Arve Henriksen

Arve Henriksen, born in 1968 and a graduate of the Trondheim Conservatory, began playing international stages in 1989. He made his debut on ECM in 1998 as part of Christian Wallumrød’s trio on the album No Birch and has continued to record frequently for the label ever since. Besides his contributions to Wallumrød’s shape-shifting ensembles, Henriksen has appeared on albums by Trygve Seim, Arild Andersen, Jon Balke, Sinikka Langeland and Frode Haltli. His own leader-date for ECM, 2010’s Cartography saw the trumpeter partner up with electronic musician Jan bang, guitarist Eivind Aarset, drummer Audun Kleive and the Trio Mediaeval, among many others. Down Beat described it as “ethereal ambient music created with a painterly touch and marked by a fine melodic sensibility”. Henriksen also collaborated with pianist Tigran Hamasyan on the 2016 recording Atmosphères, along with Jang Bang and Eivind Aarset. The Guardian said that “the pairing of Hamasyan and Henriksen brings an unexpectedly song-based seductiveness to the all-improv session”, concluding that “the sounds (…) announce the arrival of an elite collective with a distinctive identity and big potential”. On Uma Elmo, released in 2022, Henriksen can be heard alongside Danish guitarist Jakob Bro and Spanish drummer Jorge Rossy, improvising in an intimate trio setting that gives each instrument much space to breathe. BBC Music Magazine had high praise for the album: “Danish guitarist Jakob Bro’s new recording is quintessential ECM: a small group of intensely talented individuals making rarefied music in the moment, captured by superb production values.”