Photo: Aleksander Lindås
SOLO
After extensively touring the world and releasing several critically acclaimed albums with his own trio, Wako ect, is Kjetil now relevant with his solo project. The music is a series of beautiful and harmonious originals, which are carefully crafted intuitively through his spontaneous playing style rich in improvisation. With a desire to tell a story in each musical stanza, he treats each song like a blank canvas and paints with his melodies and a natural rhythmic flow in the playful game. He has previously had two trio releases on Rune Grammofon, where his debut album "Not Nearly Enough to Buy a House" was released in late 2017, and the sequel came two years later. Mulelid's music has been highly praised in magazines such as "The Wire", "Jazzwise", "International Piano Magazine", and "The New York City Jazz Record", and his trio was described by Jez Nelson on British radio Jazz FM as " Best of the year "in 2017.
“Balance art. His music dares to be romantic in the expressive meaning of the word, without it bordering on pop ballads ”- Morgenbladet
"So, lately, I’ve been addicted to the music of Kjetil Mulelid" - Bird is the worm (US)
“Mulelid's playing is magical. Subtle, playful and then powerful,
he sets out his melody lines. Impressive” - Dick Hovenga (NE)
Photo: Jenny Berger Myhre at Vigelandmuseet
Released my first solo piano album March 12th on Rune Grammofon.
Read more about the releases here:
“In these corona times, I sometimes pick out Keith Jarrett's "Köln Concert" when life feels too "broken" and lonely. But now the one and only Jarrett gets strong competition from Kjetil Mulelid, because what he does on "piano" is unspeakably beautiful and optimistic, and music that goes straight to the heart and soul." - Salt Peanuts
"Who might be able to fill Jarrett’s shoes? Of course, there already are big names lined up: Vijay Iyer, Brad Mehldau and John Medeski might come to mind, maybe James Francies or Kris Davies. And there’s a new name to consider - Kjetil Mulelid" - Martin Schray, Free Jazz Blog
P R E S S
5/5 stars - UK Vibe (UK)
“This is attractive music” - LondonJazzNews
“Beyond beautiful” - Deichman music blog (NO)
"Extremely sonorous and beautiful" - Jazznytt (NO)
"Inevitable comparisons with Keith Jarrett" - Jazzwise (UK)
“very melodic, lyrical and melancholic” - Adam Baruch (IL)
“Richly melodic and harmonious. Beautiful” - John Eylas, All about jazz
"Mulelid amplifies the material with intelligence and taste." - Textura (CA)
“The Secret World of the Grand Piano” - Audun Vinger, Dagens Næringsliv
“A virtuosic player who never feels showy.” - Gareth Thompson, All about jazz
"This is music with a solid core. No pieces here appear unmotivated" - Ballade (NO)
"This is a record I will be listening to a lot in the years to come." - Stemmegaffel (NO)
“Piano” demonstrates Mulelid’s range of emotions very well. - T-bones Substack (US)
"One of 2021's most delicious sit-in-front-fireplace albums"- Bærum folkebibliotek (NO)
"Virtuoso, smoky jazz from young Norwegian firebrand Kjetil Mulelid" - Boomkat (UK)
“He has produced a striking, transcendent album that I expect to return to endlessly” - Further (UK)
“Mulelid treats themes and melodies in a new and elegant way" - Arild R. Andersen, Jazz i Norge (NO)
“«Piano» offers a perspective of a mature and articulate artist who spent the pandemic lockdown times.” - Eyal Hareuveni
“Kjetil Mulelid is one of the most important artists of his generation within the ever-vibrant Scandinavian jazz scene” - Music Map (IT)
“Throughout this exquisite recording, he demonstrates a remarkable command that makes one excited for what the future holds.” - Textura (CA)
"It’ll be really interesting to follow Kjetil Mulelid’s career, he might become one of the big names in future jazz. Next stop: ECM" - Martin Schray, Free Jazz Blog
“Mulelid’s melodic themes are simply gorgeous & his playing, with its subtle balance of right hand melody and left hand rhythm, is superb throughout.” - TheJazzMann (UK)
“He's not only a fascinating good pianist who draws on music that goes as far as psalm, folk, and classical as free jazz, he also knows how to translate thes into strong compositions” - Written in Music (NL)
"Mulelid presses the piano keys, as if he could make the difference between longing and melancholy, with powerful and agile cascades, ostinate increases, pearly embellishments." - Bad Alchemy (DE)
“The allegiance to Keith Jarrett is clear throughout this haunting suite of originals by this Nordic pianist Mulelid, whose subtle patterns fit right in alongside other ivory tinklers on Rune Grammofon.” - Jazzwise (UK)
"When you hear Kjetil Mulelid play, the romance is never far away. He has a distinct sense of good melody. His improvisational detours put nerves in the compositional lines. The effortless flow of the play makes the music whole. " - Arild R Andersen, Jazz in Norway (NO)
“From the outset, the lightness of the touch, the characteristics of the attacks, the improvised aspect of the lines played and the form of spontaneity of the ensemble clearly position the Norwegian's point of view on the side of jazz” - etherreal.com (FR) 6/8
