Per Zanussi was born in 1977. He grew up in Stavanger, Norway with his Norwegian mother and father. At five years old, he began playing various instruments. He then learned to play the bass when he was thirteen and joined rock bands. He quickly moved to double bass after discovering jazz. While still studying in Trondheim, he created the electronic band Wibutee with Hakon Kornstad (and Wetle Holte) in 1996. This group recorded three albums with Zanussi and toured the globe in the years that followed. He founded Zanussi 5, his longest-lasting project, in 2001. It plays Zanussi’s music in an acoustic form. The group has released 3 albums, and one more is in the works: Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, which features Zanussi as a 12-piece group. Zanussi holds a Masters in Music from Trondheim Conservatory and the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. He is currently working on a Trondheim Jazz Orchestra/Zanussi 5 and a twelve-piece Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. He is also a member of MZN3, Trespass Trio, Raymond Strid and Martin Kuchen. Zanussi has recorded and played with Arve Henriksen (with Hamid Drake), Louis Moholo-Love, Bobby Bradford. “Zanussi is an inventive and fleet bassist. He gets around on his instrument like a horn player, without sacrificing quality of sound, which can’t be said of every bassist I’ve heard recently.”Chris Kelsey, Jazztimes from http://www.perzanussi.com
