Paal was born in Molde, Norway, Dec 24. 1974, and raised at a jazz club in Stavanger, run by his parents.
Being active in several bands at the same time has always been Paal’s deliberate working method. He is constantly conscious about the projects he is in, as his participation in each and one of them is fully dedicated. Playing is not about getting from start to goal, but rather being in an everlasting process, a continuous movement where each new piece of music performed is a prolongation of the latest. Hence, keeping focused and concentrating all energy around what’s happening there and then is of greatest importance – as is the freedom in the music, the ability of being free within the expression.
Discography
19th of May 2016
By Otomo Yoshihide & Paal Nilssen-Love
2015
By Large Unit
27 Years Later
By Paal Nilssen-Love
3 Nights In Oslo
By Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet + 1
4 Corners
By 4 Corners
50% Off Bundle: Ana & AM/FM
By Paal Nilssen-Love
50% Off Bundle: Hurgu! & Slime Zone
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Action Jazz
By The Thing
ADA
By Brötzmann / Lonberg-Holm / Nilssen-Love
Again
By The Thing
Air and Light and Time and Space
By Pan Scan Ensemble
AM / FM
By Paal Nilssen-Love
American Landscapes 1
By Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet
American Landscapes 2
By Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet
AMR
By Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love
Ana
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Angular Mass
By Paal Nilssen-Love
At Molde 2007
By Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet
Atomic/School Days at the Green Mill
From Dan Grzeca
Baby Talk
By James Blood Ulmer with The Thing
Bag It!
By The Thing
Baro 101
By Mats Gustafsson / Paal Nilssen-Love & Masele Asmamaw
Be Music, Night
By Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet
Belle Ville
By Townhouse Orchestra
Black-and-Red Immediate Sound Poster
From Ken Vandermark
Boot
By The Thing
Bop Stop
By Frode Gjerstad Trio + Steve Swell
Bota Fogo
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Broken English
By Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet Plus Two
Broken Music
By Fire Room
Brolt
By Scorch Trio
Cafe Oto London 9th April 2013
By Paal Nilssen-Love / Claude Deppa & Peter Brötzmann
Candy
By Joe McPhee & Paal Nilssen-Love
Cement
By Double Tandem
Chicago Tentet Woodcut Poster
From Brotzmann Chicago Tentet
Chicago Volume
By Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love
Chicken Shit Bingo
By Peter Brötzmann & Paal Nilssen-Love
Clash
By Offonoff
Clusterfuck
By Large Unit
Collide
By Territory Band-6 with Fred Anderson
Collider
By The DKV Thing Trio
Company Switch
By Territory Band-4
Concentric
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Crossing Division
By School Days
Cuts
By FME
Decayed – Live at Aketa No Mise
By Michiyo Yagi, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten & Paal Nilssen-Love
Distil
By Atomic / School Days
Dragon
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Dual Pleasure
By Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love
Dual Pleasure 2
By Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love
Element
By Element
Erta Ale
By Large Unit
Ethiobraz
By Large Unit Fendika
Events 1998 – 1999
By The Quintet
Extended Duos
By Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love
Face of Tokyo
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Fake Music
By Boneshaker
First Blow
By Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit
Fish & Steel
By Fish & Steel
Fluku
By Large Unit
FME North America Tour, 2005
From Ken Vandermark
Forgotten City
By Frode Gjerstad Trio + 1
Game
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Gored Gored
By Paal Nilssen-Love & Terrie Ex
Gromka
By Paal Nilssen-Love & Frode Gjerstad
Guts & Skins
By Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten & Paal Nilssen-Love
Hairy Bones
By Hairy Bones
Hasselt
By Frode Gjerstad / Paal Nilssen-Love Project
Hideout
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Hosanna and Prallel Sevens
By Paal Nilssen-Love / Anders Hana
Hungry Ghosts
By Yong Yandsen / Christian Meaas Svendsen / Paal Nilssen-Love
Hurgu!
By Paal Nilssen-Love
I Love It When You Snore
By Paal Nilssen-Love
I See You Baby Shakin’ That Ass
By Cato Salsa Experience and The Thing with Joe McPhee
Immediate Sound
By The Thing & Ken Vandermark
Immediate Sound “Cyclone” Poster
From Cricket Press
In Our Times
By School Days
Japan 2019
By Paal Nilssen-Love & Ken Vandermark
Japan Tour 2024: Live in Osaka [CAA-064]
By Paal Nilssen-Love & Ken Vandermark Duo
Jikan
By Arashi
Krakow Nights
By Peter Brötzmann / Steve Swell / Paal Nilssen-Love
Late Play
By Nils Henrik Asheim & Paal Nilssen-Love
Letter to a Stranger
By Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love
Levontin 7 Tel Aviv 30th March 2015
By Paal Nilssen-Love & Peter Brötzmann
Live at Area Sismica
By Lean Left
Live at Blå
By The Thing
Live at Cafe Oto
By Lean Left
Live at Kafe Hærverk [CAA-051]
By Calle Neumann & Paal Nilssen-Love
Live in Copenhagen
By Peter Brötzmann, Steve Swell, Paal Nilssen-Love
Live In Tel Aviv
By Peter Brötzmann / Steve Swell / Paal Nilssen-Love
Live! at Super Deluxe
By Michiyo Yagi, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten & Paal Nilssen-Love
Map Theory
By Territory Band-3
Mechanisms
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Medemer
By Lean Left
Mi Casa Es En Fuego
By Ballister
Milwaukee Volume
By Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love
Mir
By Frode Gjerstad Trio
Miró
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Miyazaki
By Frode Gjerstad Trio
Momentum 1 : Stone
By Ken Vandermark
Mono
By The Thing
Montage
By FME
More Fun, Please
By Extra Large Unit
Nearby Faraway
By Paal Nilssen-Love / Frode Gjerstad
Never Forgotten, Always Remembered
By The Godforgottens
New Brazilian Funk
By Paal Nilssen-Love
New Dance
By Paal Nilssen-Love / Calle Neumann / Ketil Gutvik / Ingebrigt Håker Flaten
New Horse For the White House
By Territory Band-5
New Japanese Noise
By Paal Nilssen-Love
New Map
By Large Unit
News From the Junkyard
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Nothing is Forever
By Frode Gjerstad Trio
Nuclear Assembly Hall
By Atomic / School Days
Of Things Beyond Thule volume 2
By Joe McPhee / Dave Rempis / Tomeka Reid / Brandon Lopez / Paal Nilssen-Love
Off The Hook – live at Motvind
By Sun & Steel
Oslo / Chicago: Breaks
By Powerhouse Sound
Otomo Yoshihide & Paal Nilssen-Love
By Otomo Yoshihide & Paal Nilssen-Love
OX
By Double Tandem
Pairs of Three
By Circus
Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet – Small woodcut Poster
From Ken Vandermark
Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet 10th Anniversary Poster
From Ken Vandermark
Red Sky
By Paal Nilssen-Love & Joe McPhee
Reknes
By Bradford / Gjerstad / Håker Flaten / Nilssen-Love
Revolution Before Lunch
By Thomas Johansson / Oyvind Storesund / Paal Nilssen-Love
Rio Fun
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Roma
By Peter Brötzmann, Massimo Pupillo & Paal Nilssen-Love
Russian Standard
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Scarcity
By Paal Nilssen-Love & Arto Lindsay
Schlinger
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Scorch Trio
By Scorch Trio
Screen Off
By Paal Nilssen-Love & Ken Vandermark
Second Breath
By Fire Room
Selected Tracks
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Seven
By Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love
She Knows...
By The Thing with Joe McPhee
She Knows...
By The Thing with Joe McPhee
Shinjuku Crawl
By The Thing with Otomo Yoshihide
Shinjuku Growl
By The Thing with Jim O'Rourke
Side By Side
By Frode Gjerstad & Paal Nilssen-Love
Sin Gas
By Mats Gustafsson & Paal Nilssen-Love
Slag
By Ballister
Slap and Tickle
By Offonoff
Slugfield : Slime Zone
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Smash & Grab
By Ballister
Snakelust (To Kenji Nakagami)
By Hairy Bones
Solo + Trio Roma
By Peter Brötzmann
Song for the Big Chief
By Joe McPhee & Paal Nilssen-Love
Soul Stream
By Michiyo Yagi / Joe McPhee / Paal Nilssen-Love / Lasse Marhaug
Sounds Like a Sandwich
By Cato Salsa Experience and The Thing with Joe McPhee
Splatter
By Mats Gustafsson & Paal Nilssen-Love
Spring Snow
By Paal Nilssen-Love & Masahiko Satoh
Stalk
By Lasse Marhaug & Paal Nilssen-Love
Steam in the Casa
By Frode Gjerstad Trio
SweetSweat
By Peter Brötzmann & Paal Nilssen-Love
Tangram [CAA-021]
By Elisabeth Harnik & Paal Nilssen-Love
Teatro
By Rodrigo Amado / Kent Kessler / Paal Nilssen-Love
The Abstract Truth
By Rodrigo Amado / Kent Kessler / Paal Nilssen-Love
The Ballister Monologues
By Ballister
The Cliff of Time
By Akira Sakata / Fred Lonberg-Holm / Ketil Gutvik / Paal Nilssen-Love
The Ex “Saxophones” Poster
From Ken Vandermark
The Fat Is Gone
By Peter Brötzmann / Mats Gustafsson / Paal Nilssen-Love
The First Original Silence
By Original Silence
The Lions Have Eaten One of the Guards
By Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love
The Second Original Silence
By Original Silence
The Thing – Spring Tour 2009
From Dan Grzeca
The Vandermark Five & Atomic
From Yeehaw Industries
Thinking Out Loud
By Boneshaker
Time Sound Shape
By Frode Gjerstad / Kalle Moberg / Paal Nilssen-Love
Tomorrow Came Today
By Joe McPhee & Paal Nilssen-Love
Townorchestrahouse
By Paal Nilssen-Love
Unknown Purposes
By Frode Gjerstad Trio
Vandermark 5 vs. Atomic Poster
From The Vandermark 5 / Atomic
Volume 1
By Lean Left
Volume 2
By Lean Left
Walk, Love, Sleep
By Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet
Woodcuts
By Paal Nilssen-Love & Peter Brötzmann
Worse For The Wear
By Ballister
Znachki Stilyag
By Ballister