DANGEROUS SOUNDS: Danish Jazz in 8 Stories

In this episode, we present a view of some of the main voices on the contemporary jazz scene. Among the artists covered are pianist Jeppe Zeeberg who tries to break the structure, and composer Jacob Anderskov who dreams of new structures. Whereas neo-traditionalists Nana Pi, Oilly Wallace and Johannes Wamberg work inside the structure.

When the African-American improviser Luther Thomas arrived in Copenhagen, nobody knew who he was or cared. Thomas became a fixture of the alternative jazz scene and changed the music in Denmark. In an old slaughterhouse, Danish drummer Kresten Osgood opened "The Monday Club", which presented 6 concerts each Monday all year round for 7 years.

Many of the young musicians in the early 90’s go to Boston to study. George Garzone is a teacher, Kurt Rosenwinkel a fellow student. They return to Denmark with new energy and fresh sounds. We hear about the two groundbreaking bands "When Granny Sleeps" and "Once Around the Park". We also tell the story of the OAP bassist Anders "AC" Christensen.

We dig deeper into the life of John Tchicai and tell the story about his time in New York (the first phone call being from John Coltrane). This episode also tells the story of the collaboration between Palle Mikkelborg and Miles Davis in 1985 (the second phone call being Miles calling Mikkelborg to tell him about the plans to make an album).

The world explodes in freedom, love and understanding. The jazz scene is forever changed as a band of hippies by the name of Blue Sun, toured Denmark opening for Jimi Hendrix. This episode also tells the story of saxophonist Lotte Anker, one of Denmark’s most internationally respected and visionary artists.