Svend Asmussen (28 February 1916 – 7 February 2017) was a Danish

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 majo ...

violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking". A Swing style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many of the other jazz musicians, including

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conce ...

and Stephane Grappelli. He played publicly until 2010 when he had a blood clot, his career having spanned eight decades.

Life and career

Asmussen was born 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 ...

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 , establishe ...

, was raised in a musical family, and started taking violin lessons at the age of seven. Aged 16 he first heard recordings by jazz violinist Joe Venuti and began to emulate his style. He started working professionally as a violinist, vibraphonist, and singer at age 17, leaving his formal training behind for good. Early in his career he worked in Denmark and on cruise ships, with artists such as

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

and Fats Waller. Asmussen later was greatly influenced by

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 ...

, whom he met in Denmark. Asmussen played with

Valdemar Eiberg Valdemar Eiberg (August 23, 1892 – July 4, 1965) was a Danish jazz musician. Eiberg formed what is thought to be the first Danish jazz orchestra in 1923, and in 1924, his ensemble recorded the earliest known examples of Danish jazz, "I've Got a C ...

and

Kjeld Bonfils Kjeld Bonfils (August 23, 1918 in Copenhagen – October 13, 1984) was a Danish jazz pianist and vibraphone player. Bonfils was one of the figures involved in the "Golden Age" of Danish jazz in the 1930s. During the Nazi occupation of Denmark from ...

during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, during which time jazz had moved to the underground and served as a form of political protest. In the late 1950s, Asmussen formed the trio Swe-Danes with singer Alice Babs and guitarist

Ulrik Neumann Ulrik Neumann (23 October 1918 – 28 June 1994) was a Danish film actor and musician. He appeared in 19 films between 1940 and 1966. Ulrik Neumann was an accomplished guitar player. From 1959 to 1961 he was a member of the trio Swe-Danes wi ...

. The group became quite successful in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

for their music hall style entertainment and also toured the United States. Asmussen also worked with

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charle ...

, and

. Asmussen was invited by Ellington to play on his '' Jazz Violin Session'' recording in 1963 with Stéphane Grappelli and Ray Nance. In 1966, Asmussen appeared alongside Grappelli, Stuff Smith, and Jean-Luc Ponty in a jazz '' Violin Summit'' in Switzerland that was issued as a live recording. He made an appearance at the 1967

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...

, which included a celebrated violin summit with him, Ray Nance and Jean-Luc Ponty. In 1969, he guested on ''Snakes in a Hole,'' an album by the jazz-rock band Made in Sweden. He was still active playing violin at the age of 94. Asmussen became a

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...

on 28 February 2016. He died peacefully in his sleep on 7 February 2017, just 3 weeks before his 101st birthday. Asmussen's collection of jazz music, photographs, posters and other material is held in the jazz collections at the University Library of Southern Denmark. Asmussen's son,

Claus Asmussen Claus Asmussen (born 12 February 1949 in Copenhagen) is a Danish musician (guitar), actor and composer, the son of jazz violinist Svend Asmussen, and a central member of the Danish pop bands 'Emanuel D.P.', 'Sir Henry & His Butlers' (1965–80) a ...

, is a guitar player in Denmark and a former member of the band Shu-Bi-Dua.

Discography

As leader

* ''Plays Hot Fiddle'' (

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 19 ...

, 1953) * ''Danish Imports'' with Ulrik Neumann (Warner Bros., 1961) * '' European Encounter'' with

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashvill ...

(Atlantic, 1962) * ''Scandinavian Folk Songs Sung and Swung!'' with Alice Babs (Philips, 1964) * ''Evergreens'' (Odeon, 1965) * ''Violin Summit'' with Stephane Grappelli, Stuff Smith, Jean-Luc Ponty (Prestige, 1968) * ''Just Fiddlin' Around'' with Deiter Reith (Murbo, 1967) * ''Two of a Kind'' with Stephane Grappelli (Polydor, 1968) * ''Yesterday and Today'' with Toots Thielemans (A&M, 1973) * ''Toots and Svend'' with Toots Thielemans (Sonet, 1973) * ''As Time Goes By'' with Lionel Hampton (Sonet, 1978) * ''June Night'' (Doctor Jazz, 1983) * ''String Swing'' with Ulf Wakenius (Sonet, 1983) * ''On the Good Ship Lollipop'' with Teresa Brewer (Doctor Jazz, 1983) * ''Makin' Whoopee...and Music'' (Arbors, 2009) * ''Rhythm Is Our Business'' (Storyville, 2009) * ''The Jazz Man Hitler Failed to Silence'' (Roastin, 2011)

As sideman

Oscar Aleman Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

, ''Swing Guitar Masterpieces 1938–1957'' (Acoustic Disc, 1998) * Sathima Bea Benjamin, ''A Morning in Paris'' (Enja, 1997) *

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 ( ...

, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen,

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. Biograph ...

, ''Prize/Winners'' (Matrix, 1978) *

, ''

Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session ''Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session'' is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded in 1963 but not released on the Atlantic label until 1976.

'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1976) * David Grisman, ''Svingin' with Svend'' (Zebra Acoustic, 1988) * L. Subramaniam, ''Garland'' (Storyville, 1982)

References

Sources * * Notes

External links

The Jazz collections at the University Library of Southern Denmark

AllMusic Biography by Scott Yanow

Svend Asmussen: Phenomenal Jazz Fiddler by Richard J. Brooks

Svend Asmussen
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asmussen, Svend 1916 births 2017 deaths Danish jazz violinists Male violinists Musicians from Copenhagen Danish centenarians Male jazz musicians Swe-Danes members Storyville Records artists Sonet Records artists Men centenarians Arbors Records artists