Mari Kvien Brunvoll

Mari Kvien Brunvoll (born 1984 in Molde, Norway) is a singer, and has over the last few years attracted attention at festivals in Norway and internationally, with her special solo concept, where the voice is complemented by small elctronic 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 (b. Kvien in 1945), and the younger sister of Songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Ane Brun (b. 1976) and Photographer Bjørn Brunvoll (b. 1973). Brunvoll is a graduate student from the Grieg Academy in Bergen 2010. She won the Vital Aword at the Nattjazz 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 progam 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. 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. Mari got the Vozzajazz award in 2011, 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 Frey Aagre, got support from Norwegian Jazz Launch in 2011. She performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam 2012, with Terje Isungset