Bent Lorentzen was a Danish composer. He was one of the outstanding figures in contemporary Danish music. His works are frequently performed at festivals at home and abroad, and he had established particularly close links with musical life in Poland and Germany. He was honoured with several international prizes and was named Choral Composer of the Year in Denmark in 1989.
Per Nørgård is a Danish composer and music theorist. Though his style has varied considerably throughout his career, his music has often included repeatedly evolving melodies—such as the infinity series—in the vein of Jean Sibelius, and a perspicuous focus on lyricism. Reflecting on this, the composer Julian Anderson described his style as "one of the most personal in contemporary music". Nørgård has received several awards, including the 2016 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.
John Martin Tchicai was a Danish free jazz saxophonist and composer.
Michael Mantler is an Austrian avant-garde jazz trumpeter and composer of contemporary music.
Magnus Lindgren is a Swedish jazz musician. He studied at the Västerås Music College. He then attended the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm, Sweden, and began working with the Soul Enterprise. He began playing with Herbie Hancock aged 18, and formed his quartet in 1997. He has also worked with James Ingram, Koop, Barbara Hendricks, Gregory Porter, Till Brönner, Nicola Conte, Marie Fredriksson, Ivan Lins and David Foster. In 2001, Lindgren was voted the best Swedish jazz artist of the year by the Fasching jazz club in Stockholm. He has received a number of awards, including a Grammis award in 2001, and the Arne Domnérus Prize.
Trygve Seim is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist and composer. Seim has released numerous albums since 1992, including over 20 albums for ECM Records as a composer, band-leader or co-band-leader.
Jørgen Emborg is a Danish jazz pianist and composer, influenced by Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, who has given the music a lyrical, specifically Nordic feel in his compositions.
Danish jazz dates back to 1923 when Valdemar Eiberg formed a jazz orchestra and recorded what are thought to be the first Danish jazz records in August 1924. However, jazz in Denmark is typically first dated to 1925, when bandleader Sam Wooding toured in Copenhagen with an orchestra. This was the first time most Danes had heard jazz music. Some prominent early Danish jazz musicians include Erik Tuxen who formed a jazz band and was later named conductor of the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Bernhard Christensen, an art music composer who incorporated jazz elements into his pieces, and Sven Møller Kristensen, who was the lyricist for many of Bernhard Christensen's pieces and who wrote a book on jazz theory in Danish.
Jens Winther was a Danish jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger and bandleader. He composed for and played in a long line of European big bands and other orchestras. His work includes compositions for symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles and choirs. As a bandleader, he was noted on the international Jazz scene with his JW European Quartet, particularly since 2007. In 2008, he founded the fusion band JW Electrazz. From 2009, he was based in Berlin, Germany.
Svante Henryson is a composer, cellist, bass guitarist and double bassist, active within jazz, classical music, and hard rock.
Simon Steen-Andersen is a Danish composer, performer, director and media artist.
Nils-Olav Johansen is a major Norwegian entertainer and jazz musician, known from several recordings and as orchestra leader. He is with Jarle Vespestad (drums) and Stian Carstensen, central members of the Balkan-jazz orchestra Farmers Market.
Petter Wettre is a Norwegian Jazz musician (Saxophone) and composer, known from a number of album recordings, accompanied by receiving the Spellemannprisen two times.
Ole Morten Vågan is a Norwegian jazz musician and composer, and the older brother of guitarist Petter Vågan. He is known from several recordings and is currently acting as artistic director for the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. Vågan is also known from cooperating with some of the most influential musicians and composers internationally and has released eight albums as a leader, recently with the TJO, as well as six albums with his group Motif and one with the group The Deciders.
Magnetic North Orchestra established in Oslo, Norway (1992–2005) was a Norwegian jazz orchestra, created and led by Jon Balke. MNO was originally a jazz ensemble inspired by Oslo 13, put together with strings and percussion. As Olympic musical ambassador from 1993 to 1994, for the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer, Jon Balke created the work Magnetic North for a larger group, and under this name (MNO) he has toured in Europe, USA and Japan.
Atle Nymo is a Norwegian jazz musician, and the younger brother of Jazz saxophonist Frode Nymo. He is known for his contributions with the orchestras Motif, one of his main projects, and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra in which he has worked with Jazz greats like Pat Metheny and Chick Corea.
Vidar Johansen is a Norwegian jazz musician, music arranger and composer.
Uffe Eskild Markussen is a Danish jazz reedist, who plays primarily tenor saxophone and bass clarinet.
Jan Harbeck is a Danish jazz musician and composer.
Signe Asmussen Manuitt is a Danish mezzosoprano singer who has performed widely, not only in classical concerts, chamber music and opera but also in Latin jazz and as a member of The Tolkien Ensemble. Since 2001, she has made a mark as one of Denmark's most impressive female singers. In addition to appearances in Denmark, she has given recitals in London's Wigmore Hall and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. Asmussen recently starred as Hanna Glawari in Operette Kompagniet's production of The Merry Widow. She is married to the Cuban Salsa singer Ernesto Manuitt.
