Norwegian trumpet player/composer Mathias Eick was born in 1979. He plays primarily in Europe and is not that well known in the U.S. yet. In Europe, Eick has toured and performed with jazz bands like the Erlend Skomsvolls project with Chick Corea, Motif, and the Norwegian electronica group Jaga Jazzist. He has also worked with pop and rock acts like Motorpsycho and Big Bang. His main influences are Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, Dave Douglas, and Kenny Wheeler. In addition to being and excellent trumpet player, Eick has the widest tonal palette of any trumpet player I have ever heard. He can make the horn crackle like a hard bop player and also play with the softest whisper and make the trumpet sound like a flute.
Mathias Eick - Episode 1
The recordings on this podcast come from the cooperative group Motif, of which Eick is a member. Motif was founded in 1999 and the members have been working to create their own group sound. In that process, writing their own material has been an important part. One member received the prestigious NOPA (Norwegian Composers Association) prize for composition in 2000. Their music draws from a variety of influences, ranging from Miles Davis to Kim Hiortöy, and is often described as a hybrid between t African-American rhythmic heritage, classical lyricism and northern European folk music. The members all studied music at Trondheim Conservatory, and are currently working as freelance musicians in various bands.
| Composition | Artist | Album | Year |
| John Dough | Mathias Eick/Motif | Motif | 2004 |
| Untitled for the Masses | Mathias Eick/Motif | Motif | 2004 |
| Soft Song | Mathias Eick/Motif | Motif | 2004 |
| Vups | Mathias Eick/Motif | Motif | 2004 |
Mathias Eick - Episode 2
The music on this podcast come from three albums with Eick as the band leader. He draws his influences from a variety of sources including pop, jazz, ECM, Norwegian, and classical which make his music difficult to categorize. Much of it is highly improvisatory and does not swing in the traditional sense. The music often takes time to develop; he is not writing traditional 32 measure song forms. The music on these albums may not fall directly in the jazz vein, but the improvisations are first rate and the sounds are unique. Check out the sound of the three instruments on the Three Wise Men recording---Eick’s trumpet sound blends so beautifully with the middle-eastern instruments. The basic tracks were recorded in Oslo and the ney, trumpet and duduk in The Bulgarian Church of Stephan in Istanbul, October 2009.
| Composition | Artist | Album | Year |
| Stavanger | Mathias Eick | The Door | 2007 |
| Cologne Blues | Mathias Eick | The Door | 2007 |
| Williamsburg | Mathias Eick | The Door | 2007 |
| Skala | Mathias Eick | Skala | 2011 |
| Ave Maria Stella | Mathias Eick | Tre Vise Menn | 2009 |