Morten Qvenild (born 31 August 1978) is a Norwegian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist, band leader, and producer.

Career

Morten Qvenild - Kongsberg Kirke April 2011

Qvenild started his jazz career in the big band Ung Musikk in 1995, followed by studies on the Jazz program at the

Norges Musikkhøgskole 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 c ...

. He used to play in ''Østenfor Sol'' with

Ole Jørn Myklebust Ole Jørn Myklebust (born 30 April 1977 in Eidsdal, Norway) is a Norwegians, Norwegian Jazz musician (trumpet, flugelhorn and vocals), educated at the Norges Musikkhøgskole. Known for performing in Subtonic (band), Subtonic, Sigurd Køhn, Køhn ...

, with Myklebust's OJ Trio, Shining (1999–2003), and Jaga Jazzist (2000–2002). Since 2000 Qvenild is the "orchestra" of Susanna & the Magical Orchestra and an original member of

Solveig Slettahjell Solveig Slettahjell (born 2 April 1971 in Bærum, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz singer, known for her soulful, seductive voice. Career Slettahjell had her record debut with the album ''Slow Motion Orchestra'' (2003), contains jazz standards li ...

's Slow Motion Quintet as well a duo partner. Beyond these enduring collaborations Qvenild is also involved in the Jon Klette Quartet, The National Bank and he toured with

Nils Petter Molvær Nils Petter Molvær () also known as NPM (born 18 September 1960) is a Norwegian jazz trumpeter, composer, and record producer. He is considered a pioneer of future jazz, a genre that fuses jazz and electronic music, best showcased on his most ...

's Khmer and with Bertine Zetlitz Band (2003 and 2004). In 2003 Morten Qvenild founded the trio In the Country with co-students Roger Arntzen (bass) and Pål Hausken (drums). They recorded five albums for

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 ...

. On the latter two –''Whiteout'' (2009) and the live recorded ''Sounds and Sights'' (2011)– the band was joined by multi-instrumentalist

Andreas Mjøs Andreas Mjøs (born 1 March 1976 in Tønsberg, Norway) is a Norwegian musician, record producer and composer, known from a series of performances and albums within Jaga Jazzist. He is also on a number of other album releases both as performer an ...

. Their last release was issued by the German ACT label. In 2011 he performed with

Marit Larsen Marit Elisabeth Larsen (born 1 July 1983) is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. She began playing violin at age of 5 and played it until the age of 8. She gained international fame during her teenage years as a member of the pop duo M2M with ch ...

a new version of

Erik Bye Erik Erikssønn Bye (March 1, 1926 – October 13, 2004) was a versatile Norwegian-American journalist, artist, author, film actor, folk singer and radio and television personality. He was one of the 20th century's most well-known and popular ra ...

's ''Vår beste dag''. This has become

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

's tune in their profile campaign. In 2017, he took part, playing multiple instruments such as upright piano, harpsichord, harmonium, dulcitone, mandolinette, autoharp and kokles on

a-ha A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...

's MTV Unplugged recording of the Live Album, "Summer Solstice" in Giske, Norway and the Subsequent Unplugged tour in Jan and Feb 2018. He played keyboards for their Electric Summer tour in June through August 2018.

Honors

*2004: JazzIntro Award with the band ''In the Country'' at the

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 ...

*2004:

Spellemannprisen Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizati ...

in the class jazz with

and pop music with The National Bank *2007:

Kongsberg Jazz Award Kongsberg Jazz Festival or Kongsberg Jazzfestival is an international jazz festival that has been held annually in Kongsberg, Norway, since 1964. Artists Several worldwide great artists have visited Kongsberg during this festival; internation ...

*2016:

Edvardprisen The Edvard Prize is a Norwegian music award in given by TONO, copyright organization for musicians and composers. The award, which was first awarded in 1998, is awarded annually and can only be awarded to members of the organization. The goal is t ...

in the open class for the album ''Personal Piano''

Discography

As leader

* 2015: ''Personal Piano'' * 2016: ''The HyPer(Sonal) Piano Project - Towards A (Per)Sonal Topography Of Grand Piano And Electronics'' (Hubro Music) * 2019: ''Landet Bortanfor Landet - Område 51'' (Grappa Musikkforlag)

As sideman

With In the Country * 2005: ''This Was the Pace of My Heartbeat'' (

) * 2006: ''Losing Stones, Collecting Bones'' (Rune Grammofon) * 2009: ''Whiteout'' (Rune Grammofon) * 2011: ''Sounds and Sights'' (Rune Grammofon) * 2013: ''Sunset Sunrise'' (ACT) With Susanna & the Magical Orchestra (

Susanna Wallumrød Susanna Karolina Wallumrød (born 23 June 1979 in Kongsberg, Norway) is a Norwegian vocalist, known for her low key original songs. She is the sister of the drummer Fredrik Wallumrød and the pianist Christian Wallumrød, cousin of the pianist D ...

) *2004: '' List of Lights and Buoys'' (

) *2006: ''Melody Mountain'' (Rune Grammofon) *2009: ''3'' (Rune Grammofon)

References

External links

Morten Qvenild Biography - Groove.noMorten Qvenild Biography - Norsk musikkinformasjon MIC.no
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Live Konsertfoto av Morten Qvenild
sup>Where? } {{DEFAULTSORT:Qvenild, Morten 1978 births Living people Musicians from Kongsberg 20th-century Norwegian pianists 21st-century Norwegian pianists Avant-garde jazz musicians In the Country members Jaga Jazzist members Norwegian jazz composers Norwegian jazz pianists Shining (Norwegian band) members Spellemannprisen winners The National Bank (band) members