Jesper Lundgaard | |
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Background information | |
Born | 12 June 1954 |
Origin | Hillerød, Denmark |
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, bandleader, music producer |
Instrument(s) | Double bass, electric bass |
Years active | 1976–present |
Labels | SteepleChase, Storyville |
Website | Official website |
Jesper Lundgaard (born 12 June 1954) is a Danish jazz bassist, bandleader, composer and record producer. Since his debut in the mid-1970s, he has been among the most prominent bassists in Danish jazz and as a sideman he has appeared on more than 400 albums both with Danish and leading American jazz musicians.
Jesper Lundgaard was born in 1954 in Hillerød, Denmark. After first playing guitar for a few years, he started to play bass at age 16. In 1976 he began to study music at Århus University and the same year he became part of Århus' jazz scene when he joined Bent Eriksen's trio. There he met Danish jazz musicians such as Thomas Clausen, Alex Riel, Niels Jørgen Steen, Finn Ziegler, Jesper Thilo, Jørgen Emborg and Jan Zum Vohrde as well as many American musicians, including Dexter Gordon, Harry Sweets Edison, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Joe Newman, Benny Waters, Hal Singer, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Pepper Adams, Howard McGhee, Roy Eldridge and Doug and Jimmy Raney. [1] Lundgaard soon established himself as one of the leading jazz bassists on the Danish jazz scene. [2]
In 1978 he became a member of the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra [3] and went on a 3-month European tour which would become its last before Thad Jones left the band and it changed its name simply to the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra.
After the tour both Thad Jones and Jesper Lundgaard settled in Copenhagen. Lundgaard became bassist-in-residence at the La Fontaine Jazz Club and also played frequently at other venues such as Jazzhus Montmartre and Slukefter, accompanying musicians such as Benny Carter, Teddy Wilson, Jay McShann, Dorothy Donegan, Phineas Newborn, Mose Allison and Stanley Turrentine. In 1979 he also started recording for SteepleChase Records, appearing on around 40 albums from this label. He was also a sideman for musicians such as Benny Carter and Teddy Wilson on albums released on Storyville Records. He has also recorded with Chet Baker and Duke Jordan on some albums released by Japanese labels.
Up through the 1980s, Lundgaard was a member of the Radiojazzgruppen, Ernie Wilkins' Almost Big Band and Thad Jones' Danish big band Eclipse, Parallel to this he went on numerous tours with American musicians. These included lengthy tours with Doug and Jimmy Raney to the Netherlands, France and Germany and others with Tommy Flanagan and Ed Thigpen. In the mid-1980s he also became a member of Bob Rockwell's quartet after Rockwell had become the third former The Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra-member to permanently move to Copenhagen in 1984.
From 1989 to 1991 he was a member of the DR Big Band and in 1993 he joined Svend Asmussen's quartet in which he still plays.
In 1994 he formed the Repertory Quartet which released six albums before it was dissolved in 2000.
He has also taught and conducted master classes at educational institutions in Denmark as well as at conservatories in Rotterdam, Zürich and Helsinki. [3]
Since 1986 Lundgaard worked with audio engineering. Since 1991 he has operated his own recording studio, the Loft Studio, in which he has produced some 40 albums for other artists. [3]
Since 2004 he has developed a new amplifier for double bass and electric bass which is small, lightweight, and very powerful and in 2007 he established a small company, ARCO-amplification, [4] which sells it. [3]
With Lotte Anker – Mette Petersen Quartet
With Chet Baker
With Paul Bley
With Benny Carter
With Teddy Edwards
With Tommy Flanagan
With Frank Foster
With Martin Jacobsen
With Thad Jones
With The Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra
With Duke Jordan
With Kirk Lightsey
With Warne Marsh
With Phineas Newborn Jr.
With Horace Parlan
With Doug Raney
With Jimmy Raney
Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, also known by his abbreviated nickname NHØP, was a Danish jazz double bassist.
Thomas Clausen is a Danish jazz pianist and composer.
Alex Riel was a Danish jazz and rock drummer. His first group, the Alex Riel/Palle Mikkelborg Quintet, won the Montreux Grand Prix Award at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1968. He was married to the writer Ane Riel.
Thaddeus Joseph Jones was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists".
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George Mraz was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stephane Grappelli, Tommy Flanagan, Jimmy Raney, Chet Baker, Joe Henderson, John Abercrombie, John Scofield, and Richie Beirach, among others.
Gary Smulyan is a jazz musician who plays baritone saxophone. He studied at Hofstra University before working with Woody Herman. He leads a trio with bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Kenny Washington.
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Bob Rockwell is a jazz saxophonist. He was born in the U.S. but emigrated to Denmark in 1983.
Doug Raney was an American jazz guitarist. He was the son of jazz guitarist Jimmy Raney.
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Jacob Fischer is a self-taught Danish jazz guitarist. Since 1992 he has been a member of the Svend Asmussen Quartet and founded the Jacob Fischer Trio, where he plays alongside Hugo Rasmussen on bass and Janus Templeton on drums. He is a member of Christina von Bülow's trio and the Kristian Jørgensens Quartet.
The Almost Big Band was a 13 piece jazz band formed by Ernie Wilkins in 1980 after his permanent move to Copenhagen, Denmark. Members included expatriate American such as Kenny Drew and Ed Thigpen as well as prominent Danish jazz musicians such as Jesper Thilo and Bent Jaedig.
Hugo Rasmussen was a Danish bassist. Rasmussen is best known for his album Sweets to the Sweet (1978). Sweets To the Sweet was re-released in 2001 on Danish label Music Mecca.
Bent Jædig was a Danish jazz musician. He played tenor saxophone and flute.
Glad I Found You is an album by American jazz pianist Horace Parlan featuring performances recorded in 1984 and released on the Danish-based SteepleChase label.
Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen was a Danish jazz double bassist.
Lazy Bird is an album by guitarist Doug Raney recorded in 1984 and released on the Danish label, SteepleChase.