"Born in 1977, Per Zanussi grew up in Stavanger with an Italian father and Norwegian mother. He started playing various instruments at five but picked up the bass at 13 playing in rock bands. After discovering jazz he quickly switched to double bass.

Zanussi has a Masters degree in music from the Conservatory in Trondheim and the Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, concentrating on double bass and composition. His compositional work has so far resulted in music for prize winning theatre and dance performances and short films as well as comissions for Bit 20, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and and Stavanger's Kitchen Orchestra.

He is currently a research fellow at the University of Stavanger through the Norwegian Artistic Research Programme.

In 1996, while still a student in Trondheim he founded the electronic project Wibutee together with Håkon Kornstad and Wetle Holte.This outfit recorded 3 albums with Zanussi and toured most of the world in the following years.In 2001 he founded his longest lasting project to date, Zanussi 5, playing Zanussi's compositions in an acoustic format. This group has recorded 4 quintet albums and a fifth as a version of Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, a twelve piece group including Zanussi 5. In 2012 the album "Live" by Zanussi 13 was released : A 13 piece version of Zanussi 5 consisting of the core group, plus all the musicians that have played with the band over the years, among them Jonas Kullhammar and Stian Westerhus.Zanussi also leads his new eleven piece group, Per Zanussi Ensemble. This is a vehicle for Zanussi's compositions for free improvisors, and includes musicians such as Sofia Jernberg, Eivind Lønning and David Stackenäs. This group is also a part of an ongoing research project by Zanussi through the Norwegian Programme for Artistic Research and the University of Stavanger.Zanussi is a member of Trespass Trio (with Martin Kuchen and Raymond Strid) and several other projects and has recorded or played on occasion with John Butcher, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Hamid Drake, Lotte Anker, Paal Nilssen-Love, Bobby Bradford, Eivind Lønning, Frode Gjerstad, Sabir Mateen, Franklin Kiermyer, Stephen O'Malley, Axel Dörner, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Sten Sandell, Mats Gustafsson, Morten J. Olsen, Seijiro Muriyama, Magda Mayas, Sten Åke Holmlander, Louis Moholo, Kjetil Møster, Gabriel Ferrandini, David Stackenäs, Kjell Nordeson, Sofia Jernberg, Kevin Norton, Ivar Grydeland, Ernesto Rodrigues, Tetuzi Akiyama, Christian Wallumrød, Ståle L. Solberg and others."

-Per Zanussi Website (http://www.perzanussi.com/?page_id=2)
7/9/2025

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"Raymond Strid (born 1956 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish drummer in the genre of free jazz and the new European improvised music.When Strid picked up drumming, he was inspired by musicians like Han Bennink, Paul Lytton, and Tony Oxley. He started his musical career relatively late. His debut concert was in September 1977, after first playing with a variety of local bands in Stockholm. In 1988 he founded the 'GUSH' trio together with saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and the pianist Sten Sandell. Since that time Strid has played in a series of bands and projects, such as in the trio Guy/Gustafsson/Strid, Marilyn Crispell/Anders Jormin/Raymond Strid and the Free Jazz trio LSB with Fredrik Ljungkvist and Johan Berthling. In 2000 he initiated 'The Electrics' with Axel Dörner, Sture Ericson and Ingebrigt Flaten. The same year Strid joined the Barry Guy New Orchestra. Strid played at numerous festivals of free improvisation in Europe and North America. He also teaches in musical improvisation."-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Strid)
7/9/2025

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"Born 1966; saxophones. Martin Küchen has been active on the Swedish free improvised/free jazz scene since the mid-1990s. He has composed for larger groups, participated in dance projects, performed with different poets and created the music for experimental films. He now collaborates with improvisors all over Europe and USA/Canada. His current collaborations include:

Angles - a new trio with Ingebrigt Håker- Flaten, doublebass, Kjell Nordeson, drums and Martin Küchen, saxophones. Exploding Customer - a free jazz quartet with Tomas Hallonsten trumpet, Benjamin Quigley double bass and Kjell Nordeson drums, which plays mainly original compositions. Sound of Mucus - a trio with the stringchordist Herman Müntzing and Andreas Axelsson, percussion. Unsolicited Music Ensemble - a trio with Tony Wren, double bass and Raymond Strid, percussion. a duo with guitarist David Stackenås. UNSK: Birgit Ulher, Martin Küchen, lise-Lott Norelius and Raymond Strid. Looper - a trio with Greek cello player Nikos Veliotis and Norwegian percussionist Ingar Zach."

-European Free Improv Site (http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/musician/mkuchen.html)
7/9/2025

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