Steinar Sønk Nickelsen (born 5 October 1978) is a Norwegian jazz musician (

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

) from

Bærum Bærum () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a populatio ...

, known from several bands and album releases.

Biography

Nickelsen was born in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, and became well known in Norway when he was awarded the Young jazz musician of the year award 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 2002, within the band Solid!. In Oslo he played in a trio with

Pål Thowsen Pål Thowsen (born 15 July 1955) is a Norwegian jazz drummer. He has released several solo albums and received two Spellemannprisen awards. Career Thowsen was born in Lillestrøm, and started his career in the early 1970s as a musician in Ari ...

and

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), ...

releasing the album (2002).After this he attended the jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium, joined the

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 ...

and recorded with

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side pr ...

. He then studied 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 ...

in Oslo, IACP in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and got his church music education in Trondheim. Moreover, he collaborated in the band Jupiter with

Håvard Stubø Håvard Aasan Stubø (born 26 March 1977 in Narvik, Northern Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (guitar) and composer, son and musical successor of Jazz guitarist Thorgeir Stubø (1943–1986) and Grete Karin Aasan Stubø (b. 1943), and brot ...

and

Magnus Forsberg Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

who released several albums. In Peloton he played with the guitarist

Petter Vågan Petter Vågan (born 6 July 1982 in Brønnøysund, Northern Norway) is a Norwegian singer, guitarist, composer, and the younger brother of double bass player Ole Morten Vågan. He is the bandleader, singer, and guitarist of the Norwegian indie ...

, the drummer

Erik Nylander Johan Erik Nylander (born 3 April 1981 in Norberg, Sweden) is a Swedish jazz musician (drums), improviser and composer, working in Norway since 2002. He plays in several bands, among them Ola Kvernberg Trio, "Kobert", Kirsti Huke Quartet, T ...

, saxophonist Hallvard Godal and trumpeter Karl Strømme. He also was smaller ensembles led by Jacob Holm and

Mats Thorsen A mat is a hard or soft floor covering that generally is placed on a floor or other flat surface. Mats serve a range of purposes including: * serving to clean items passed over it, such as a doormat, which removes dirt from the soles of shoe ...

. He moved to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

(2004) for studies at the Rhythm Conservatory, where he led the Nickelsen Trio with drummer

Ari Hoenig Ari Hoenig (born November 13, 1973) is an American jazz drummer, composer, and educator. Educational materials Hoenig has taught and is on the faculty at New York University and The New School in New York. He gives clinics and lectures at music ...

and guitarist

Lage Lund Lage Fosheim Lund (born 12 December 1977) is a Norwegian jazz guitarist who lives in New York. Early life and education Initially aspiring to become a professional skateboarder, Lund began playing guitar at the age of 13. He later founded a ja ...

at the time. He also figures on the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

music scene, and recently played in the trio ''Excess Luggage'' with pianist

Vigleik Storaas Vigleik Storaas (born 2 February 1963) is a Norwegian jazz pianist and composer, and the younger brother of composer and bassist Gaute Storaas. He is known from a series of album releases and collaborations with jazz musicians such as Norma Wins ...

and drummer

Håkon Mjåset Johansen Håkon Mjåset Johansen (born 1 August 1975 in Trondheim, Norway) is a Norwegians, Norwegian jazz musician, jazz drummer and composer, known from playing with the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra featuring Chick Corea at Moldejazz 2000, cooperations wit ...

releasing the album ''Excess Luggage'' (2007) and ''Hand Luggage Only'' (2011), as well as in a trio with the guitarist

Nils-Olav Johansen Nils-Olav Johansen (born 12 April 1966 in Bjugn Municipality, Norway) is a major Norwegian entertainer and jazz musician (guitar and vocals), known from several recordings and as orchestra leader. He is with Jarle Vespestad (drums) and Stian ...

and drummer

Truls Rønning Truls or Troels is a Nordic masculine given name. Truls is mainly used in Norway, and to a lesser extent in Sweden. Troels (and the rare form Truels) is predominantly used in Denmark. It is a short form of ''Torgils'', derived from Old Norse ''Þ� ...

. Nickelsen now resides in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Discography

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

: ''... The Rest Is Rumours'' (

Curling Legs __NOTOC__ Curling Legs Productions A/S (established 1992 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian record label with a catalogue encompassing all styles of jazz and improvised music. It was started by Knut Værnes and Morten Halle to release their own m ...

), with

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

: ''Live In Getxo'' (Hilargi Records), with Solid! *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

: ''Ignition'' (AIM Records), with Jupiter *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

: ''Live At Glenn Miller Café'' (AIM Records), with Jupiter feat.

Jonas Kullhammar Jonas Kullhammar (2 September 1978 in Nacka, Sweden) is a Swedish jazz composer, saxophonist and is one of Sweden's most established jazz musicians. Career Since 1998 his main group has been Jonas Kullhammar Quartet, and he has participated on ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

: ''III2'' (AIM Records), with Jupiter feat. Jonas Kullhammar *

: ''Mise En Bouteille À New York'' (Calibrated Records), Nickelsen Trio including

: ''Excess Luggage'' (Park Grammofon), Nickelsen / Storaas / Mjåset Johansen *

: ''Selected Recordings'' ( Records), with Peloton *

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

: ''Corrupted Mirror'' ( Records), Nickelsen,

Strømme Strømme is a neighborhood in the city of Kristiansand in Vest-Agder county, Norway. It is a part of the Oddernes borough and the district of Søm. It is located next to the Rona and Strømsdalen Strømsdalen is a neighbourhood in the city o ...

, Nylander *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

: ''Hand Luggage Only'' ( Records), with Excess Luggage *

: ''The Early Years'' ( Records), with Peloton *

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

: ''Dear You'' (Paralell Records), with Monkeybar duo including

References

External links

* *
Bjørn Vidar Solli, Steinar Nickelsen, Nicholas McBride live at EastShore jazz club, Beijing
on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickelsen, Steinar Norwegian jazz musicians Norwegian organists Male organists Norwegian Academy of Music alumni Norwegian University of Science and Technology alumni Musicians from Oslo 1978 births Living people 21st-century Norwegian organists 21st-century Norwegian male musicians Norwegian male jazz musicians TINGeLING members