Jazz Music of Denmark

The jazz has been one of the Denmark’s most significant musical formations over the past century. This origin can be linked to Valdemar Eiberg’s group in 1923 and their recording which was released in the following year. But it was in 1925, when Sam Wooding brought his group to Copenhagen that the Danish music was then properly introduced to the genre. Interestingly the early Danish jazz influenced by the three classically trained musicians; Erik from 1902 to 1957, who initiated one of the country’s first jazz groups, Bernhard Christensen in 1906, a composer of both the jazz and the classical music, and Seven Moller Kristensen from 1909 to 1991 who wrote the song for Christensen as well as series of book about the jazz.

source of picture: denmark.dk

As jazz became more famous in the 1930s, one of the up-coming stars who was talented in playing violin, Svend Asmussen was born in 1916 and he made his first recordings in 1934 at the age of 18 and was still playing his quartet for over 70 year. During the German occupation in the 1940s, the jazz was dispersed, but several musicians continued to perform while others escaped to Sweden which include the percuss Uffe Baadh. Indeed, the era became known as the golden age of jazz as the number of shows in hotels and restaurants increases and the number of records arose from about 180 in 1935 to 1939 which is over 650 from 1940 to 1945.

In the early 1960s when there was something of a renewal, the jazzhus Montmatre was established in Copenhagen, and reflects the atmosphere of clubs in Paris and New York City. It has became a major venue for both the Danish and the American artists, many Americans relocated to Denmark such as Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Ben Websater, Lee, Konitz and several others, the American pianist Kenny Drew, who invented trio with drummer Alex Riel and bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, who became the main jazzhus Montmartre. Danish musicians also started to discover free jazz in the 1960s with saxophonist John Tchocai, who is the most prominent supporter.