About Terje Gewelt

Alumnus of Berklee College of Music and student of Jaco Pastorius and Dave Holland, bassist, Terje Gewelt has recorded some 80 CDs with Scandinavian, European and American artists including Billy Cobham, Tommy Smith, Misha Alperin, Michael Schrieve and for Labels such as RCA, CBS, Blue Note and ECM.

He has toured extensively with Billy Cobham, Tommy Smith and Misha Alperin.

Professional Experience

Terje Gewelt was born June 8, 1960 in Oslo, Norway and grew up in Larvik, a small town on the southeastern coast. He started playing guitar at the age of 10, switched to electric bass at 14 and added acoustic bass at 17.

From 1979-81 he studied privately with the internationally recognized Norwegian bassist, Arild Andersen, and played in local jazz and fusion groups with, among others, the great Norwegian keyboardist Atle Bakken. In 1981, Terje went to the USA to study bass at the «Bass Institute» in Los Angeles. He studied electric bass with Jeff Berlin and acoustic bass with Bob Magnuson and played in jazz clubs around LA with guitarist Les Wise.

In 1982 he moved back to Oslo and spent a year playing with many of the best Norwegian jazz musicians. In 1983, Terje returned to the States, enrolling at the «Berklee College of Music» in Boston. While at Berklee, he met and played with many young and talented musicians from around the world, including saxophonists Tommy Smith and Donny McCaslin and pianists Christian Jacob, Danilo Perez and Laszlo Gardonyi. He also took private lessons with the legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius in New York.

Terje co-founded the acoustic jazz quartet «Forward Motion» with saxophonist Tommy Smith and released the recording «Progressions». He was also a member of the American jazz / world music group «Full Circle», playing on their first two recordings for CBS Sony.

In 1988, Terje was invited to California to work with Santana drummer Michael Shrieve, resulting in the recording «Stiletto» on RCA Novus which also featured Mark Isham on trumpet and Andy Summers and David Torn on guitars.

After 7 years in the USA, Terje moved back to Norway in 1989, soon becoming a first call bassist on the creative Norwegian jazz scene.
In 1995 he got a call to join Billy Cobham’s group. Terje played acoustic bass on two Cobham CD’s, «Nordic» and «Off Color» on Eagle Records.

In 1997 he started playing with Russian piano great Misha Alperin, recording two CD’s, «North Story» and «First Impression» (featuring John Surman) on ECM.

Terje has released 11 CD’s as a leader, all on Resonant Music. As a sideman, he has played bass on more than 100 jazz recordings. He keeps busy recording and touring, in and outside of Norway with his own projects and as a sideman.

Education

Bass Institute of Technology (BIT), Los Angeles, Calif. 1981-1982

Berklee College of Music, Boston, Mass. 1983-1987 (Professional Diploma)

Private studies with Jaco Pastorius, Dave Holland and Arild Andersen

Musical influences: Scott LaFlaro, Charlie Haden and Jaco Pastorius.

Performance

Terje Gewelt has toured extensively throughout Europe and USA, playing clubs, concerts and festivals in addition to television and radio broadcast.

Apperances with various artist include:

– Tommy Smith
– Kenny Wheeler
– John Abercombie
– Roger Kellaway
– John Surman
– Guy Barker
– Bendik Hofseth
– Phil Woods
– Billy Cobham
– Enrico Pieranunzi
– Gary Husband
– Karin Krog
– Julian Arguelles
– Nils Petter Molvær
– Jon Christensen
– Gary Burton
– Franco D’Andrea
– Misha Alperin
– Jason Rebello
– Ahmad Mansour
– Blossom Dearie
– Staffan William-Olsson
– Knut Riisnæs
– Dag Arnesen