Arild Andersen

Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen is one of Europe's most versatile double bassists. His credits number in the hundreds across avant-garde, jazz-rock, contemporary jazz, improv, and new age. He debuted with Jan Garbarek on 1967's Til Vigdis and remained his bassist until 1973. Andersen released his debut, Clouds in My Head, on ECM in 1975 and remained closely affiliated with the label. Lifelines was released in 1981; 1993's If You Look Far Enough, with Ralph Towner and Nana Vasconcelos, won global acclaim; and 1997's Hyperborean featured his quintet and strings. In the 21st century, Andersen upped the ante: He released dozens of albums as a leader or sideman on a variety of labels. In 2012, Celebration, with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, appeared on ECM. In 2019 he, Clive Bell, and Mark Wastell created the improvisation Tales of Hackney, which was released in 2020. In June 2024, the bassist accompanied by drummer Daniel Sommer and guitarist Rob Luft released As Time Passes for Denmark's April Records.