Danish Jazz is the Real Deal


Scandinavians, especially Danes, not only somehow feel an affinity for Jazz–clearly an African-American-originated art-form–but also have such a clear, demonstrated ability at composing and performing it. In the early ’20s American big band leader Sam Wooding had become an expatriate in Europe and led the backing orchestra for the “Chocolate Kiddies,” an all African-American collection of performers that toured the continent extensively, and very effectively, introduced countries like Russia to Duke Ellington and big band jazz. In 1925 Wooding and his orchestra performed in Copenhagen and wowed the crowd. Though there had been a few earlier Danish jazz rumblings, Wooding’s visit inspired a generation of young Danish musicians to drop their lurs and learn the trombone.

Since then, the Danish jazz scene has been hopping. When the Nazis occupied Denmark during World War II most of Denmark’s jazz musicians escaped to Sweden, where they played openly and often, ushering in what has been called Scandinavia’s “Golden Age of Jazz.” After the War the Danish jazz scene revived and Copenhagen became its hub, so much so that American saxophonist Stan Getz became an expatriate there in the 1950s. Today the Copenhagen Jazz Festival is among world’s most respected and Danish jazz musicians like Vietnamese-Danish double bassist Chris Minh Doky influential on the international jazz scene. Watch the Chris Minh Doky band perform in Copenhagen in 2010.