Eivind Opsvik (born 1973 in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...

) and composer, the son of the Norwegian interior and furniture designer Peter Opsvik.

Career

Opsvik is a graduate of the

Norwegian Academy of Music The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the ...

(1993–97), and he made himself evident on the Oslo jazz scene from the early 1990s, before moving to New York in 1998, where has been living since. He is thoroughly involved in composing, recording, mixing and producing music, as he manages a studio in his basement, from where he is running the record label Loyal Label. His main projects are 'Overseas' and 'Opsvik & Jennings', besides his solo project. 'Overseas' is the name of his band that was formed in 2002 and includes

Jacob Sacks Jacob Sacks is an American jazz pianist and composer. Life and career Sacks is originally from Michigan.Ratliff, Ben (October 19, 1999) "A Contest Befitting Monk". ''The New York Times''. pp. E1, E4. He met drummer Dan Weiss at the Manhattan S ...

(piano, harpsichord and organ), Tony Malaby (saxophone),

Kenny Wollesen Kenny Wollesen (born 1966) is an American drummer and percussionist. Wollesen has recorded and toured with Tom Waits, Sean Lennon, Ron Sexsmith, Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, John Lurie, Myra Melford, Steven Bernstein, and John Zorn. He is a fou ...

(drums) and the most recent addition, Brandon Seabrook (guitar). Opsvik plays upright bass and writes all the music. Four records have been released, starting with ''Overseas'' (2003), then ''Overseas II'' (2005) and third ''Overseas III'' (2008). ''Overseas IV'' was recorded in the summer of 2011 and released in 2012. Opsvik & Jennings is an experimental pop duo with tunesmith and guitarist Aaron Jennings, that have released three albums, ''Fløyel Files'' (2005), ''Commuter Anthems'' (2007) and ''A Dream I Used to Remember'' (2009). Opsvik is currently working on a solo album (2013) in collaboration with photographer Michelle Arcila. He also performs with a plethora of other bands and musicians, like Tony Malaby's Paloma Recio,

Nate Wooley Nate or NATE may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nate (given name) *A nickname for Nathanael *A nickname for Nathaniel Organizations * National Association for the Teaching of English, the UK subject teacher association for all aspec ...

Quintet, Jesse Stacken Trio, Skuli Sverrison's Seria, Two Miles A Day with a record featuring Jacob Sacks,

Mat Maneri Mat Maneri (born October 4, 1969) is an American composer, violin, and viola player. He is the son of the saxophonist Joe Maneri and Sonja Maneri. Career Maneri has recorded with Cecil Taylor, Guerino Mazzola, Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris, Ger ...

and

Paul Motian Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties. He first came to prominence in the ...

, Jeff Davis Trio with Russ Lossing, Mary Halvorson's Reverse Blue, Rocket Engine, Plainville, Kris Davis Trio,

Håkon Kornstad Håkon Games Kornstad (born 5 April 1977 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (tenor saxophone, bass saxophone, flute and live looping) and classically trained singer (tenor), known from bands such as Wibutee and Kornstad Trio, and co ...

David Binney David Binney (born August 2, 1961) is an American alto saxophonist and composer. Early life Binney was born in Miami, Florida, and was raised in Carpinteria, California. From his parents, who loved music, he was exposed to albums by John C ...

with Brian Blade and

Craig Taborn Craig Marvin Taborn (; born February 20, 1970) is an American pianist, organist, keyboardist and composer. He works solo and in bands, mostly playing various forms of jazz. He started playing piano and Moog synthesizer as an adolescent and was i ...

, Rocket Engine, Tone Collector, Jesse Harris' Cosmo, The Interaction of Non-Interaction with Ben Gerstein and Poor Pluto.

Discography

Solo albums

;Within 'Overseas' including Jacob Sacks &

Tony Malaby Tony Malaby (born January 12, 1964) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Malaby was born in Tucson, Arizona. He moved to New York City in 1995 and played with several notable jazz groups, including Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, ...

* 2003: ''Overseas'' (Fresh Sound New Talent), feat. Craig Taborn, Wells Hanley, Gerald Cleaver, Jeff Davis, Dan Weiss, Loren Stillman & Jason Rigby * 2005: ''Overseas II'' (Fresh Sound New Talent), feat.

, Jeff Davis, Craig Taborn, Loren Stillman *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

: ''Overseas III'' (Loyal Label), feat. Kenny Wollesen, Larry Campbell & Jeff Davis *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

: ''Overseas IV'' (Loyal Label), feat. Kenny Wollesen & Brandon Seabrook

Collaborations

;Within 'Tone Collector' including Tony Malaby & Jeff Davis * 2005: ''Tone Collector'' ( Jazzaway Records) ;Within 'Opsvik & Jennings' (Aaron Jennings) * 2005: ''Fløyel Files'' (NCM East) * 2007: ''Commuter Anthems'' (

Rune Grammofon Rune Grammofon is a Norwegian record label founded in 1998 by Rune Kristoffersen. Rune Grammofon's reputation for lovingly issued experimental electronic music, jazz, and improvised music by Norwegian artists has grown over the years with its art ...

) * 2009: ''A Dream I Used to Remember'' (Loyal Label) ;Within Marvin Charles Trio including Ketil Gutvik * 2006: ''Marvin Charles Trio'' (

Hot Club Records Hot Club Records is a jazz record label established 1982, by guitarist Jon Larsen in Oslo, Norway.Dregni, Michael (2008) ''Gypsy Jazz: In Search of Django Reinhardt and the Soul of Gypsy Swing'', OUP USA, , p. 229 The label has released over 350 ...

) ;Within 'Jacob Sacks/Eivind Opsvik/

' * 2007: ''Two Miles A Day'' (Loyal Label/Yeah Yeah Records) ;Within Jostein Gulbrandsen Quartet * 2007: ''Twelve'' (Fresh Sound New Talent) ;Within 'Rocket Engine' including Eric Biondo, Mike Pride, Jonathan Goldberger, Aaron Jennings, Ben Gerstein, Jeff Davis & Kris Davis * 2007: ''What is This That Stands Before Me?'' (Loyal Label) ;Within '

Jon Irabagon Jon Irabagon is a Filipino-American saxophonist, composer, and founder of Irabbagast Records. Winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition and one of '' Time Outs "25 essential New York City jazz icons", Irabagon is known for the breadth ...

's Outright!' *

: ''Outright!'' (Innova Recordings) ;Within 'Nate Wooley Quintet' including Harris Eisenstadt, Josh Sinton & Matt Moran * 2011: ''(Put Your) Hands Together'' (Clean Feed Records) * 2015: ''(Dance to) The Early Music'' (Clean Feed Records) ;Within 'Nate Wooley Sextet' including Josh Sinton, Harris Eisenstadt, Dan Peck & Matt Moran *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

: ''(Sit In) The Throne of Friendship'' (Clean Feed Records) ;With

: ''Lifted Land'' (Criss Cross/Musikklosen),

Tyshawn Sorey Tyshawn Sorey (born July 8, 1980) is an American composer, multi-instrumentalist, and professor of contemporary music. Sorey has received accolades for performances, recordings, and compositions ranging from improvised solo percussion to opera, ...

;With Mary Halvorson *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

: "Reverse Blue" (

Relative Pitch Records Relative Pitch Records is an American independent record label specializing in free jazz and avant-garde jazz, free improvisation, and experimental music. Run by Kevin Reilly, Relative Pitch has been ranked among the top jazz record labels in ' ...

) ;With

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

: "The Times Verses" (Criss Cross)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Opsvik, Eivind Norwegian jazz upright-bassists Male double-bassists Jazz double-bassists Avant-garde jazz musicians Norwegian jazz composers Norwegian Academy of Music alumni 1973 births Living people Musicians from Oslo 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century Norwegian male musicians