Jens Søndergaard (musician)
Jens Christian Søndergaard (born February 4, 1945 in Copenhagen ) is a Danish jazz musician ( alto saxophone , also soprano and baritone saxophone , composition ).
Live and act
Søndergaard started playing jazz on the clarinet as a teenager . Influenced by Duke Ellington , he led his own band between 1963 and 1965, and from 1965 he played in the Søndergaard-Nehammer Quintet Bebop . Between 1967 and 1978 he was a member of Leonardo Pedersen's jazz band , which also accompanied Harry Sweets Edison , Wild Bill Davison and Eddie Lockjaw Davis , and then worked with the group Swingstyrke 7 , with Kenny Drew , Ed Thigpen , Clark Terry and Thad Jones or Richard Boone performed. Etta Cameron also brought him into her band.
Since 1981 Søndergaard has led his own quartet, including Marilyn Mazur ; the quartet also accompanied the poet Peter Poulsen. In the 1980s he played in his own groups with leading Danish musicians, from 1985 in Unit 4 with Jørgen Emborg, among others . In 1982 he toured the USSR with the White Label Jazz Group . From the second half of the 1980s he worked with Lee Konitz , who taught and strongly influenced him, and recorded with him, but also in a quartet with Enrico Pieranunzi . When Konitz was awarded the Jazzpar Prize in 1992, he was in charge of the nonet with which Konitz appeared. Also in 1992 he became a member of Klüvers Big Band , in which he worked with soloists such as Bob Mintzer and Deborah Brown , and later he appeared with Ib Glindemann's big band and Benny Golson . In 2007 he founded the band Art of Pepper , which was dedicated to the music of Art Pepper and recorded the album More Pepper . In 2008 he released a duo album with American pianist Kenny Werner , which was named Danish Jazz Album of the Year.
Prizes and awards
In 1974 Søndergaard received an award for the best foreign soloist at the Prerov Jazz Festival. In 1995 he was honored with the gaff prize. In 2017 he was awarded the Ben Webster Prize of Honor.
Discographic notes
- No Coast ( Storyville 1987, with Morten Højring, Klavs Hovman , Bjarne Rostvold )
- Jens Søndergaard Quartet Featuring Lee Konitz Konitz in Denmark '89 (Right Tone 1989, with Morten Højring, Hugo Rasmussen , Bjarne Rostvold)
- Lee Konitz Jazzpar Prize 1992 (Storyville 1994, with Jeff Davis , Allan Botschinsky , Erling Kroner , Niels Gerhardt, Peter Gullin , Butch Lacy , Jesper Lundgaard , Svend-Erik Nørregaard )
- Hörnfeldt / Søndergaard Cool Scandinavian Five (BIBA Records 2000, with Sören Bo Addemos, Jesper Carlsen and Magnus Forsberg)
- Kenny Werner & Jens Søndergaard Play Balads: A Time for Love (Stunt 2008)
- Jens Søndergaard & Bob Rockwell More Golson (Stunt 2012)
Web links
- Web presence
- Jens Søndergaard at Discogs (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Søndergaard, Jens |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Søndergaard, Jens Christian (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Danish jazz musician (saxophone, composition) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 4, 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Copenhagen |