Ingebrigt Håker Flaten

About the Artist

Ingebrigt Haker Flaten studied Jazz at the Music Consevatory in Trondheim, Norway, from 1992-95 with bassplayer Odd Magne Gridseth as his teacher. Since '95 he has been a professional musician, shaping and refining his sound by touring every corner of the world with some of the most diverse and important improvisers on the international circuit today. He has also, both as a leader and a sideman, participated on around one-hundred recordings. Ingebrigt is currently focusing on his work in the top pan-Scandanavian ensembles Atomic and The Thing, both of which have toured Europe, Japan and the U.S. regularly over the past half-decade. He also leads his own quintet and is a member of the bands Free Fall, The Electrics, Townhouse Orchestra, The Outskirts, Dave Rempis Percussion Quartet, Scorch Trio, Trinity, IPA, Daniel Levin Trio and Atomic Schooldays. He also has ongoing transcontinental projects with musicians from the underground scenes of New York, Chicago, Austin, Houston and Berlin. These include Ken Vandermark, Frank Rosaly, Tim Daisy, Tony Malaby, Gerold Clever, Jim Baker, Stephan Gauchi, Chris Cogburn, Mars Williams, Axel Dørner, Jeff Parker, John Herndon, Paul Giallorenzo, Dave Dove, Jason Jackson, Christian Lillinger and Tobias Delius. 

In 1994, Ingebrigt released a solo-bass album - the first of its kind ever released in Norway - and he has recently made duo recordings with saxophone legends Joe McPhee and Evan Parker. Parallels between the improvised music communities in Chicago and Oslo have been made frequently, and Ingebrigt's playing style reflects this, offering a bridge between the scenes of the two cities. He has been living partly in Chicago, Oslo and Austin since late 2006, fueling repeated exchanges between the metropoles. His work in his adopted homes on the Americanprairie underlines his respect for American Jazz history. However, Flaten also wants to illustrate clearly his roots and his awareness of tradition. To this end, in 2008, he recorded "Elise" together with the Norwegian reedist, Håkon Kornstad. It is an album that honours his grandmother, Elise Flaten, by interpreting and arranging old religious hymns and traditional songs she sang that have their origin in his home village in Oppdal, Norway. Flaten integrates the full range of playing possibilities, from hardcore swing to fragile soundscapes, from pneumatic rock to non-metrical freeplay. His creative and dynamic approach to bassplaying draw inspiration and energy from his deep roots in the bustling Norwegian jazz scene. This can be summarized by placing him and his contemporaries - such as drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, piano player Håvard Wiik, trumpeter Arve Henriksen and keyboardist Bugge Wesseltoft, to mention just a few - in the great lineage of Norwegian progressive jazz musicians that include the famed Jan Garbarek, Arild Andersen and Terje Rypdal, as well as the less well-known pianist, Svein Finnerud, and bassist, Bjørnar Andresen, all of whom were key figures in shaping Norwegian avant garde jazz into the sound we have today.

Today, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten is one of the great ambassadors of the Norwegian sound, carrying this strong tradition further, both musically and geographically. He is constantly pushing and challenging himself, seeking out collaborations that hold a promise to lead to new and unheard territories.