Jazz Articles about Nils Petter Molvaer

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Lars Danielsson: Mélange Bleu

by AAJ Italy Staff
January 31, 2007

Ormai lanciato sulla strada di altri scandinavi, come Nils Petter Molvaer e Bugge Wesseltoft (non a caso presenti nell’organico), il contrabbassista, violoncellista e pianista Lars Danielsson si spinge un po’ oltre il precedente lavoro Libera me (clicca qui per leggerne la recensione) e mette in scena un album molto artefatto, elettrificato e ricreato in studio (il mitico Rainbow Studio di Oslo, sotto la supervisione dell’ingegnere del suono Jan Erik Kongshaus). Ecco così che gli strumenti sono ampiamente sostituiti da sampler, ...

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Nils Petter Molvaer: er

by Samuel Chell
November 15, 2006

Upon reading the titles of the tracks on er, I was prepared for a Windham Hill sampler of programmatic nature-music pieces. But Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer's muse, it soon becomes evident, is more closely related to the genius presiding over In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew and similar projects by some of Miles Davis' '70s progeny. It's New Age music with a beat, but with nuanced textures mixed so deliberately and motifs insinuated so subtly that the inattentive listener ...

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Nils Petter Molvaer: Streamer

by Nic Jones
November 14, 2006

Originally released in Europe in 2004, Streamer has finally been released in the US, allowing listeners on the other side of the pond to hear performances recorded on Nils Petter Molvaer's 2002 world tour. In terms of musical evolution, this might be some way off the mark relative to where the man is in 2006, but that doesn't alter the fact that this music is pretty vapid stuff. The Norwegian musician employs a risky “less is more" approach in his ...

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Nils Petter Molvaer: An American Compilation

by James Taylor
June 14, 2006

An American Compilation introduces stateside audiences to the electronica-meets-jazz sound of Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer. Mixing jazz, ambient, house, breakbeat and drum 'n' bass, Molvaer's sound is best summed up as “Neo-Cool. Seriously--all the elements of classic 1950's cool jazz are there, from Molvaer's sensual and lyrical playing (a la Chet Baker) to the lush, synthesized string arrangements (think Birth of the Cool electronica).

Molvaer's debut came in 1997 with the release of Khmer on ECM. An American Compilation, ...

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Nils Petter Molvaer: An American Compilation

by Chris May
May 31, 2006

In the 35 years since Miles Davis first put foot to wah-wah pedal, any number of musicians have tried to develop the original, shocking impacts of his 1969-74 electric recordings, or even just plain replicate them. (Davis himself tried, with generally disappointing results, throughout the 1980s.)

Current pretenders to Davis' electric legacy include two trumpeters: France's Erik Truffaz and Norway's Nils Petter Molvaer. Truffaz started out promisingly enough, but has recently been subsumed by a bland world-jazz fusion which verges ...

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Nils Petter Molvaer: er

by John Kelman
December 15, 2005

With Khmer (ECM, 1997) Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer almost singlehandedly introduced a new movement in the electronica-based nu jazz arena that would come to be known as “future jazz." Blending a group approach to improvisation with contemporary sampling and programming technologies, Molvaer creates hypnotic ambient soundscapes with compelling rhythms. Music for the body? Unequivocally. But equally, music for the soul and spirit. Since leaving ECM Molvaer has in some ways become the gold standard against which other ...

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Nils Petter Molvaer: Live at Rockefeller Center in Oslo

by Mark Sabbatini
May 23, 2005

A new Ferrari with a bunch of dents is still a pretty nice gift.

Norwegian trumpet modernist Nils Petter Molvaer is offering its acoustical equivalent in an hour-long concert video recently posted free at his web site. It's a large file (291MB) that may frustrate novices trying to save it on their computers, and the video and sound quality are mediocre by professional standards, but the performance makes one overlook a lot of imperfections.

Downloadable music videos apparently ...