Born in 1977, Per Zanussi grew up in Stavanger with an Italian father and Norwegian mother. He began playing various instruments at the age of five before settling on the bass at 13, performing in rock bands. After discovering jazz, he quickly transitioned to the double bass.
Zanussi holds a master’s degree in music from the Trondheim Conservatory and the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, specializing in double bass and composition. In 2017, he completed his PhD project, *Natural Patterns – Music Making with an Ensemble of Improvisers*, through the Norwegian Programme for Artistic Research and the University of Stavanger.
As a composer, Zanussi has written music for award-winning theatre and dance productions, short films, and has received commissions from ensembles such as Bit20, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Vestnorsk Jazzensemble, and Stavanger’s Kitchen Orchestra.
In 1996, while studying in Trondheim, he co-founded the electronic project Wibutee with Håkon Kornstad and Wetle Holte. The group recorded three albums featuring Zanussi and toured extensively worldwide.
In 2001, he launched his longest-running project to date, Zanussi 5, presenting his compositions in an acoustic setting. The group has released four quintet albums and a fifth as an expanded version of the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, featuring twelve musicians including Zanussi 5 members.
In 2012, the album Live by Zanussi 13 was released—a 13-piece ensemble combining Zanussi 5 with past collaborators, including Jonas Kullhammar and Stian Westerhus.
Zanussi also leads the Per Zanussi Ensemble, a large group dedicated to performing his works for free improvisers, with members such as Sofia Jernberg, Eivind Lønning, Raymond Strid, and David Stackenäs. This ensemble also featured prominently in his artistic research project Natural Patterns – Composing with an Ensemble of Improvisers(www.naturalpatterns.no).
In 2023, Zanussi was awarded the prestigious Kongsberg Jazz Festival Musician’s Prize, which led to three featured concerts at the 2024 festival: the premiere of his commissioned work Liminal Beings, a new quartet project Zanussi 4 (featuring Lotte Anker, Fredrik Ljungkvist, and Hans Hulbækmo), and a quartet with Tony Buck, Magda Mayas, and David Stackenäs.
His current projects as leader include:
* Zanussi 3, a trio with Kristoffer Alberts and Per Oddvar Johansen
* Liminal Beings, with Susana Santos Silva, Lotte Anker, Jonas Cambien, Hans Hulbækmo, and Karl Hjalmar Nyberg
* Per Zanussi Quartet featuring Hans Hulbækmo, Karl Hjalmar Nyberg, and Jonas Cambien.
He is also a member of Trespass Trio (with Martin Küchen and Raymond Strid), the Eyolf Dale Trio, Wunderkammer, Party+1, and numerous other projects as a sideman.
Throughout his career, Zanussi has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including John Butcher, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Jon Balke, Frode Gjerstad, Paal Nilssen-Love, Bobby Bradford, Tim Hodgkinson, Franklin Kiermyer, Stephen O’Malley, Mats Gustafsson, Eivind Lønning, Nils Henrik Asheim, Axel Dörner, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Sten Sandell, Louis Moholo, Kjetil Møster, Gabriel Ferrandini, Kjell Nordeson, Ivar Grydeland, Tetuzi Akiyama, Christian Wallumrød, Ståle L. Solberg, and many others.
“Zanussi is a fleet and inventive bassist. He gets around on his instrument like a horn player, without sacrificing quality of sound, which can’t be said of every bassist I’ve heard recently.” — Chris Kelsey, JazzTimes