Bugge Wesseltoft

Norwegian jazz pianist and bandleader, born February 1, 1964 in Porsgrunn, Norway.

He started out in a punk band, but didn't really enjoy it. He met Nils Petter Molvær and they formed a jazz quartet, whose compositions Wesseltoft enhanced with effects extracted from his Atari ST.

Wesseltoft is considered the "mastermind" of a new generation of musicians who fuse classic jazz with electronic music. Under the name New Conception of Jazz, Wesseltoft strives for a synthesis of live electronics and the means of improvised jazz. In addition, he also devotes himself to purely acoustic piano playing. With his own music label Jazzland, founded in 1996, he has created a platform for the Norwegian scene that enables artistic freedom away from the mainstream. He is considered an integrative figure in the Norwegian jazz scene and has worked with, among others, with Jan Garbarek, Sidsel Endresen, Eivind Aarset and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten. He is also internationally recognized and has collaborated with Henrik Schwarz, Miki N’Doye and John Scofield, for example. He had success with Dan Berglund and Magnus Öström in the trio Rymden.

In 2004 he received a Buddyprisen.