Since 2016, Jazz Danmark has had a close collaboration with the legendary jazz club PizzaExpress Jazz Club in Soho, London, and the Danish Embassy in London. Over the years, several other venue partnerships have been established, and a continuous strategic focus on the UK as a market for Danish jazz has become firmly rooted.

On September 25–26, 2025, three Danish bands, curated by the participating venues, will perform for British audiences and industry professionals.

Three Danish Bands on the Lineup

Three Danish ensembles are featured at this year’s festival. The acts have been curated by the participating venues in collaboration with Sue Edwards Management, which oversees the festival’s coordination.

Cecilie Strange Quartet presents her fifth album, Beech, as she and her quartet perform in both cities. Strange creates spacious, meditative music rich in texture and understated lyricism, inviting listeners to slow down and experience a Nordic jazz reflection on identity and belonging.

Line-up:

• Cecilie Strange – saxophone

• Peter Rosendal – piano

• Thommy Andersson – bass

• Bent Clausen – drums

The members of Astral Cinema are both musicians and film composers who have collaborated on various projects since the early 1990s. In 2022, they formed an ensemble to perform their original, cinematic-inspired and dreamlike soundscapes, marked by strong song structures and accessible, seductive jazz and trip-hop grooves. The band was nominated for Composer of the Year at the 2024 Danish Music Awards Jazz.

Line-up:

• Jonas Struck – guitar

• Nikolaj Torp Larsen – keyboards

• Anders ‘AC’ Christensen – bass

• Sebastian Rochford – drums

With his ongoing project 3Elements, bassist Jasper Høiby explores the expressive potential of the piano trio through a fluid line-up that brings together some of Europe’s rising talents. The Sounds of Denmark concert marks the UK debut of his third and latest trio formation, featuring two Spanish musicians: pianist Xavi Torres and drummer Naima Acuña. Both are rising stars in their own right – deeply expressive, technically brilliant, and in high demand across the European jazz scene.

Line-up:

• Jasper Høiby – double bass

• Xavi Torres – piano

• Naima Acuña – drums

Tickets for Sounds of Denmark London are available here.

Tickets for Sounds of Denmark Southampton are avaialble here.

Sounds of Denmark has consistently succeeded in raising the profile of Danish jazz on the UK music scene and in British media. The project has opened up new opportunities and collaborations for participating artists such as Kathrine Windfeld, Svaneborg Kardyb, Hess Is More, Snorre Kirk, Phronesis, Spacelab, Søren Bebe Trio, Abekejser, RKDIA, Makiko Hirabayashi Trio, and Girls in Airports.

Sounds of Denmark 2025 is a collaboration between PizzaExpress Jazz Club, Turner Sims, Jazz Danmark, Sue Edwards Management, and the Danish Embassy in London. The project is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation and the Augustinus Foundation.