Arne "Papa" Bue Jensen (8 May 1930 – 2 November 2011), known as Papa Bue, was a Danish trombonist and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

, chiefly associated with the

Dixieland jazz Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

revival style of which he was considered an important proponent. He founded and led the , which was active from 1956.

Biography

Early life and career

Arne Bue Jensen was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark. At an early age, he became fascinated with jazz, prompted by a pile of records from his brother that included

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

and Bert Ambrose. Bunk Johnson and George E. Lewis made a strong impression. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Jensen became a sailor, visiting ports around the world. It was around this time that he started to play jazz. He bought a slide trombone with money he borrowed, which would take him years to repay. A musician from the Royal Danish Orchestra taught him some basics, but otherwise he was self-taught. He played in Copenhagen clubs with other young musicians and bands, including the Royal Jazzman (later the Bohana Jazz Band), Henrik Johansen's Jazz Band, and the Saint Peter Street Stompers, participating as a

sideman A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo o ...

in several recordings. In the 1950s, Papa Bue worked with the Bonanza Jazz Band,

Chris Barber Donald Christopher Barber (17 April 1930 – 2 March 2021) was an English jazz musician, best known as a bandleader and Trombone, trombonist. He helped many musicians with their careers and had a UK top twenty trad jazz hit with "Petite Fleur ...

, Adrian Bentzon, and Henrik Johansen.

Viking Jazz Band

In the mid 1950s, he was part of the entertainment district in Nyhavn. He performed with other young jazz musicians in various informal arrangements. With six musicians he founded the New Orleans Jazz Band in 1956, after a jam session at Cap Horn. Since Jensen was the eldest, he became the bandleader. Given that he was the only band member who was a father, he was given the nickname "Papa Bue". In late 1957, Jensen renamed the ensemble the Viking Jazz Band. The name came from American journalist and vocalist

Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, cartoonist, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before being drafted into ...

who attended one of their concerts at Cap Horn during a stay in Copenhagen. He subsequently wrote an article about them, calling them the Danish Vikings, explaining that they played original New Orleans and Chicago jazz better than any American band at the time. The band adopted the new name and released their first album as the Viking Jazz Band in 1958. In 1960 their "

Schlafe, mein Prinzchen "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen, schlaf ein" ("Sleep, my little prince, fall asleep") is a German lullaby dating from the 18th century. History The words are by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter. For many years, the common view was that the melody was composed by ...

" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a

Gold Disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. At a time when many jazz musicians worked in 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 (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

idiom, Bue's style remained based on the

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

tradition but also with influences from early

swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement ...

. He is considered one of the most significant proponents of his genre. The group remained active into the 1990s, and recorded with musicians such as George Lewis (1959), Champion Jack Dupree (1962),

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(1970), Wild Bill Davison (1970, 1974), Wingy Manone,

Edmond Hall Edmond Hall (May 15, 1901 – February 11, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Over his career, Hall worked extensively with many leading performers as both a sideman and bandleader and is possibly best known for the 1941 cha ...

and Albert Nicholas. They also played with George Lewis,

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Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

. Wild Bill Davison was a permanent band member. It was Papa Bue's Viking Jazz Band which recorded Bent Fabricius-Bjerre's

theme music Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

for the

Olsen Gang The ''Olsen Gang'' (, ) is a Danish comedy film series created by Danish director Erik Balling and special effects expert Henning Bahs about the eponymous fictional criminal gang. The gang's leader is the criminal genius and habitual offender ...

series, now a legendary sequence for the Danes. Jensen released a large number of albums, many of them issued or reissued on

Storyville Records Storyville Records is an international record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark, specializing in jazz and blues music. Besides its original material, Storyville Records has reissued many vintage jazz recordings that previously appea ...

, Timeless Records, and Music Mecca.

Awards and honors

In 1969, Papa Bue's Viking Jazz Band was the only non-American band to participate in the New Orleans Jazz Festival and Jensen was honored with the "Golden Keys to the City". In 1989 he received the Ben Webster's Prize of Honour.

Death

Papa Bue died in Copenhagen on 2 November 2011, at the age of 81.

Discography

* ''A Tribute to Wingy Manone'' (Recorded 7 December 1967, Storyville) * ''All That Meat and No Potatoes'' (With Wild Bill Davison & Gustav Winkler, Rec. Nov 1977, Storyville) * ''The 25th Anniversary Session'' (Rec. 1981, V-KING) * ''Live in Tivoli at Jazzhus Slukefter'' (1982, V-King Records – VLP-102, Rec. live Jazzhus Slukefter Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen) * ''Everybody Loves Saturday Night, Vol. 1'' (compilation, released 5 December 1996) * ''Song Was Born'' (released 20 September 1999) * ''40 Years Jubilee Concert'' (released 20 September 1989) * ''Canal Street Blues'' (released 20 September 1999) * ''Church Concert'' (live recording, released 1 January 2000) * ''Live at Mosebacke Stockholm'' (live recordings from 1970, released 14 November 2000) * ''1958–1969: Hit Singles'' (compilation, released 1 May 2001) * ''1971: Live in Dresden'' (live recordings from 1971, released 10 July 2001) * ''Rags & Marches'' (compilation, released 5 March 2002) * ''Hamburg 1970–1971: A Tribute to Finn Otto Hansen'' (compilation, released 6 July) * ''Papa Bue Discography'' by Gerard Bielderman a.o. urojazz Discos No. 19 – 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Papa Bue 1930 births 2011 deaths Danish jazz musicians Danish jazz trombonists Danish jazz bandleaders Timeless Records artists Musicians from Copenhagen