Stian Westerhus

Biography: Stian Westerhus (born 2 April 1979 in Jådåren near Steinkjer, Norway) is a Norwegian guitarist known for his experimental style, exposed with keyboardist Øystein Moen in the bands Jaga Jazzist and Puma and in collaborations with musicians like Sidsel Endresen, Nils Petter Molvær, Arve Henriksen, Jan Bang and Ingar Zach. Westerhus holds a bachelor in jazz from Middlesex University under Stuart Hall, and a master from the Jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium, (NTNU, 2005). He was first recognised by a broader audience within the experimental jazz band Puma, with whom he released four albums. The soloalbum Pitch Black Star Spangled (2010) on Rune Grammofon got some attention in reviews. The album Didymoi Dreams (2012) is his debut as a duo with experimental jazz singer Sidsel Endresen, a meeting of experience insane guitar rhythms with a gibberish vocal world.[3] They have been of great inspiration to new experimental Norwegian musicians like Natalie Sandtorv and Torgeir Standal in The Jist duo.