Nikolaj Hess Trio

Multiple award-winning pianist and composer Nikolaj Hess is a sophisticated, boundary-pushing virtuoso artist with a sound that spans Nordic jazz, post-bop, new-classical, and Global jazz traditions. His touch on the piano is described as effervescent and golden, and Mitch Myers from Magnet Magazine/Down Beat calls him “one of the most inventive pianists working today”. 

His deep background in jazz, classical and Scandinavian folk music together with his interest in West-African music has combined in a unique creative amalgam of his own, leading to numerous international collaborations and releases of his own, latest a series of albums based on his peer reviewed artistic research project Transformative Reflections, in the transdisciplinary field of music and visual arts, and a solo concert series at MoMA, The Metropolitan Museum, The Getty Museum, and The Smithsonian. Hess has performed at jazz festivals and high profile venues in many parts of the world, and even played with Fela Kuti and Femi Kuti at the legendary “The Shrine” in Lagos. 

He has recorded numerous critically lauded albums like “Trio” with Tony Scherr and Kenny Wollesen, winner of Politiken jazz album of the year, Danish Music Award Winner 3xHess, “Piano Chronicles vol1 & vol2″ from his Hess is More collaboration, his 29+ million streams hit album Portrait in Jazz and latest the research project album Transformative Reflections Red Studio. 

Hess has also composed for film, scoring for Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia”, and recent Emmy winning Nexflix release “Moutain Queen” by Lucy Walker. In 2021, he brought his vast interests together on his expansive and textural genre-melding album Spacelab & Strings followed by his new-classical concerto for solo violin, string section and bass and drums. 

He has won Berlingske Tidendes young talents gold medal, was chosen as best European jazz pianist under 25 for the RAI competition, has won 2x Danish Music Awards, Politikens Album of the year, the composers union Autor’s honorary prize, and he has an impressive string of nominations as well, including best music in film at the London International Film Makers festival, 3x Danish Music Awards album of the year, DMA jazz musician of the year, and Composer Of The Year at Carl Prisen. 

Hess also creates music as an arranger, producer, music director, artistic director, cultural ambassador and associate professor at RMC.