Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen (born 4 February 1982) is a Norwegian guitarist, vocalist and composer. She is known for a series of album releases and collaborations with musicians like

Jon Eberson Jon Arild Eberson (born 6 January 1953) is a Norwegian jazz guitarist and composer, the son of jazz guitarist Leif Eberson (1925–1970), and the father of keyboardist Marte Maaland Eberson. He was a member of the bands Moose Loose (1973–77), ...

Jarle Bernhoft Jarle Bernhoft (; Jarle Norman Bernhoft-Sjødin; born 21 June 1976), known professionally as Bernhoft (often stylized as Bern/hoft), is a Norwegian singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and lyricist. Bernhoft is from Nittedal in Norway. His be ...

and Hilde Marie Kjersem.

Career

Thomassen was born in

Ålesund Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrativ ...

. She is a graduate from 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 ...

, and performs with a variety of rock and jazz bands, including her own Hedvig Mollestad Trio, Bronco Busters, Songs and Sweet Potatoes, and VOM (as "Mester Pøggs"). She also has a central role in the bands of

and Hilde Marie Kjersem, and has performed with

Trondheim Jazz Orchestra Trondheim Jazz Orchestra (TJO) (established 1999 in Trondheim, Norway) is an orchestral project based in Trondheim, and closely related to both the Midtnorsk Jazzsenter (MNJ - Mid Norwegian Jazz Center) and Jazz Line at the Trøndelag Conservator ...

. Thomassen was awarded "The young jazz talent of the year" at

Moldejazz Molde International Jazz Festival (MIJF) or Moldejazz (established 1961 in Molde) takes place annually in July, and is known as one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. It was initiated by the local Storyville Jazz Club. Since 1964 it has re ...

in 2009, and played a gig within Jarle Bernhoft Band at the 2011 Kongsberg Jazzfestival. When she released her debut solo album ''Shoot!'' (2011) leading her own trio, the music bears little resemblance to what she plays with Jon Eberson Group and the bands of Hilde Marie Kjersem and Jarle Bernhoft.

Hedvig Mollestad Trio

Hedvig Mollestad Trio (also referred to as HM3) consists of Hedvig Mollestad (guitar, vocals),

Ellen Brekken Ellen Brekken (born 20 June 1985) is a Norwegian jazz musician who plays upright bass, bass guitar, and the tuba. Biography Brekken was born in Tynset, Norway. She attended the Toneheim Folk High School in 2005, and completed a bachelor's de ...

(bass) and

Ivar Loe Bjørnstad Ivar Loe Bjørnstad (born 1981 in Surnadal, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz and rock musician (drums), brother of the dancer Marit Loe Bjørnstad (1983) and the singer Ingebjørg Loe Bjørnstad (1978). Career Bjørnstad studied jazz at the Norweg ...

(drums). The trio has received numerous appraising reviews internationally, for both their studio albums and live performances. Their music is inspired by '70s heavyrock, but creates a peculiar musical mixture of ingredients like

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...

, prog and

psychedelia Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...

. On its website the band describes their own music as "Outgoing & progressive instrumental rock". Since the trio's formation in 2009, HM3 has played many concerts and jazz festivals in both Norway and abroad and they have toured in Europe, Malaysia, Japan and the USA. In reviews of two of the band's albums,

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

critique Critique is a method of disciplined, systematic study of a written or oral discourse. Although critique is commonly understood as fault finding and negative judgment,Rodolphe Gasché (2007''The honor of thinking: critique, theory, philosophy''p ...

John Kelman states:

Prizes and honors

* 2009: Jazztalentprisen for ''The young jazz talent of the year'' awarded at

* 2020: EDVARD-prisen for the album ''Ekhidna''

Discography

Hedvig Mollestad Trio

*2011: ''Shoot!'' (Rune Grammofon) *2013: ''All of Them Witches'' (Rune Grammofon) *2014: ''Enfant Terrible!'' (Rune Grammofon) *2016: ''Black Stabat Mater'' (Rune Grammofon) *2016: ''Evil In Oslo'' (Rune Grammofon) *2019: ''Smells Funny'' (Rune Grammofon) *2021: ''Ding Dong. You're Dead.'' (Rune Grammofon)

Collaborations

;With

The Cumshots The Cumshots were a death 'n' roll band from Norway. The band was formed in 1999 by Kristopher Schau and Ole Petter Andreassen. The band released four albums, and were known for their violent live performances where members of the band regularly ...

*2009: '' A Life Less Necessary'' (Rodeostar Records) ;With

*2010: '' 1:Man 2:Band'' (Kikitépe Cassette) ;With Jon Eberson Group *2011: ''The Coarse Sand & The Names We Wrote'' (JEG Records) ;With

*2011: ''Migrations'' (MNJ Records), feat. Øyvind Brække *2022: ''Maternity Beat'' (Rune Grammofon) ;With Hilde Marie Kjersem *2011: ''Let's Let Go'' (Brødr. Recordings) ;With "El Doom & The Born Electric" *2012: ''El Doom & The Born Electric'' (Rune Grammofon)

References

External links

Hedvig Mollestad Trio (HM3)
official homepage
Hedvig Mollestad Trio – Gun And The E-Kid – Steinkjerfestivalen 2012
on YouTube
Hedvig Mollestad Trio – European Tour 2013
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomassen, Hedvig Mollestad 1982 births Living people Musicians from Ålesund Norwegian Academy of Music alumni Norwegian jazz guitarists Norwegian jazz composers Rune Grammofon artists 21st-century Norwegian guitarists Trondheim Jazz Orchestra members