There are several reasons why a relatively sparsely populated country like Norway has produced so many outstanding jazz musicians, and it isn't merely down to the excellent musical education that Norwegians enjoy. For example, Jan Johansson and Bengt-Arne Wallin created an unmistakably Nordic sound by incorporating familiar folk melodies in their music to create a style all of their own.

Another model example is 32-year-old Mathias Eick, who can ally himself with a proud line of Scandinavian trumpet players, like Nils Petter Molvaer and Arve Henriksen, musicians who are famed for creating a tone that is at once wilfully lyrical, weightless, and reverie-like. However, Eick has successfully incorporated his tone in a variety of jazz styles, together with a range of jazz greats like Jacob Young, Mike Stern, and Manu Katché as well as with the nu jazz group, Jaga Jazzist, not to mention the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra; most recently, he has worked on two startling ECM albums with his own quintet, who will also be performing in the concert at BMW Welt.

Mathias Eick Quintet from Oslo is performing on 18th March as part of the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2012 series.

The series in full:
22nd January: Erik Truffaz Quartet – Paris
29th January: Jan Agustí Fernández‘ Aurora Trio – Barcelona
26th February: Hoppy Kamiyama – Tokyo
4th March: Dan Tepfer Trio – New York
18th March: Mathias Eick Quintet – Oslo
25th March: Wolfgang Muthspiel Drumfree – Vienna

All concerts take place on a Sunday, from 11.00am to 1.30pm in the Double Cone at BMW Welt.
Entry is free and doors are open from 10.30am. Please note that the space is limited and there is no guarantee of a seat.

5th May: Final concert with the two finalists nominated for the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2012
Beginning: 7.00pm in the BMW Welt Auditorium

Tickets for the finale are available from BMW Welt and also from München Ticket; call 0180-54818181* or see www.muenchen-ticket.de.

*0.14 €/Min from German landlines, max. 0.42€ from mobile telephones.