimacy, and creative identity, moving across projects that blur boundaries between electric and acoustic, structure and freedom. From the personal, groove-inflected vision of Maurício Fleury's debut to the explosive collective force of Gard Nilssen's expanded Acoustic Unity, the music thrives on momentum and risk. This set also focuses on Aaron Parks and Shoko Nagai, each featured in two contrasting settings.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash ...

Radio & Podcasts

Thomas Strønen, Gard Nillsen, Things Of This Nature & Atlas Maior

by Maurice Hogue
December 29, 2025

Norway is a country that punches way above its weight when it comes to producing excellent jazz musicians, and two of the best drummers from that country have released excellent recordings of late: Thomas Strønen & Time Is A Blind Guide's Off Stillness and Gard Nilssen with an expanded Acoustic Unity, celebrating their tenth anniversary. The contrast between their approaches to drumming, composition and concepts is notable. Speaking of notable, the young quartet, Things Of This Nature, is making a ...

Album Review

Bugge Wesseltoft: Am Are

by John Eyles
November 19, 2025

Jens Christian Bugge Wesseltoft was born in Porsgrunn, Norway, in February 1964 , the son of Erik, a guitarist. Thankfully, he was soon just known as Bugge and people learned that his first name is pronounced “Boogie" not “Bug" or “Bugga... “ Having flirted with a punk band that he did not enjoy much, Wesseltoft moved towards jazz, in particular to the style identified as “future jazz" or nu jazz.In 1995, Wesseltoft formed his own five-member band, called ...

Album Review

Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity: Great Intentions

Read "Great Intentions" reviewed by John Eyles

by John Eyles
October 29, 2025

Gard Nilssen was born in June 1983 in Skien, Norway, and raised in a musical family consisting of drummers. With a background of marching bands and big bands, it was no surprise that drums became his instruments of choice. He got his musical education on the jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium. Later on, he became a performer, composer, producer and bandleader and moved to Oslo, becoming one of the most sought-after and active drummers on the European scene. ...

Radio & Podcasts

Gard Nilssen, Antonio Borghini, Ehwald/Schultze/Rainey

by Maurice Hogue
June 30, 2025

Norwegian powerhouse drummer Gard Nilssen marks his move to a new label, Action Jazz, by releasing two live sessions from recent years. ... And It's Yours Forever is with his ultra-dynamic Supersonic Orchestra, while the second is with his Acoustic Unity trio, recorded when they were serving as a back-up band to Norwegian singer Susanne Sundfør.Other new releases from Europe sampled include a brilliant trio recording by Peter Ehwald, Stefan Schultze & Tom Rainey, Italian bassist Antonio Borghini and his ...