Jens Christian Bugge, also known as Jens Bugge Wesseltoft, was born in Porsgrunn, on February 1, 1964. He was raised in Skien, a nearby city, about 100km south-west Oslo. Erik Wesseltoft, Bugges Jazz guitarist father, was a major influence on Bugges’s love for jazz music. Bugge began playing the piano when he was three years old. He had already begun lessons by age seven and decided to learn all by himself. Bugge was a member of the school’s marching band and played the tuba and bass drum. Audun Kleive gave Bugge further insight into jazz. Bugge started playing in punk bands at the age of 16. He was also playing in punk bands at the age of 16. Bugge was attracted to electronic sounds and soon purchased his first synthesizer. He bought an electric piano and a synthesizer as a result of his growing interest in electronic sounds. Bugge joined his father, who was in Oslo in 1984 to begin preparatory school for music. Bugge chose to self-educate and avoided the limitations of formal musical education. He has never had formal musical training. Bugge was involved in various projects in Oslo’s Norwegian pop/rock scene and in Norwegian jazz groups such as U and Z, Et Cetera, and Oslo Groove Company in the late 1980s. Bugge was also a member of The Talisman Group since 1988. He was a well-known pianist during this period. In 1989, he performed at Oslo Jazzhouse with the Knut Risnaes Quintet. Jan Garbarek and Arild Andersen made contact shortly thereafter. Bugge was a member of Arild Andersen’s 1990 band and participated in Sagn. This was Arild’s commission work for Vossa Jazz. This work was recorded by ECM. Bugge would return to the recording of Arv (ECM 1994). He also performed Jan Garbarek’s commission for the Molde International Jazz Festival. This was Molde Canticle. The recording of the performance appeared on Garbareks album, I Took up the Runes, ECM 1990. Bugge was more involved in the Norwegian jazz scene’s best musicians. He joined a quartet in 1991 with Bjorn Kjellemyr, Nils Petter Molvaer and Audun Kleive. In 1992, he was also a member of Terje Rypdal’s quintet. In 1992, he joined Jon Eberson’s Jazzpunkensemble. In 1993, the Vossa Jazz Festival organizers recognized Bugges’ talent and commissioned him to write a piece for them. Bugge was given the opportunity to share his music with the world and to select the musicians who would collaborate with him. It was an opportunity that he couldn’t refuse or ignore. He wrote A Little War Story and brought along a strong line-up to perform the song: Terje Rypdal (Jon Christensen), Bjorn Kjellemyr and Nils Petter Molvaer. Bugge started his duo with Sidsel Endresen in the same year, which is a stark contrast to A Little War Story’s scale. The duo plays both standard songs and its own material. Its main goal is to explore new improvisational possibilities. This dynamic combination of the two artists, who are each filled with spontaneity and curiosity, is electric and has made it a common cliche to discuss the synchronicity between Sidsel u0026 Bugge. The duo have produced original performances and a distinctive sound on three albums: Nightsong Curling Legs 1994, Duplex Ride Curling Legs 1998, and Out Here In There Jazzland2002. They have received both national and international critical acclaim. They have toured extensively in Europe and China. You can hear Bugge on Sidsels Exile ECM (94) and Undertow Jazzland (2000). After their regular gigs, jazz musicians began to perform in clubs with DJs at the beginning of the 1990s. This was a two-way road, which allowed DJs to add to the sound as traditional musicians and Jazz musicians to communicate to an audience that wasn’t their primary target. The result was a mix of jazz and techno beats that created an energetic groove that the club crowd could respond to. As an improvising group, the music is constructed on the spot. The DJs use a pulsating beat to guide them. These elements were heavily influenced Bugge’s next project. Bugge successfully merged elements of jazz, house and techno within his New Conception of Jazz project. This sound is known as Future Jazz. Bugge also uses a grand piano and Fender Rhodes. He also uses percussion instruments, samplers and programming devices as well as vocal effects in live performances and studio recordings. The studio recording of New Conception of Jazz, recorded in 1994, was the first album by Bugge. It featured an impressive band that included Ingebrigt Flaten (bass), Anders Engen(drums), Vidar Johannsen (reeds), Eivind Arset (guitar), Bjorn Jellemyr (bass), Rune Ahrensen (drums), and Nils Petter Molvaer as the trumpet player. Three sessions were recorded in a week. Although Bugge provided notes and a set of guidelines, the majority of the music was spontaneous. Bugge then edited the resulting sounds. Jazzland released the CD in 1996. Jazzland released the CD in 1996. In May 2012, the first concert was held in Bergen at NattJazz Festival. The lineup was: Bugge (Fender Rhodes and Prophet 5 looping), Ingebrigt flaten (bass), Anders Engen and Bugge (drums), Eivind Arset (guitar, effects), Erlend Gyjerde (trumpet), Vidar Johansen and Vidar Johansen, both tenor/soprano clarinet and basse sax. Jazzland Records was founded in 1996 by Bugge as a way to record his own music. However, Jazzland quickly grew beyond its initial purpose. Jazzland hosted many new groups from Norway, such as Eivind Aarset and Electronique Noire, Audun Kliive with Generator X. Wibutee. Beady Belle. Torun Eriksen. The Havard Wiik Trio. After two years of touring, the second album Sharing was recorded in 1998. Erlend Gjerde, Buge, Anders Engen and Ingebrigt Flaten were all involved. Similar to the first album, the work in the studio was similar. Bugge again used an impressive group of people during recording. He engaged, in addition to his regular band, DJs Strangefruit, Olle Abstract, singer Sidsel Endresen and Paal Nilssen Love, a free jazz drummer, and Nils Petter Movaer, on trumpet, once more. Sharing was the first New Conception of Jazz record to garner significant international attention. Moving was the most acclaimed New Conception of Jazz album. It was released in 2001. Bugge brought his live band to the studio and recorded the album in one take, with no overdubs. The band lineup had been changed a lot except for Ingebrigt flaten and Anders Engen. Jonas Lonna was responsible for programming and turntables, Paolo Vinaccia handled percussion and mixing, while Marius Reksjo played bass. One track features Hakon Kornstad, a saxophonist. Six tracks combine acoustic and techno/house sounds seamlessly. This album is perhaps the best example of Bugges New Conception of Jazz’s nu jazz cool and is the most successful album. The album is simple, but it retains its jazz-informed intelligence. Between 2000 and 2004, touring intensified. The New Conception of Jazz traveled all over Europe twice, including to Japan, Korea, San Francisco, South Africa and Australia twice, as well as three times to Canada. In 2003, Live was released. This is a collection of performances taken from concert recordings from 2000-2002. Bugge stated that this album had not been subject to any repairs or overdubs. This album is a great example of our way of making music. It uses an electronic beat to create a song and allows us to walk on stage. This leaves us free to create music that is spontaneous and positive. I say it’s jazz.” Since spring 2004, Ole Morten Vagan was the bassist, and Andreas Bye was the drummer for live shows. 2004 saw the release of FiLM iNG, his last album. Bugge followed the same recording process as his first two albums. He recorded in the studio with his band, and several guest artists. Dhafer Youssef was on tour in 2004, while Richard Gensollen joined the band in fall 2001. Joshua Redman was also a part of one track. The end result was as creative and rich as the first two albums. He said about FilM iNG in a NRK interview: “For me, this is a bit like a retrospective on the albums that I made since 1996.” At the time, I didn’t know much about electronica or how to mix it. This can be heard on my first albums. I now draw all the threads together. Three tracks of FiLM iNG are played only by Bugge, hinting at his solo project. Bugge believed that the New Conception of Jazz concept was not a finite resource, but he had made it as far as possible. Bugge felt that it was time to seek out new challenges in 2005. Ragatronics is another project. Bugge met the Indian musicians and the band had their first concert together in Bombay in 2003. One year later, the band reunited for a Norwegian tour. Bugge Ragatronics also features Per Martinsen, a Norwegian DJ (also in Mental Overdrive and Illumination and Frost), and 3 Indian musicians: Vivek Rajgopalan, percussionist (playing on the mrindigam), Shrikanth Sriram, bassist/flute player Shrikanth Sriram, and Dhruba Gosh (singer/sarangi player). Bugge once again shows his ability to inspire musicians and create a cohesive improvising group, despite their diverse musical backgrounds. It has been a huge success. A Bugge’s Room album was recorded and is awaiting release. Bugge has been working on a solo project since 2004. He has performed live at many festivals and venues throughout Norway, including Numusic festival, Jazzland Sessions in Oslo, and StaOpp Jazz, Bergen. He uses a piano, synthesizer and keyboard as well as samplers, a looping device, and a keyboard. Bugge’s solo music covers a wide range of styles, including melodic parts for piano and experimental and atonal music. He even manages to incorporate a new version to a standard. Many grooves and rhythms, both modern and primeval, are looped and interwoven. Sounds are often distorted or reshaped as the show goes along. Bugge is currently developing his solo project. Bugge’s creativity and musical evolution will be innovative, unique, and challenging. Is there anything that can be predicted? You can only expect the unexpected. Bugge lives with his family in Oslo… www.gubemusic.com
