Petter Dalane is a Norwegian pianist, composer, and bandleader born in Bergen in 1994, now living in Oslo, and the 2023 recipient of the NTNU Ambassador title.

Over the past ten years, Petter Dalane has worked to find his place in the crossfire between traditionalists and avant-gardists, striving to create timeless jazz music that is accessible without being commercial—at once experimental and rooted in tradition. Among the many bands he performs with and composes for, it is the Cosmic Swing Orchestra and the Petter Dalane Quintet that are most closely tied to this personal artistic project, and where these philosophical foundations are most clearly expressed.

Through through several album releases and nearly 60 concerts with these two bands, he has worked to establish myself as a pianist and composer on the Norwegian and European jazz scenes. 2024 year marked a significant step in the right direction: his debut album, Quintet, was described in Ballade as “a modern Norwegian jazz classic,” while Cosmic’s international debut was highlighted by the Swedish music magazine Lira as “one of the highlights of the Stockholm Jazz Festival.” He was also awarded a commission grant from the Norwegian Arts Council, giving him the opportunity to create an entirely new production for Cosmic which will premiere at Oslo Jazz Festival this summer, with more performances to come next year.

He is also a founding member of the rock band Rat Talk, where he plays the Hammond Organ and contributes as a composer.

He has had on and off colloaborations with John Pål Inderberg since 2017, and through his concert series Petters Jazzjam he has collaborated with numerous renowned musicians such as Knut Riisnes, Eirik Hegdal, Atle Nymo, Sun Mi Hong, Håkon Mjåset Johansen, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Sissel Vera Pettersen and Hildegunn Øiseth. In collaboration with Cuban percussionist Luison Capote, he formed Ambos Mundos, a band dedicated to cuban traditional music in 2023. Since 2022 he has also collaborated in duo format with the singer Johanna Reine-Nilsen.

From 2017 to 2022 Dalane studied at the Jazz Program at NTNU, Trondheim, known for their special brand of ear-based education. From 2016 to 2018 he also frequently attended workshops held by the legendary bebop pianist and jazz pedagog Barry Harris (1929-2021), studying the music of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell. These seminal experiences continues to inform both his own artistic development, and his work as a pedagog.