Artists | Paal Nilssen-Love (NO)

Artist’s website: paalnilssen-love.com


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Paal Nilssen-Love (born 1974 in Molde, Norway) is a Norwegian drummer active in the jazz and free jazz genres.
Nilssen-Love was raised at a jazz club in Stavanger, run by his mother, and his father, who was also a drummer. From 1990 on he took actively part in the jazz milieu in Stavanger and joined bands with established musicians such as trumpeter Didrik Ingvaldsen and saxophonist Frode Gjerstad. He did musical studies at Sund folkehøgskole 1993-1994. In 1994, during studies on the Jazz program at the Trondheim Musikkonservatorium (1994–96), he formed the band Element which musically became a platform for several other groups with bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and pianist Håvard Wiik and led to collaborations with Iain Ballamy and Chris Potter.
Relocating to Oslo in 1996, he joined and/or took part in the forming of bands like Vindaloo, SAN, Håkon Kornstad Trio, The Quintet and Frode Gjerstad Trio, as well as self-initiated projects and collaborations with Swedish musicians such as pianist Sten Sandell and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson.
In 1999, Nilssen-Love played his first solo concert.
Being active in several bands at the same time has always been Paal’s deliberate working method. Today his portfolio also includes his own trio with Ken Vandermark and Ab Baars, the bandsThe Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, Atomic, School Days, The Thing, Scorch Trio, Territory Band, FME, Lean Left and various duo projects such as with reedmen Peter Brötzmann & Ken Vandermark, guitarist Terrie Hessels (The Ex), saxophonist John Butcher, organist Nils Henrik Asheim and noise experimentalist Lasse Marhaug. Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet.
He runs his own annual festival – All Ears - for improvised music in Oslo.