Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen (born 4 February 1982) is a Norwegian guitarist, vocalist and composer. She is known for a series of album releases and collaborations with musicians like

Jon Eberson Jon Arild Eberson (born 6 January 1953) is a Norwegian jazz guitarist and composer, the son of jazz guitarist Leif Eberson (1925–1970), and the father of keyboardist Marte Maaland Eberson. He was a member of the bands Moose Loose (1973–77), ...

Jarle Bernhoft Jarle Bernhoft (; Jarle Norman Bernhoft-Sjødin; born 21 June 1976), known professionally as Bernhoft (often stylized as Bern/hoft), is a Norwegian singer, musician and songwriter. His best known songs are "Streetlights", " Shout" (a Tears for ...

and

Hilde Marie Kjersem Hilde Marie Kjersem, also known as Marie Munroe, (born 27 April 1981 in Ålesund, Norway) is a Norwegian artist, musician and songwriter signed to Warner Music Norway. She started out as a jazz musician, but has had an organic and natural develo ...

Career

Thomassen was born in

Ålesund Ålesund () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality. The centre of the town of Ålesund lies on the islands of Hessa, Aspøya, Ålesund, Asp� ...

. She is a graduate from the

Norwegian Academy of Music The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the ...

, and performs with a variety of rock and jazz bands, including her own Hedvig Mollestad Trio, Bronco Busters, Songs and Sweet Potatoes, and VOM (as "Mester Pøggs"). She also has a central role in the bands of

and

, and has performed with

Trondheim Jazz Orchestra Trondheim Jazz Orchestra (TJO) (established 1999 in Trondheim, Norway) is an orchestral project based in Trondheim, and closely related to both the Midtnorsk Jazzsenter (MNJ - Mid Norwegian Jazz Center) and Jazz Line at the Trøndelag Conservator ...

. Thomassen was awarded "The young jazz talent of the year" at

Moldejazz Molde International Jazz Festival (MIJF) or Moldejazz (established 1961 in Molde Municipality) takes place annually in July, and is known as one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. It was initiated by the local Storyville Jazz Club. Since 1 ...

in 2009, and played a gig within Jarle Bernhoft Band at the 2011

Kongsberg Jazzfestival Kongsberg Jazz Festival or Kongsberg Jazzfestival is an international jazz festival that has been held annually in Kongsberg, Norway, since 1964. Artists Several worldwide great artists have visited Kongsberg during this festival; internation ...

. When she released her debut solo album ''Shoot!'' (2011) leading her own trio, the music bears little resemblance to what she plays with Jon Eberson Group and the bands of Hilde Marie Kjersem and Jarle Bernhoft.

Hedvig Mollestad Trio

Hedvig Mollestad Trio (also referred to as HM3) consists of Hedvig Mollestad (guitar, vocals), Ellen Brekken (bass) and Ivar Loe Bjørnstad (drums). The trio has received numerous appraising reviews internationally, for both their studio albums and live performances. Their music is inspired by '70s heavyrock, but creates a peculiar musical mixture of ingredients like

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

, prog and

psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

. On its website the band describes their own music as "Outgoing & progressive instrumental rock". Since the trio's formation in 2009, HM3 has played many concerts and jazz festivals in both Norway and abroad and they have toured in Europe, Malaysia, Japan and the USA. In reviews of two of the band's albums,

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

critique Critique is a method of disciplined, systematic study of a written or oral discourse. Although critique is frequently understood as fault finding and negative judgment, Rodolphe Gasché (2007''The honor of thinking: critique, theory, philosophy ...

John Kelman states:

Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns

In 2023, Mollestad formed a new trio, called Weejuns, with the keyboardist

Ståle Storløkken Ståle Storløkken (born 22 February 1969 in Dombås, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (keyboards, organ and piano) and composer, known for collaborations with artists like Terje Rypdal, BigBang, Supersilent and Motorpsycho. Store Norske ...

from

Elephant9 Elephant9 (established 2006 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian progressive/neo-psychedelic/jazz-rock trio which formed in 2006 under the name Storløkken/Eilertsen/Lofthus, for the members of the band, namely Ståle Storløkken (keyboard), Nikolai ...

, and the drummer

Ole Mofjell Ole Mofjell (born 11 July 1990) is a Norwegian drummer known from bands like Brute Force and COKKO, married July 29, 2016, to singer Natalie Sandtorv. Career Mofjell was born in Søgne, and started his drumming career when given a sharp dr ...

Prizes and honors

* 2009: Jazztalentprisen for ''The young jazz talent of the year'' awarded at

* 2020: EDVARD-prisen for the album ''Ekhidna''

Discography

Hedvig Mollestad Trio

*2011: ''Shoot!'' (Rune Grammofon) *2013: ''All of Them Witches'' (Rune Grammofon) *2014: ''Enfant Terrible!'' (Rune Grammofon) *2016: ''Black Stabat Mater'' (Rune Grammofon) *2016: ''Evil In Oslo'' (Rune Grammofon) *2019: ''Smells Funny'' (Rune Grammofon) *2021: ''Ding Dong. You're Dead.'' (Rune Grammofon) *2025: ''Bees in the Bonnet'' (Rune Grammofon)

Hedvig Mollestad

''Solo albums'' *2020: ''Ekhidna'' *2021: ''Tempest Revisited''

Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns

*2023: ''Weejuns'' (Rune Grammofon)

Collaborations

;With The Cumshots *2009: '' A Life Less Necessary'' (Rodeostar Records) ;With

*2010: '' 1:Man 2:Band'' (Kikitépe Cassette) ;With Jon Eberson Group *2011: ''The Coarse Sand & The Names We Wrote'' (JEG Records) ;With

*2011: ''Migrations'' (MNJ Records), feat.

Øyvind Brække Øyvind Brække (born 25 August 1969) is a Norwegian jazz musician (trombone), composer, music arranger and band leader, best known for Bodega Band and S. Møller Storband. He was the initiator of the popular and still active band The Source, w ...

*2022: ''Maternity Beat'' (Rune Grammofon) ;With

*2011: ''Let's Let Go'' (Brødr. Recordings) ;With "El Doom & The Born Electric" *2012: ''El Doom & The Born Electric'' (Rune Grammofon)

References

External links

Hedvig Mollestad Trio (HM3)
official homepage
Hedvig Mollestad Trio – Gun And The E-Kid – Steinkjerfestivalen 2012
on YouTube
Hedvig Mollestad Trio – European Tour 2013
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomassen, Hedvig Mollestad 1982 births Living people Musicians from Ålesund Norwegian Academy of Music alumni Norwegian jazz guitarists Norwegian jazz composers Rune Grammofon artists 21st-century Norwegian guitarists Trondheim Jazz Orchestra members