Petter Wettre (born 11 August 1967) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

Jazz musician (Saxophone) and composer, known from a number of album recordings, accompanied by receiving the

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 organizat ...

two times.

Career

Wettre was born and raised in

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

. He studied music at the Toneheim Folk High School (1987), and later at the Berklee College of Music in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

(1992), where he studied under the guidance of international Jazz Profiles like

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received ...

and

George Garzone George Garzone (born September 23, 1950) is a saxophonist and jazz educator from Boston, Massachusetts. Biography Garzone is a member of the Fringe, a jazz trio founded in 1972 that includes bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gullotti. The ...

. Moving back to Norway, he immediately formed his own Quartet with engagement at the

Kongsberg Jazzfestival 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 ...

in 1993, followed by a Norway Tour in 1994. Eventually, he settled 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 ...

and he distinguished himself at the Oslo Jazz Scenes with his own Trio and Quartet, and sat in with the "Storeslem" (Big Band) and "Sandefjord Big Band", toured with his own trio in ''Tribute to Ornette Coleman'' (1994), sat in with the band ''Time Out'' (1994–95), on tour with

Øystein Sevåg Øystein Sevåg (born March 19, 1957) is a Norwegian composer and keyboardist. His music touches on classical, New Age and jazz styles. Biography Øystein Sevåg is a Norwegian composer, pianist and music producer. He was born in Bærum in 1957 ...

's ''Global House'' (1995–96), Shirley Bassey (1995–96), played within the bands "Graffiti", "Horns for hire",

Oslo Groove Company Oslo Groove Company (active 1985-1996) was a Norwegian big band initiated and led by Jens Wendelboe (1985–87). In 1987 Lars Erik Gudim took the lead and Harald Devold led the band. They released three albums, two on their own label, Groove Rec ...

and

Norske Store Orkester Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

. Breakthrough as a jazz musician came with the representation of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

at the EBU concert in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

in 1995. He also appears on recordings with, among Others Torbjørn Sunde's ''Meridians'' (1998),

Frode Alnæs Frode Alnæs (born 3 March 1959) is a Norwegian jazz guitarist and composer, known from cooperation with international artists like Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen, Arild Andersen, Jon Balke, Ole Edvard Antonsen, Ketil Bjørnstad, Henning Somme ...

's ''Frode'' (1996), the ''Element – Shaman'' (1999) and ''Oslo Groove Company – Anno'' (1996). On the debut album ''Pig Virus'' (1996) with his Petter Wettre Quartet he was joined by

Håvard Wiik Håvard Skarpnes Wiik (born 10 March 1975) is a Norwegian jazz pianist and composer, known from a number of recordings with bands like Atomic, and performances with musicians like Petter Wettre, Ola Kvernberg and Stian Carstensen. Career Wi ...

(piano),

Terje Gewelt Terje Gewelt (born 8 June 1960) is a Norwegian jazz musician (upright bass). Career Gewelt was born in Oslo and raised in Larvik, a small town on the southeastern coast of Norway. He started playing guitar at the age of 10, switched to elec ...

(bass) and

Per Oddvar Johansen Per Oddvar Johansen (born 1 March 1968) is a Norwegian Jazz musician (drummer), most recognized for his work with Trygve Seim, Christian Wallumrød, The Source, Solveig Slettahjell and Vigleik Storaas, but has also been awarded the Spellemannp ...

(drums). Through "The Trio" (1995–2001) he has held a variety of co-operation with

Jarle Vespestad Jarle Vespestad (born 16 April 1966) is a Norwegian jazz musician (percussion), the younger brother of jazz musician Liz Tove Vespestad, and a central member of Tord Gustavsen's projects. Career Vespestad was born in Kirkenes and picked up d ...

(trommer),

(drums), Jon Christensen (drums) and

Ingebrigt Håker Flaten Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (born 23 September 1971 in Oppdal, Norway) is a Norwegian bassist active in the jazz and free jazz genres. (in Norwegian) Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian) Career Flaten played electric bass in local funk trio ' ...

(bass),

Arild Andersen Arild Andersen (born 27 October 1945) is a Norwegian jazz musician bassist, known as the most famous Norwegian bass player in the international jazz scene. Career Andersen was born at Strømmen, Norway. He started his musical career as jazz g ...

(bass) and

Per Zanussi Per Zanussi (born 1977) is an Italian–Norwegian jazz musician (double bass, upright bass) and composer, known from several bands and releases such as with Hamid Drake, Louis Moholo, Paal Nilssen-Love, Bobby Bradford, Sabir Mateen, Franklin Kie ...

(bass). Lately he has had an extensive musical collaboration with the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Jazz musicians Jonas Westergaard (bass) and Anders Mogensen (drums) respectively in trio and quartet format. Today's edition of Petter Wettre Quartet comprises Westergaard and Mogensen, respectively, bass and drums, as well as

Erlend Slettevoll Erlend Slettevoll (born 26 October 1981) is a Norwegian jazz pianist, known from cooperation with musicians like Ola Kvernberg, Petter Wettre, Heidi Skjerve, Kjetil Møster, Steinar Raknes and Espen Aalberg. Career Slettevoll was born in Vold ...

(piano). By some Events, Slettevoll is replaced by guitarist Kim Johannesen. Jonas Westergaard had a stay in New York where he sat in with Jazz sizes like

Oliver Lake Oliver Lake (born September 14, 1942) is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano and flute. During the 1960s, Lake worked with the Black ...

and Kresten Osgood. Wettre runs the record label "Household Records" (from 2002), has given lectures '' Oslo musikkonservatorium'' and '' Agder Musikkonservatorium'', and released

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...

transcripts in the book ''Live at the lighthouse'' (2005). He was a nominee for the 2011

, this was his sixth nomination for this Award, an award he received for the album ''The only way to travel'' (2000) and for the album ''Fountain of Youth'' (2007). This time it was not for an album, but the duets with drummer

Audun Kleive Audun Kleive (born 20 October 1961) is a Norwegian jazz drummer.) He was raised in Skien and is the son of organist Kristoffer Kleive and brother of organist Iver Kleive. Career Kleive began to play drums in a rock and dance band, and then wen ...

, only available as audio and video files, not released on any album. Although most renown for the projects Petter Wettre Quartet and Petter Wettre Trio with numerous solid contributions to the jazz scene, he is also highly evaluated for the numerous meetings with international Jazz stars over the past few years. Giants as

Joey DeFrancesco Joey DeFrancesco (April 10, 1971August 25, 2022) was an American jazz organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and occasional singer. He released more than 30 albums under his own name, and recorded extensively as a sideman with such leading jazz perfo ...

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active i ...

Adam Nussbaum Adam Nussbaum (born November 29, 1955) is an American jazz drummer. Early life Nussbaum was born in New York City on November 29, 1955. He grew up in Norwalk, Connecticut, and first played the drums at the age of four. After five years of piano ...

and

Manu Katche Manu may refer to: Geography *Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region **Manú National Park, Peru ** Manú River, in southeastern Peru *Manu River (Tripura), which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh * Manu Temp ...

do not decline an opportunity to cooperate with this important Norwegian profiled saxophonist. Wettre is the first choice when the French drummer

Manu Katché Manu Katché (born 27 October 1958) is a French drummer and songwriter of Ivorian descent. He has worked extensively as a session musician, notably with Sting and Peter Gabriel, and his solo albums as a bandleader are largely in the jazz fusion ...

seek a saxophone substitute for

Jan Garbarek Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław ...

in the international ''Manu Katché Quintet''. This autumn Wettre will choose from the top shelf, when introducing himself to the

Jazz audience, with a series of live concerts at the "Viktoria Nasjonale Jazzscene". First sprinkle star comes in the form of a duo with

Jason Rebello Jason Matthew Rebello (born 29 March 1969) is a British pianist, songwriter, and record producer. Career Rebello was born in Carshalton, Surrey. His father's family is from India. Rebello was raised a Catholic in Wandsworth, London. He was cl ...

, which Wettre tuned in with while sitting in with the

Quartett. Labello is a permanent member of this quartet and known for collaboration with Star musicians like Sting, Peter Gabriel and

. Wettre and Labello were united in musical unfolding again on stage on 18 October 2012 in

Honors

* 2000:

in the class Jazz * 2000:

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 ...

* 2007: Spellemannprisen in the class Jazz

Discography

Solo albums

* 1996: ''Pig virus'' (

Curling Legs __NOTOC__ Curling Legs Productions A/S (established 1992 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian record label with a catalogue encompassing all styles of jazz and improvised music. It was started by Knut Værnes and Morten Halle to release their own mus ...

), quartet including

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

: ''Meet the Locals'' (

Resonant Resonance describes the phenomenon of increased amplitude that occurs when the frequency of an applied periodic force (or a Fourier component of it) is equal or close to a natural frequency of the system on which it acts. When an oscilla ...

), trio including

and

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

: ''In Color'' (Resonant), with

David Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a N ...

, including with Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and Jarle Vespestad *

: ''The Only Way to Travel'' (Bergland), with

, awarded

2000 in the class Jazz * 2001: ''The Mystery Unfolds'' (Bergland), trio including Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and Jarle Vespestad * 2002: ''Household Name'' (

Household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...

), quartet including Wiik, Zanussi, Mogensen and Palle Pesonen * 2003: ''Live at

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Jazzhouse ''Jazzhouse'' is a live album by jazz pianist Bill Evans with Eddie Gómez and Marty Morell recorded at the Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen in 1969 but not released until the 1980s on the Milestone label.

'' (Household), trio including Anders Christensen and Anders Mogensen * 2004: ''Tour De Force'' (Household), with David Liebman, including with Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and Jarle Vespestad * 2004: ''Hallmark Moments'' (Household) * 2006: ''State of the Art'' (Household), with Kvintetten * 2006: ''Paramount'' (Household), solo * 2007: ''Fountain of Youth'' (Household) – was Awarded

in the class Jazz *

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; ...

: ''Appetite for Structure'' (Household) *

: ''Fountain of Youth Live! '' (Household), with The Norwegian Radio Orchestra * 2011: ''The Only Way To Travel 2'' (Household Records) *

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 ...

: ''The Social Media Tapes'' (Household Records) *

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 ...

: ''Playing Up to My Standards'' (Household), with Bjørn Vidar Solli,

Frode Berg Frode Berg (born 24 October 1971) is a Norwegian bassist known from the scenes of classical and contemporary music, jazz, pop and rock. As a jazz musician, he is known primarily for his performances with Helge Lien Trio, with Knut Aalefjær as t ...

and Adam Pache

Collaborations

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

: ''Shaman'' (Bergland), within 'Element', including with Gisle W. Johansen, Vidar Johansen,

, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and

Paal Nilssen-Love Paal Nilssen-Love (born 24 December 1974) is a Norwegian drummer and composer in the jazz, free jazz and free improvisation genres. (in Norwegian) Early life Nilssen-Love was born in Molde, Norway. His parents ran a jazz club in Stavanger, and h ...

* 2004: ''Dig It!'' (Nagel Heyer), with

, featuring Petter Wettre, Roy Powell and Andreas Bye * 2005: ''Denada'' ( ACT), with

Helge Sunde Helge Sunde (born 9 June 1965 in Stryn, Norway) is a Norwegian composer and musician (trombone and multi-instrumentalist), known for his compositions in contemporary music and jazz for large ensembles and for his works as music arranger for symp ...

& ''Norske Store Orkester'', featuring

Olga Konkova Olga Konkova (born 25 August 1969) is a Norwegian–Russian jazz pianist known from several recordings and collaboration with jazz musicians such as Adam Nussbaum, Gary Husband and Karin Krog. Career Konkova was educated as classical pianist ...

and

Marilyn Mazur Marilyn Mazur (born January 18, 1955) is an American-born Danish percussionist. Since 1975, she has worked as a percussionist with various groups, among them Six Winds with Alex Riel. Mazur is primarily an autodidact, but she has a degree in ...

* 2010: ''The Red Album'' (Siddhartha Spiritual Music), with

Global House Band

References

;Bibliography * ''Live at the lighthouse'' (2005) – Elvin Jones transkripts ;Notes

External links

Biografi Petter Wettre – Store Norske Leksikon
(in Norwegian) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wettre, Petter Petter Wettre Quartet members 1967 births 20th-century Norwegian saxophonists 20th-century saxophonists 21st-century Norwegian saxophonists Avant-garde jazz musicians Berklee College of Music alumni Curling Legs artists Household Records artists Living people Musicians from Sandefjord Norwegian jazz composers Norwegian jazz saxophonists Oslo Groove Company members Resonant Music artists Spellemannprisen winners