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| Mats Eilertsen | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mats Eilertsen |
| Birth date | 1975 |
| Birth place | Trondheim, Norway |
| Occupation | Jazz double bassist, composer, bandleader, educator |
| Genres | Jazz, improvised music, contemporary music |
| Instruments | Double bass |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Labels | ECM Records, Hubro Music, Edition Records |
Mats Eilertsen is a Norwegian jazz double bassist, composer, bandleader, and educator known for his work in contemporary jazz and improvised music. He emerged from the Trondheim music scene and has recorded as a leader and sideman with European and international artists, releasing albums on prominent labels and performing at major festivals. Eilertsen's career spans ensemble projects, solo work, and collaborations with composers and arrangers across Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
Eilertsen was born in Trondheim and grew up amid the cultural institutions of Trøndelag, attending local music programs that connected him with the Trondheim Conservatory of Music, the Norwegian Academy of Music, and regional ensembles linked to Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. He studied double bass and jazz performance in the 1990s, participating in youth programs associated with Molde International Jazz Festival, Nattjazz, and workshops led by visiting artists from ECM Records and Jazz at Lincoln Center. His formative teachers and peers included alumni of the Jazzlinja at NTNU and professionals active in ensembles related to Kulturkirken Jakob and other Oslo venues.
Eilertsen's early career involved membership in Trondheim and Oslo-based groups, touring in Scandinavia and Europe with ensembles that intersected with the scenes of Arild Andersen, Jan Garbarek, Jon Balke, and Nils Petter Molvær. He has led his own bands and contributed as a sideman on projects recorded for labels such as ECM Records, Hubro Music, Rune Grammofon, and Edition Records. Festival appearances include North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Molde International Jazz Festival, and London Jazz Festival, and he has collaborated with orchestras and contemporary music ensembles that perform at venues like Royal Albert Hall, Kulturbrauerei, and the Wigmore Hall. Eilertsen has also been active in education, giving masterclasses at institutions such as the Norwegian Academy of Music, Royal Academy of Music (London), and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
Eilertsen's approach to the double bass blends Nordic jazz aesthetics associated with Jan Garbarek and Arild Andersen with improvisational practices linked to ECM Records productions and European free jazz pioneers like Peter Brötzmann and Evan Parker. His compositions show the influence of contemporary composers such as Ola Gjeilo and Morten Lauridsen in their attention to timbre and space, while rhythmically drawing on interactions found in the work of Tony Oxley, Jon Christensen, and Bugge Wesseltoft. Eilertsen often employs reduced textures, lyrical motifs, and group dynamics reminiscent of ensembles led by Bobo Stenson, Karin Krog, and Tord Gustavsen.
As leader and co-leader, Eilertsen's discography includes releases on labels connected to ECM Records and Hubro Music, featuring albums that integrate composition and improvisation. Notable records involve collaborations with musicians associated with Arve Henriksen, Ståle Storløkken, Håkon Kornstad, Thomas Strønen, Vassilis Tsabropoulos, and Nils Økland. He has appeared on numerous sessions with artists linked to Ragnar Johansen, Helge Lien, Erlend Skomsvoll, and international figures active in projects with John Taylor, Kenny Wheeler, and Django Bates.
Eilertsen has been a member of and collaborator with ensembles and projects that include trios, quartets, big band arrangements, and cross-genre commissions involving institutions such as the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra, KORK, and chamber groups performing at the Oslo Jazz Festival. His partnerships extend to Scandinavian and British artists like Maria Kannegaard, Bjørn Kjellemyr, Trygve Seim, Eivind Aarset, Iro Haarla, Petter Eldh, and Sebastian Rochford. He has taken part in interdisciplinary projects combining jazz with theatre and dance staged at venues including Den Norske Opera, Det Norske Teatret, and international arts festivals such as Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Eilertsen's work has been acknowledged by Norwegian and international bodies connected to jazz and contemporary music, with nominations and awards tied to festivals like Molde International Jazz Festival and organizations such as Spellemannprisen, Nordic Council Music Prize, and credits from critics at publications referencing The Guardian, The New York Times, and DownBeat. He has received commissions from cultural institutions and funding agencies including Arts Council Norway and has been featured in curated programs by ECM Records and festival artistic directors from Molde, Nattjazz, and the London Jazz Festival.
Eilertsen resides in Norway and remains active as a performer, composer, and mentor within networks that include the Norwegian jazz scene, European jazz community, and academic institutions across Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. His influence is visible in younger generations who study at the Norwegian Academy of Music, the Jazzlinja at NTNU, and international conservatories, and in ensembles that trace aesthetic lineages to ECM Records releases and Nordic jazz traditions established by figures like Jan Garbarek and Arild Andersen. His ongoing contributions continue to shape concert programs at festivals such as Molde International Jazz Festival and Oslo Jazz Festival.
Category:Norwegian jazz double-bassists Category:1975 births Category:Living people