Mari Kvien Brunvoll

Mari Kvien Brunvoll (born 1984 in Molde, Norway) is a Norwegian singer, and has over the last few years attracted attention at festivals in Norway and internationally, with her solo concept, where the voice is complemented by small electronic and acoustic instruments in a sound inspired by jazz, pop and folk music. She is the daughter of Lawyer Knut Anker Brunvoll (b. 1945) and Jazz singer and pianist Inger Johanne Brunvoll (born Kvien in 1945), and the younger sister of Songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Ane Brun (b. 1976) and Photographer Bjørn Brunvoll (b. 1973).

Career
Brunvoll is a graduate student from the Grieg Academy in Bergen 2010. She won the Vital Aword at the Nattjazz, Bergen 2009. Her first appearance at Moldejazz was in 2010, with her solo project. Brunvoll is known for her amazing solo project, which has received critical acclaim through concerts at Nattjazz, Moldejazz, and a number of jazz clubs around Europe.

The student from the Jazz program at Grieg Academy was the Norwegian representative at the International 12 Points festival in Stavanger in 2010. The four-day gathering for artists and bands from twelve countries showed the diversity and power of today's young European improvising music. Brunvoll's performance is documented on her self-titled debut album from 20112.

Bugge Wesseltoft picked "the extremely talented" Brunvoll as one of three promising athletestalents, to an artist presentation at Bylarm 2010. He played a double concerto with her in Amsterdam 2009.

Since 2000 Brunvoll has been high and low in the Norwegian and European venues and festivals. Contributions at Nattjazz (she won the talent award at Nattjazz in 2009), Moldejazz and the Øyafestivalen in Oslo is just the top of the list. She got the Vozzajazz award in 2011, played at the Kilkenny Art Festival the same year and has cooperated in duo with Stein Urheim, who also received the Vossajazz Award in 2010 for his diverse career at the Norwegian jazz scene.

Brunvoll together with Mats Eilertsen Quartet, Stian Westerhus, and Randi Tytingvåg Ensemble, Brunvoll was attending the International jazz festival Jazzahead in Bremen 2011.

Together with guitarist Stian Westerhus, and saxophonists Karl Seglem and Frøy Aagre, got support from Norwegian Jazz Launch in 2011. She performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam 2012, with Terje Isungset.

Honors

 * The Vital Talent Award at Nattjazz 2009
 * Vossajazz Award 2011

Discography

 * Solo albums
 * 2012: Mari Kvien Brunvoll (Jazzland Recordings)


 * Collaborative works
 * 2011: Pressure (Grappa Music), with Splashgirl
 * 2012: Valgets kavaler (sueTunes Records), with various artists (Stein Urheim)


 * EP with Stein Urheim
 * 2011: Daydream Community EP - Stein & Mari (Jazzland Recordings)