Danish jazz dates back to 1923 when Valdemar Eiberg formed a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

orchestra and recorded what are thought to be the first Danish jazz records in August 1924 (" I've Got a Cross-Eyed Papa" and "In Bluebird Land"). However, jazz in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

is typically first dated to 1925, when bandleader

Sam Wooding Samuel David Wooding (17 June 1895 – 1 August 1985) was an American jazz pianist, arranger and bandleader living and performing in Europe and the United States. Career Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, between 1921 an ...

toured in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

with an orchestra. This was the first time most Danes had heard jazz music. Some prominent early Danish jazz musicians include

Erik Tuxen Erik Oluf Tuxen (4 July 1902 – 28 August 1957) was a Danish big band leader, composer and arranger, who worked for most of his life in Denmark. From 1936 until his death by cancer on 28 August 1957 he was conductor at the Danish National Sympho ...

who formed a jazz band and was later named conductor of the

Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Danish: ''DR Symfoniorkestret''; English abbreviation "DNSO"), is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen. The DNSO is the principal orchestra of DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation). The DRSO is based at th ...

; Bernhard Christensen, an

art music Art music (alternatively called classical music, cultivated music, serious music, and canonic music) is music considered to be of high phonoaesthetic value. It typically implies advanced structural and theoretical considerationsJacques Siron, ...

composer who incorporated jazz elements into his pieces, and Sven Møller Kristensen, who was the lyricist for many of Bernhard Christensen's pieces and who wrote a book on jazz theory in

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

History

In the 1930s, jazz became quite popular in Denmark; major figures of the period include pianist

Leo Mathisen Leo "The Lion" Mathisen (10 October 1906 – 16 December 1969) was a Danish jazz pianist, composer, arranger, singer and bandleader. He was a leading figure of the thriving Danish scene during the years around World War II—a period which ...

, violinist

Svend Asmussen Svend Asmussen (28 February 1916 – 7 February 2017) was a Danish jazz violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking". A Swing style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many of the other jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and S ...

, trombonist Peter Rasmussen, saxophonist Kai Ewans, bassist Niels Foss, and pianist/vibraphonist Kjeld Bonfils. Many of these musicians played in Valdemar Eiberg's band. Jazz went underground in 1940 as a result of the Nazi

occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral. For most of the war, the country was a protectorate and then an occupied territory of Germany. The decision to occupy Denmark was taken in Berlin on 17 December ...

when jazz was discouraged by the regime. Nevertheless, it continued to be performed and recorded, even more so as Danish musicians began to fill the void created by the lack of foreign players touring through the area. Musicians such as Eiberg, Bonfils and Asmussen (who played in a band together), along with Uffe Baadh, Bruno Henriksen and Bertel Skjoldborg continued to make jazz music as a form of political protest. Many singers, such as

Freddy Albeck Freddy or Freddie may refer to: Entertainment * Freddy (comic strip), a newspaper comic strip which ran from 1955 to 1980 *Freddie (Cromartie), a character from the Japanese manga series''Cromartie High School'' *Freddie (dance), a short-lived 196 ...

, Ingelise Rune, and

Raquel Rastenni Raquel Rastenni (21 August 1915 – 17 August 1998), born Anna Rachel Rastén, was a popular Danish-Russian singer. She was born in Copenhagen, and grew up in an apartment in the poor part of the city. Her Jewish parents immigrated to Denmark from R ...

, found it necessary to escape to Sweden in the later years of the occupation. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Danish jazz musicians began to split into an older guard, which maintained the style of traditional

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

jazz, and newer musicians who favored the

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

style of

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

and Dizzy Gillespie that was emerging in America. The former were represented by musicians such as pianist Adrian Bentzon, trombonist

Papa Bue Arne "Papa" Bue Jensen (8 May 1930 – 2 November 2011), known as Papa Bue, was a Danish trombonist and bandleader, chiefly associated with the Dixieland jazz revival style of which he was considered an important proponent. He founded and led t ...

, and trumpeter Theis Jensen, while the latter included saxophonist Max Brüel, bassist Erik Moseholm, drummer Uffe Baadh and trumpeter Jørgen Ryg. In the early 1960s, a club called the

Jazzhus Montmartre Jazzhus Montmartre is a jazz club in Copenhagen, Denmark. Many jazz musicians, including Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, and Chet Baker, have performed there. It is sometimes called Cafe Montmartre. The Montmartre was located first in Dahlerupsgade, then ...

opened in Copenhagen, which was intended to recreate the atmosphere of jazz clubs in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It became a major venue for both Danish and American jazz musicians. Many American jazz players moved to Copenhagen from the 1950s when Stan Getz and

Oscar Pettiford Oscar Pettiford (September 30, 1922 – September 8, 1960) was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer. He was one of the earliest musicians to work in the bebop idiom. Biography Pettiford was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, United ...

moved there. They were followed by

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five.Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler ( ...

, and

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

in the 1960s, and

Duke Jordan Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan (April 1, 1922 – August 8, 2006) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Jordan was born in New York and raised in Brooklyn where he attended Boys High School. An imaginative and gifted pianist, Jordan was a regul ...

, Horace Parlan,

Ed Thigpen Edmund Leonard Thigpen (December 28, 1930 – January 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965. Thigpen also performed with the Billy Taylor trio from 1956 to 1959. Biograp ...

Bob Rockwell Bob Rockwell (born May 1945 in Miami, Oklahoma) is a jazz saxophonist. He was born in the U.S. but emigrated to Denmark in 1983. Biography Rockwell was raised in Minneapolis, and in his early career he toured the U.S. in rock and rhythm and blu ...

, and

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...

(who became the leader of the DR Big Band in 1977) in subsequent decades. Kenny Drew formed a trio with

Alex Riel Alex Riel (born 13 September 1940) is a Danish jazz and rock drummer.''Jeg skal sgu sidde ved trommerne'' Af Bine Madsen. Dagbladenes Bureau, 9 February 2010. Same interview in Flensborg Avis, 17 February 2010, Side 18''Alex Riel'' Horsens F ...

and

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (, 27 May 1946 – 19 April 2005), also known by his abbreviated nickname NHØP, was a Danish jazz double bassist. Biography Pedersen was born in Osted, near Roskilde, on the Danish island of Zealand, the son of ...

which became a staple at Jazzhus Montmartre. palle-mikkelborg02

In the 1960s, Danish musicians began to explore

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...

with saxophonist

John Tchicai John Martin Tchicai ( ; 28 April 1936 – 8 October 2012) was a Danish free jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Tchicai was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to a Danish mother and a Congolese father. The family moved to Aarhus, where he st ...

as the most prominent proponent. In parallel, a more mainstream wing evolved, including saxophonist

Jesper Thilo Jesper Thilo (born 28 November 1941) is a Danish jazz musician, mainly known as a tenor saxophonist, alto saxophonist and clarinetist. He is considered to be one of the top European straight-ahead jazz musicians of the post-1970 period. Ben ...

. As

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

became more popular in the 1970s, jazz's popularity waned, but it continues to be supported in venues such as the Copenhagen Jazzhouse and the annual Copenhagen Jazz Festival. The organization JazzDanmark,JazzDanmark
jazzdanmark.dk. Accessed May 1, 2012. funded by the Danish government, works to promote jazz in Denmark and Danish jazz abroad.

Musicians

Danish jazz musicians

* Thomas Agergaard, saxophonist * Jacob Anderskov, pianist, composer, bandleader *

, violinist * Søren Bebe, pianist * Nikolaj Benson *

Thomas Blachman Thomas Blachman (born 1963) is a Danish jazz musician, composer, and judge on the Danish version of ''X Factor''. Biography Blachman is the son of Henning and Annie Blachman. One of his grandfathers is Isak Blachman, a Jewish immigrant from Vite ...

, drummer and composer * Jesper Bodilsen bassist *

Jakob Bro Jakob Bro (born April 11, 1978) is a Danish guitarist and composer. Career Bro leads a trio with Joey Baron and Thomas Morgan. In the fall of 2016 the trio released the album ''Streams'' ( ECM). Bro also works with Palle Mikkelborg and Bro/Knak, ...

, guitarist * Jakob Høyer, drummer *

, trombonist and bandleader * Christina von Bülow, saxophonist * Anders Christensen bassist *

Thomas Clausen Thomas Clausen may refer to: * Thomas Clausen (educator) (1939–2002), educator from Baton Rouge, Louisiana *Thomas Clausen (musician) (born 1949), Danish jazz pianist *Thomas Clausen (mathematician) Thomas Clausen (16 January 1801, Snogbæk, ...

, pianist * Carsten Dahl, pianist * Christina Dahl, saxophonist * Nils Bo Davidsen, bassist * Jakob Dinesen, saxophonist *

Chris Minh Doky Chris Minh Doky (born 7 February 1969) is a Vietnamese- Danish jazz bassist. He is the younger brother of jazz pianist Niels Lan Doky. He released his first album, ''Appreciation'', in 1989 four years after picking up the instrument. As a si ...

, bassist * Niels Lan Doky, pianist * Pierre Dørge, guitarist, bandleader and composer * Jørgen Emborg, pianist and composer * Mikkel Ploug, guitarist *

Jacob Fischer Jacob Fischer (born 1967) is a self-taught Danish jazz guitarist. Since 1992 he has been a member of the Svend Asmussen Quartet and founded his own Jacob Fischer Trio, where he plays alongside Hugo Rasmussen on bass and Janus Templeton on drums. ...

, guitarist *

Lennart Ginman Lennart Ginman (born March 1960) is a Danish-Finnish bassist, composer and music producer. He has cooperated with artists like Steen Jørgensen, lead singer of Sort Sol in two joint albums, and Kirk Lightsey, an American jazz pianist with a joi ...

, bassist and composer * Ib Glindemann, bandleader * Lasse Gustavsen, saxophonist * Ole Kock Hansen, pianist * Bent Jædig, saxophonist * Jan Kaspersen, pianist, bandleader *

Benjamin Koppel Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...

, saxophonist * Søren Kjærgaard, pianist, composer, bandleader * Morten Lund, drummer *

Jesper Lundgaard Jesper Lundgaard (born 12 June 1954) is a Danish jazz bassist, bandleader, composer and record producer. Since his debut in the mid-1970s, he has been among the most prominent bassists in Danish jazz and as a sideman he has appeared on more tha ...

bassist * Fredrik Lundin, saxophonist *

Marilyn Mazur Marilyn Mazur (born January 18, 1955) is an American-born Danish percussionist. Since 1975, she has worked as a percussionist with various groups, among them Six Winds with Alex Riel. Mazur is primarily an autodidact, but she has a degree in ...

, percussionist *

, pianist *

Palle Mikkelborg Palle Mikkelborg (born 6 March 1941) is a Danish jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger and record producer. He is self-taught on the trumpet, although he studied conducting at the Royal Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He became a professio ...

, trumpeter and composer * Erik Moseholm, bassist, bandleader and composer * Nicolai Munch-Hansen, bassist * Lars Møller, saxophonist *

Cæcilie Norby Cæcilie Norby (born 9 September 1964) is a Danish jazz and rock singer. She was born in Frederiksberg, Denmark, into a musical family. Her father, Erik Norby, is classical composer and her mother, Solveig Lumholt, is an opera singer. She was a ...

, vocalist * Kresten Osgood, drummer * Thomas Ovesen * Stefan Pasborg, drummer *

, bassist * Hugo Rasmussen, bassist * Simon Spang-Hanssen, saxophonist * Ole Sterndorff, banjoista * Niels Jørgen Steen, pianist, bandleader and composer * Bo Stief bassist *

, saxophonist *

, saxophonist * Simon Toldam, pianist, composer, bandleader * Kasper Tranberg, trompetist * Hans Ulrik, saxophonist *

Mads Vinding Mads Vinding (born 7 December 1948, Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish jazz double-bassist. Music career Vinding began his professional career when he was 16 as the house bassist for Jazzhus Montmartre, a jazz club in Copenhagen. He has played ...

, bassist * Jonas Westergaard, bassist * Jens Winther, trompetist, composer, bandleader * Jesper Zeuthen, saxophonist *

Katrine Madsen Katrine Madsen (born 7 March 1972 in Aarhus, Denmark) is a Danish jazz singer. Biography Madsen studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and has worked in Copenhagen on albums with transplanted American jazz artists Ed Thigpen and Richard ...

, vocalist

Bands

* DR Big Band * Klüvers Big Band * Papa Bue's Viking Jazz Band * Ernie Wilkins Almost Big Band * StoRMChaser * Mames Babegenush

American expatriates

* Stan Getz, saxophone (1958 – 1961) *

, double bass, cello (1958 – to his death in 1960) *

, piano (1961 – his death in 1993) *

, saxophone (1962 – 1976) *

, saxophone (1964 – his death in 1973) *

Stuff Smith Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith (August 14, 1909 – September 25, 1967), better known as Stuff Smith, was an American jazz violinist. He is well known for the song " If You're a Viper" (the original title was "You'se a Viper"). Smith was, al ...

, violin (1965 – his death in 1967) * Richard B. Boone, trombone (1970 – his death in 1999) * Horace Parlan, piano (1972 – his death 2017) *

, drums (1974 – his death in 2010) *

, trumpet (1978 – 1984) *

, piano (1978 – his death in 2006) *

Ernie Wilkins Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. (July 20, 1922 – June 5, 1999) was an American jazz saxophonist, conductor and arranger who spent several years with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie. He was musical direc ...

, saxophone (1979 – his death in 1999) *

, saxophone (1983 – present) * Bobby Ricketts, saxophone (1981 – present) *

Doug Raney Doug Raney (August 29, 1956 – May 1, 2016) was an American jazz guitarist. He was the son of jazz guitarist Jimmy Raney. Career Raney was born in New York City. He began to play the guitar when he was 14, beginning with rock and blues. He was ...

, guitar (1977 – his death in 2016)

Venues

, Copenhagen &ndash
Official website

Copenhagen JazzHouse

Paradise Jazz
14 Magstræde, Copenhagen – Danish Jazz Venue of the Year 2010
La Fontaine
Copenhagen * Atlas, Aarhus &ndash
Official website

Literature

* Olav Harsløf, ''et.al.'': ''"Jazz i Danmark - 1950-2010"'' Politikens Forlag (2006). * Christopher Washburne: '
Jazz Re‐Bordered: Cultural Policy in Danish Jazz
'' in Jazz Perspectives (Volume 4, Issue 2, p. 121-155, 2010)

References

External links

* Jakob Bækgaard :
Contemporary Jazz in Denmark: Different Sounds, Different Scenes
' All about Jazz (6 January 6, 2009). retrieved 5 August 2014. A review of the jazz scene in Denmark.
JazzDanmark
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danish Jazz