Norwegian bass player Ole Morten Vågan has been a central part of the scandinavian jazz and impro community for the last decade, active in bands like Motif, The Deciders, Håvard Wiik Trio, The Trondheim Jazz Orchestra........

Based in Oslo, Norwegian bass player Ole Morten Vågan has been a central part of the scandinavian jazz and impro community for the last decade, performing with among others Motif, The Deciders, Håvard Wiik Trio, The Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Maria Kannegaard Trio, Andratx, Bugge Wesseltofts NCOJ, Maciej Obara Int. Quartet, Audun Kleive´s Generator X and more recently also Joshua Redman Trio with Jorge Rossy and Ole Morten Vagan . After discovering jazz as a youngster in the Northern town of Brønnøysund (just below the polar circle), he went on to study with amongst others the fantastic bassist Mats Eilertsen, and attending the very influential Jazz Conservatory in Trondheim, Norway.

Also active as a composer, he has written commisions for a.o. the Grammy Nominated norwegian string orchestra The Trondheim Soloists, and more recently for the well renowned Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, of which he is now Artistic Director for 2017-2019 - In addition to steadily writing for bands like Motif and The Deciders for the last ten years.

Folk music of different kinds has also been at the core of Vågans interests, and through collaborations with a.o. Jovan Pavlovic, Ola Kvernberg and Stian Carstensen, he has immersed himself in the gipsy music of eastern Europe, Indian Classical Music and also norwegian folk music. He has also had the pleasure of performing with artists from an array of different countries and cultures, including some of the premier Eastern European folk musicians, among them Giani Linca, Filip Simoneov, Ivo Papasov and Petar Ralchev (after a rehearsal with the latter two, Ole Morten experienced his first and probably also last odd meter-induced fever.)

A curious interest in folk music and also classical music is the main focus in the group Gammalgrass, where he plays alongside Carstensen and Kvernberg, two of the most talented musicians coming out of Norway in recent years.

Vågan was also the recipient of the Dnb Nor/Kongsberg Jazz Festival Award in 2009, following in the footsteps of people like Sidsel Endresen, Bugge Wesseltoft, Christian Wallumrød, Audun Kleive, Nils Petter Molvaer and many more.

Over the years, Vågan has worked in a wide array of ensembles and settings, which have included some of the most central musicians and bands on the norwegian and international jazz scene. Among these are: Bugge Wesseltoft´s NCOJ, Maria Kannegaard, Thomas Strønen, John Scofield, The Joshua Redman Trio, Erlend Skomsvoll, Eirik Hegdal, Jason Moran, Jorge Rossy, Maciej Obara, Dominik Wania, Iain Bellamy, Ståle Storløkken, Nils Petter Molvær, Dhaffer Youssef, Ivo Papasov, Terje Rypdal, Audun Kleive, Perico Sambeat, Gard Nilssen, Jarle Vespestad, Stian Carstensen, Ola Kvernberg, Paal Nilssen Love, Håkon Kornstad, Tore Brunborg, Bobo Stenson, Jon Christensen, Axel Dörner, Rudi Mahall, Fredrik Ljungkvist, Tobias Delius, Kresten Osgood, Jon Fält, Christian Wallumrød, Eivind Lønning, Håvard Wiik, Jonas Kullhammar, Atle Nymo, , Håkon Mjåset Johansen, Michael Thieke, Arve Henriksen, Aaron Parks, Ambrose Akinmusire, Marcus Strickland and many others.