Ole Morten Vågan

Ole Morten Vågan
Vågan at Buckleys during the 2016 Oslo Jazzfestival.
Vågan at Buckleys during the 2016 Oslo Jazzfestival.
Background information
Born (1979-05-08) 8 May 1979 (age 45)
Brønnøysund, Norway
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
InstrumentUpright bass
LabelsJazzland, AIM Records, MNJ Records
Websiteolemortenvagan.com
Ole Morten Vågan, at Reykjavik Jazz Festival performing with Trondhjem Jazz Orchestra (2017)

Ole Morten Vågan (born 8 May 1979) is a Norwegian jazz musician and composer (upright bass), and the older brother of guitarist Petter Vågan. He is known from several recordings and is currently acting as artistic director for the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. Vågan is also known from cooperating with some of the most influential musicians and composers internationally and has released eight albums as a leader, recently with the TJO (Happy Endlings, Odin records 2018), as well as six albums with his group Motif and one with the group The Deciders.[1]

Career

Vågan in 2010 at the Jazz Fest Brno.

Vågan was born in Brønnøysund. He began his career as a jazz musician in the Nord-Norsk Ungdomstorband at the end of the 1990s and launched his own project "Ole Morten Vågan Projekt" on tour for Nordnorsk Jazzforum in 1999. This was also documented with a concert for radio on NRK P2, Jazzklubben, hosted by Erling Wicklund recorded at Nordland Musikkfestuke. He was a graduate of the Jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium (1998–2002).[2]

In 1999 he formed the quintet Motif, together with Atle Nymo (tenor saxophone), Mathias Eick (trumpet), David Thor Jonsson (piano) and Håkon Mjåset Johansen (drums), where he composes the main part of the repertoire himself. In 2000 Vågan lead the band Motif at Moldejazz and was awarded "NOPA's Composer Prize" the same year, as well as "Young Nordic Jazzcomets" the year after, at Copenhagen Jazz Festival.[1]

As both a bassist and composer, he has worked at the intersection of improvised and notated music, and in 2011 published his seventh disc with the aforementioned MOTIF, to critical acclaim. In 2009 he wrote an hour's music to a tentett, which besides Motif's permanent members, included Mathias Eick, Mattias Ståhl, Ola Kvernberg, Håkon Kornstad, and Petter Vågan. Vågan received the DnB NOR award at Kongsberg Jazzfestival i 2009,[3] and came back the following year with new music, this time for a band consisting of influential musicians from the European improvisational scenes: Axel Dörner and Rudi Mahall (DE), as well as Fredrik Ljungkvist and Jon Fält (SE).[1]

Honors

Discography

With Motif
With Tore Johansen
  • 2001: Happy Days (Gemini Records)
  • 2002: Windows (Gemini Records)
  • 2005: Like That (Gemini Records)
  • 2007: Rainbow Session (Inner Ear)
With Klaus Ellerhusen Holm
  • 2004: Two Way Street (Jazzaway Records)
  • 2006: What Was That You Said? (Jazzaway Records), as Klaus Holm Kollektif
With Maria Kannegaard Trio
With Trondheim Jazz Orchestra feat. Eirik Hegdal
  • 2005: We Are? (Jazzaway Records)
  • 2008: Wood And Water (MNJ Records)
  • 2009: What if? (MNJ Records)
With Jonas Kullhammar
  • 2005: Andratx (Moserobie Music Production)
  • 2009: Andratx Live (Moserobie Music Production)
With 'Juxtaposed'
  • 2010: Tsar Bomba (Bolage Records)
With Gammalgrass
  • 2013: Obsolete Music 1 (Division Records)
With The Deciders
With Obara International
  • 2013: Komeda (For Tune)
  • 2013: Live At Manggha (For Tune)
  • 2015: Live In Mińsk Mazowiecki (For Tune)
With Thomas Strønen
  • 2015: Time Is A Blind Guide (ECM Records)
  • 2018: Lucus (ECM Records)


With Snik
With Team Hegdal
  • 2015: Vol 3 (Particular Recordings)
  • 2017: Vol 4 (Particular Recordings)
With Maciej Obara Quartet
  • 2017: Unloved (ECM Records)
  • 2019: Three Crowns (ECM Records)
  • 2023: Frozen Silence (ECM Records)


With others

References

  1. ^ a b c "Vågan, Ole Morten Biografi Norsk musikkinformasjon MIC.no". Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. (in Norwegian); accessed 7 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Jazzlinja". NTNU.no. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  3. ^ "Musikerprisen til Ole Morten Vågan" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Motif (3) – My Head Is Listening". Discogs.com. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
Awards
Preceded by Recipient of the Kongsberg Jazz Award
2009
Succeeded by