Christian Meaas Svendsen

Christian Meaas Svendsen (born 26 February 1988 in Kongsberg, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (upright bass), known from collaborations within a series of bands like Nakama, Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit, Mopti, Momentum, Aksiom, Ayumi Tanaka Trio and Duplex. He is also running his own record label - Nakama Records - together with his peers in Nakama.

Svendsen started his jazz career within Kongsberg Big Band, was a year at Toneheim folkehøgskole and later studied Performing jazz music at the Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH) in Oslo where he did a bachelor in both jazz/improv and classical music. During his years at NMH he studied under Bjørn Kjellemyr and Dan Styffe. He also exchanged to Cologne where he studied under Dieter Manderscheid, Sebastian Gramss and Dietmar Fuhr. In 2007 he was awarded Kongsberg Jazzfestival's talent scholarship. During the Kongsberg Jazzfestival in 2010, Svendsen referred to as The festival's busiest musician by Laagendalsposten when he performed seven gigs in different constellations during the festival. In 2011 he received Kongsberg Municipality's Cultural . for his involvement with the city's traditional festival JuleJam.

Together with his own quintet Mopti he won the 2012 JazzIntro award. He is currently working with his own expansive ensemble Nakama together with Adrian Løseth Waade, Andreas Wildhagen, Agnes Hvizdalek and Ayumi Tanaka. Together they run Nakama Records, founded in 2015. The label releases the member's various projects.

Svendsen is also noted for his work with several (2-3) bows at the same time, and also playing with his feet. Quoting from one of his essays from his website: "The body of the instrument and our own body is the ingredients that make up sound, so there is always an aspect of physicality involved, sometimes obvious, sometimes not so much ... I am trying to utilize my body in its current condition to create music that is genuine for this exact time and space ... Hands, feet, cheek, head, mouth, voice, arms, legs."

Some of the notable musicians that Svendsen has played with or are playing with includes: Paal Nilssen-Love, Susana Santos Silva, Arild Andersen, Per Oddvar Johansen, Akira Sakata and Jørgen Mathisen.

• 2007: Kongsberg Jazzfestival's talent scholarship
• 2011: Kongsberg Municipality's Cultural Grant

Solo album

• 2016: Forms & Poses (Nakama Records)
• 2017: Avin (Nakama Records)

Collaborations

As Leader

• 2015: Before The Storm, Nakama (Nakama Records)
• 2016: Grand Line, Nakama (Nakama Records)
• 2016: Most Intimate, Nakama (Nakama Records)
• 2017:Worst Generation, Nakama (Nakama Records)

Main projects

• 2013: Duolia, Duplex (norCD)
• 2013: Sketches of..., Duplex (norCD)
• 2014: First blow, Large Unit (PNL Records)
• 2014: Erta Ale, Large Unit (PNL Records)
• 2015: Én, Duplex (norCD)
• 2015: Riofun, Large Unit (PNL Records)
• 2016: Memento, Ayumi Tanaka Trio (AMP Music & Records)
• 2016: Landet Er Gitt Oss, Filosofer (Nakama Records)
• 2016: Ana, Landet er gitt oss (PNL Records)
• 2016: Rasengan! Susana Santos Silva, Christine Wodrascka, Christian Meaas Svendsen, and Håkon Berre (Barefoot Records)
• 2016: Momentum, Momentum (Clean Feed)

Other projects

• 2012: Andrea Kvintett, Andrea Kvintett (NorCD)
• 2013: Russian Dream, Andrea Kvintett (NorCD)
• 2013: Knyst!, Knyst! (Gaffer)
• 2013: W/M, Christian Meaas Svendsen and Christian Winther (Vafongool Records)
• 2014: ÄIO, ÄIO (Katariin Raska)
• 2015: Circles, Magnus Bakken Quartet (AMP Music & Records)
• 2016: Rasengan! (Barefoot Records)
• 2016: Aksiom, Aksiom (Lawo Classics)