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Denmark - Culture - MusicDenmark [Main menu] - [Previous paragraph] - [Next paragraph] 4.11.1 The Earliest Times Jazz [top]Jazz came to Denmark, first with American gramophone records, and then as the result of visiting musicians and orchestras. The first Danish jazz band was formed by the saxophonist Valdemar Eiberg in 1923, and in the years immediately following pioneers emerged like the saxophonist Kai Ewans, the trombonist Peter Rasmussen and the pianist Leo Mathisen, who were all active as soloists and band leaders throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Musically and professionally, Danish jazz experienced a golden age during the German occupation 1940-1945, when younger names such as the violinist Svend Asmussen and the pianist Kjeld Bonfils also came to the fore. A sudden decline followed the liberation, as almost the whole established generation slipped into the background. From 1950 older and newer styles were introduced, on an amateur basis now, and only from about 1960 was there again a basis for professional music making. Since then, Danish jazz has won a more secure foothold in Denmark and has achieved considerable international reputation with orchestras like the Radio Big Band and Pierre Dørge's New Jungle orchestra (Danish state ensemble 1993-1996) and with musicians like the trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg, the double bass player Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, the saxophonist John Tchicai and the percussionist Marilyn Mazur. Two Copenhagen jazz houses, Montmartre (196c. 1991) and Copenhagen Jazzhouse (since 1991), have been of great significance for international and Danish jazz life, and so has Copenhagen Jazz Festival (since 1979). In 1986 the Rhythmic Music Conservatory was established in Copenhagen. Erik Wiedemann
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