Pål Thowsen (born 15 July 1955) is a Norwegian jazz drummer. He has released several solo albums and received two

Spellemannprisen The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...

awards.

Career

Thowsen was born in

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Akershus county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger ...

, and started his career in the early 1970s as a musician in

Arild Andersen Arild Andersen (born 27 October 1945) is a Norwegian jazz musician bassist, known as the most famous Norwegian bass player in the international jazz scene. Career Andersen was born at Strømmen, Norway. He started his musical career as jazz g ...

's quartet, finding international success throughout the decade. At the same time he was a member of the

jazz rock Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music Music genre, genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, a ...

band Moose Loose. In 1973 he collaborated for the first time with jazz guitarist

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), ...

, a collaboration that has lasted throughout his career in various groups, and has recorded about ten albums with

Ketil Bjørnstad Ketil Bjørnstad (born 25 April 1952) is a pianist, composer and author. Initially trained as a classical pianist, Bjørnstad discovered jazz at an early age and has embraced the emergence of "European jazz". Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian ...

. Other musicians he has worked with include

Radka Toneff Ellen Radka Toneff (25 June 1952 – 21 October 1982) was a Norwegian jazz singer, daughter of the Bulgarian folk singer, pilot and radio technician Toni Toneff, she was born in Oslo and grew up in Lambertseter and Kolbotn. She is still conside ...

Terje Rypdal Terje Rypdal (born 23 August 1947) is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. He has been an important member in the Norwegian jazz community, and has also given show concerts with guitarists Ronni Le Tekrø and Mads Eriksen as "N3". Career Rypd ...

Palle Mikkelborg Palle Mikkelborg (born 6 March 1941) is a Danish jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger and record producer. He is self-taught on the trumpet, although he studied conducting at the Royal Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He became a professio ...

, Odd Riisnæs and

Dag Arnesen Dag Syver Arnesen (born 3 May 1950) is a Norwegian jazz pianist with a series of album releases. Career Arnesen was born in Bergen, and studied classical piano under Jiri Hlinka at the Bergen Music Conservatory and got a commitment by Den ...

and a member of the

Jazzpunkensemblet Jazzpunkensemblet (established 1983 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz ensemble orchestra led by the famous musicians Jon Eberson on guitar and Nils Petter Molvær on trumpet, and known for a clean style duel between two rhythm sections, and the ...

, the Net, Halle / Eberson / Thowsen / Kjellemyr,

Ole Paus Ole Paus (1947–2023) was a Norwegian singer-songwriter and poet, widely regarded as one of the most innovative Norwegian musical figures of the 20th century and "Norway's most significant troubadour at the time of his death." Emerging during t ...

and Finn Kalvik, Sinikka Langeland and Metropolitan. Thowsen, along with Jon Christensen, won the 1977 Spellmanprisen for jazz album for the album ''No Time for Time'', and the 1979 Spellmanprisen for jazz album for his album ''Surprise''. Since 2005 Thowsen has been Associate Professor at 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 ...

Honors

*1977:

for ''No Time for Time'' (with Jon Christensen) *1979:

for ''Surprise''

Discography

As Leader/Co-Leader

*''No Time for Time'' (1976) (with Jon Christensen) *''Surprise'' (1979) *''Carnival'' (1981) *''Sympathy'' (1983) *''Call Me Stranger'' (1986) (with

Tor Endresen Tor Lars Oskar Endresen (born 15 June 1959) is a Norwegians, Norwegian singer and composer. He has entered the Norwegian song selection for the Eurovision Song Contest numerous times, but has only won it once, and represented Norway in the Euro ...

) *''Life Goes On'' (1988) (with

) *''Collection'' (1992) *''The Eagle'' (1992) (with Morten Halle, Jon Eberson, Bjørn Kjellemyr) *''...The Rest Is Rumors'' (2002)

As Sideman

;With Moose Loose * 1974: Elgen er løs ;With Arild Andersen * 1975: Clouds in My Head (ECM 1059) * 1977: Shimri (ECM 1082) * 2010: Green in Blue Early Quartets (ECM 2143-45) ;With Arild Andersen Quartet * 1974: Live in Warsaw, Jamboree Jazz 74 vol. 1 (Polskie Nagrania SXL 1180) * 1978: Green Shading Into Blue (ECM 1127) ;With Ketil Bjørnstad *1974: Berget det blå *1977: Selena *1978: Leve Patagonia! *1980: Tidevann *1981: Engler i sneen *1990: Odyssey *2000: Early Years (Universal Music Norway 013 271-2) *2022: The Seventies (C+C Records CCD076) ;With Ketil Bjørnstad & Ole Paus *1975: Lise Madsen Moses og de andre *1982: Bjørnstad/Paus/Hamsun ;With Radka Toneff *1979: It Don´t Come Easy *2003: Some Time Ago - A Collection of Her Finest Moments ;With Jazzpunkensemblet *1991: Live at Rockefeller *1997: Thirteen rounds (Curling Legs) ;With Dag Arnesen *2004: Time Enough (Gemini Records TRCD 845) *2008: Norwegian Song 2 (Resonant Music RM20-2) ;With Dag Arnesen Trio *2007: Norwegian Song (Resonant Music RM17-2) *2010: Norwegian Song 3 (Losen LOS 101-2) ;With Terje Rypdal *2020: Conspiracy (ECM 2658) ;With Metropolitan *1998: Metroploitan *2004: Love is Blind (Curling Legs) ;With The 00 Quartet *2001: The 00 Quartet ;With Sinikka Langeland *2002: Runoja ;With Jon Eberson Group 2000: Dreams That Went Astray (Jazzland 013 421-2) ;With Elisabeth Karsten *1999: Flux ;With Terje Gewelt *1999: Hide and Seek (Resonant Music RM2-2) ;With Odd Riisnæs *1998: Your Ship ;With The Net *1996: The Net ;With Dennis Gonzales Band of Nordic Wizards 1994: Welcome to Us ;With Sigmund Groven *1988: Aria *1991: Nattønsker *1993: Siesta *1996: I godt lag - Med venner ;With Inger Lise Rypdal *1983: Just for You.. ;With Jimmy Webb *1982: Songwriters for the Stars ;With Anne Karine Strøm *1982: Casablancas døtre ;With Finn Kalvik *1974: Nøkkelen ligger under matta *1975: Ride ranke *1978: Fra A til Å ;With Ole Paus *1979: Kjellersanger *1982: Noen der oppe ;With Sigvart Dagsland *1985: Joker ;With Arild Stav *2001: Dawn

References

External links

Biography from the Norwegian Jazz Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thowsen, Paal 1955 births Living people Norwegian jazz composers 20th-century Norwegian drummers 21st-century Norwegian drummers Norwegian jazz drummers Norwegian male drummers Norwegian percussionists People from Skedsmo Musicians from Lillestrøm Spellemannprisen winners Taurus Records artists Norwegian male jazz composers 20th-century Norwegian male musicians 21st-century Norwegian male musicians Jazzpunkensemblet members