Nikolaj Hess

Nikolaj Hess (* 1967 ) is a Danish jazz pianist and composer .

Live and act

Hess comes from a musical family; his brothers Emil Hess and Mikkel Hess are also active as musicians and music producers. First he studied at the Rytmisk Music Conservatory in Copenhagen until 1989 . He later continued his studies in America with Richie Beirach , Danilo Pérez , Gary Dial , Sophia Rosoff and Zitta Zohar. For study purposes he stayed at the University of Ghana with master drummers Odartey, Dele Sosimi and others; he also played with Fela Kuti in Lagos .

Hess initially led a quartet with Hans Ulrik , with whom he recorded an album in 1990. He was then with his trio (with Marilyn Mazur and Jesper Lundgaard ), his sextet Global Motion , in a duo with Sissel Vera Pettersen ( By This River , 2006) and with the trio Spacelab . He also accompanied Etta Cameron , Caroline Henderson and Ulla Henningsen, but also performed with Jean-Luc Ponty , Christian McBride , Kenny Wollesen , Lee Konitz , Benny Golson , Mads Vinding, Chris Minh Doky and Hal Willner . He also worked as a studio musician , composer and arranger . Since 1996 he has been an Associate Professor at the Rytmisk Music Conservatory.

Prizes and awards

In 1987 he received the gold price gold at the competition for non-classical music of the Berlingske Tidendes . In 1989 he was the first pianist to be awarded the highest score of 13 points at the concert exam in Copenhagen. In 1991 he won the Radiotelevisione Italiana competition in Rome as “best European jazz pianist under 25”. The second album with Sissel Vera Pettersen ( The Word , 2009) was nominated in 2010 for a "Danish Grammy" .

Discographic notes

White Rainbow (2008)
Global Motion (2009, with Marc Mommaas , John Hébert , Tony Moreno , Ben Monder , Jeff Ballard )
Spacelab The Champ (2009, with Anders Christensen , Mikkel Hess)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Hess, Nikolaj
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Danish jazz pianist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH	1967