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Hein Westgaard

Hein Westgaard is a guitarist, improviser and composer from Oslo, currently based in Copenhagen. He can be heard in the post-minimalistic quartet Ototoi, his own genre bending project Hein Westgaard Trio, in ad-hoc free improvised constellations, or in the solo acoustic guitar format where he focuses on his own instrumental songs in the fingerpicking tradition.

The members of Hein Westgaard Trio met in Copenhagen in 2017, and since then they have deepened and matured their unique form of interplay, preparing themselves for the international stage.

Playing their very own kind of experimental music, Hein Westgaard Trio is clearly inspired by free improvisation and jazz, but also by country, rock, folk and classical music. The trio manages to translate all these elements into a unique form, where the boundary between the composed and improvised becomes blurred. Their debut album First as Farce was released in September 2023.

Westgaard / Hernandez / Strid: The Knapsack, The Hat, and The Horn

Read "The Knapsack, The Hat, and The Horn" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
April 4, 2024

The Knapsack, The Hat, and The Horn is a compelling exploration of free improvisation and acoustic sounds. The album, recorded in a single day in Gävle, Sweden, features Hein Westgaard on acoustic steel string guitar, Katt Hernandez on violin and Raymond Strid on drums. It dives into a rich soundscape that merges elements of hypnotic folk motifs, chamber music and abstract sonic territories, creating a unique listening experience that feels both adventurous and deeply personal.The music draws inspiration ...

"One of the most distinctive young Nordic bands. (...) the music has a very loose, almost intuitive feel to it, with a tremendous tension arising between the surging guitar and the elastic, seemingly disjointed rhythms"
( Jan Hocek, jazzport.cz )

"(...) Hand-picked excerpts from various genres that become the trio's own. And talented musicians to boot. (…) It's great to hear genre-free music incorporating genre-specific notes and using them instead of discarding them. "
( Marcus Behrens, salt-peanuts.eu )