Hayden Powell

Hayden James Richard Powell (born 25 September 1983 in England) is a jazz trumpeter and composer based in Oslo, Norway. Powell is English, but moved to Norway as a child and grew up in Molde. He has collaborated with numerous musicians including Terje Rypdal, Kenny Wheeler, Eirik Hegdal, Vigleik Storaas, Nils-Olav Johansen, Ole Morten Vågan, Eyolf Dale, and Ståle Storløkken, and released his debut solo album The Attic in 2011.

Career Powell holds a bachelor in Performing jazz from the Jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium (2006), and completed the masters at Norges Musikkhøgskole in 2011. He started his career at 13 in the jazz band Dixi in Molde, they released four albums.

Early in his career, Powell played with groups such as Magic Pocket, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and Jens Carelius in addition to his own trio. Powell received jazz scholarship from "Sparebank 1" at Moldejazz (2006), "Trondheim jazzfestivals" talent award (2009), and was with the band Magic Pocket JazZtipendiat in 2009/2010. The scholarship was accompanied by a commissioned work which was documented on the album Kinetic Music with Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & Magic Pocket.

More recently, Powell has played and recorded with musicians and small groups such as Eyolf Dale, Espen Berg, Natacha Atlas, Solfrid Molland, Iro Haarla, og Bridges with Seamus Blake. He has also appeared with larger ensembles such as Trondheim Jazzorkester, Scheen Jazzorkester og Oslo Jazzensemble & Maria Schneider.

Hayden Powell has released four albums under his own name. His first, The Attic, was released on the Inner Ear label in 2011, and was recorded by his trio with pianist Eyolf Dale and bassist Jo Skaansar, as well as guest musicians Jasper Van Hulten (drums), Tore Brunborg (saxophone) and Erik Johannessen (trombone). The trio with Dale/Skaansar became Powell's regular band in the period that followed, and together they recorded the albums, Roots and Stems (2013), Circadian Rhythm and Blues (2015) and Six Commissions (2018). The latter album consists of six tracks specially written for the trio by various composers (including Erlend Skomsvoll, Espen Reinertsen and Per "Texas" Johansson). The album "Circadian Rhythm and Blues" consists of two parts, one with the trio, and the other where Powell plays completely solo, recorded in Tøyen Church in collaboration with producer Øyvind Røsrud Gundersen.

In addition to his performance activities, Powell has been involved in teaching, and since 2015 has been a university lecturer at the Norwegian Academy of Music, where he has taught subjects including trumpet, arranging, ear training and ensemble playing.

As composer Powell, in addition to the aforementioned, has written commission works for big band (e.g. "Midtnorsk Ungdomsstorband", "Big Boss Band", "Ett Fett Storband"), wind bands ("Luftforsvarets Musikkorps", "Bispehaugen Ungdomskorps") and a number of smaller ensembles. He has also written a mini-opera based on the novel about «Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde» (2006), and made musical arrangements to Jens Carelius' album The Architect (2011).

Discography (in selection)

Solo albums 2011: The Attic (Inner Ear), as Hayden Powell Trio including Eyolf Dale & Jo Skaansar 2013: Roots and Stems (Periskop) 2015: Circadian Rhythm & Blues (Periskop) 2018: Six Commissions (Periskop), with Hayden Powell 2024: Undergrowth (Periskop), with Hayden Powell

Collaborations With Dixi 1998: Just Over in the Dixi-Land 1999: Some of Those Days 2002: Going to the Mardi Gras (Herman Records) 2005: The New Orleans Sessions

With Trondheim Jazz Orchestra 2006: Tribute (MNJ Records), with Vigleik Storaas 2007: Live in Oslo (MNJ Records), with Maria Kannegaard Trio 2009: Live at Moldejazz (MNJ Records), with Kobert 2009: What if: A Counterfactual Fairytale (MNJ records), with Erlend Skomsvoll 2011: Kinetic Music (MNJ Records), with Magic Pocket 2011: Migrations (MNJ Records), with Øyvind Brække 2014: Tree House (MNJ Records), with Trondheim Jazzorkester & Albatrosh 2024: Maetrix (ODIN), with Espen Berg

With others 2009: Vi som ser i mørket (Grappa Music), with Siri Nilsen 2009: Live at Dokkhuset (Komponist og dirigent, MNJ Records), with "Midtnorsk Ungdomsstorband" 2010: Den Blåaste Natt (Talik Records), with Jo Skaansar 2011: The Katabatic Wind (Bolage Records), with Magic Pocket & Morten Qvenild 2011: The Architect (Jansen Plateproduksjon), with Jens Carelius 2011: Katedral For Tapte Drømmer (Kirkelig Kulturverksted), with Solfrid Molland 2016: BRIDGES with Seamus Blake (AMP), with Bridges 2016: Cornua Copiae (Clean Feed), with DaMaNa 2016: Ante Lucem (ECM), with Iro Haarla 2016: Forvandling (Kirkelig Kulturverksted), with Solfrid Molland 2016: Wolf Valley (Edition Records), with Eyolf Dale 2016: Regnbueponniens Significante Påskesang (Periskop), with Significant Time 2018: Return to Mind (Edition), with Eyolf Dale Wolf Valley 2018: Multiverse (Pling Music), with Anders Lønne Grønseth 2019: Continuum (AMP), with Bridges 2019: Owerset (Dell Daisy Records), with Sarah-Jane Summers 2019: Theory of Anything (Pling Music), with Anders Lønne Grønseth Multiverse 2019: Fange av min tid (Grappa), with Jo Skaansar 2019: Strange Days (Whirlwind), with Natacha Atlas 2020: Håpets kappe (KKV), with Solfrid Molland 2020: Outer View (NXN), with Anders Lønne Grønseth Multiverse 2020: Inner View (NXN), with Anders Lønne Grønseth Multiverse 2023: Water Fabric (ODIN), with Espen Berg