In addition to the Danish jazz festival Sounds of Denmark in London, JazzDanmark is launching an ambitious follow-up three-year program aimed at strengthening demand for Danish jazz in the British market.

The previous three editions of the Danish jazz festival were held at the PizzaExpress Jazz Club in the heart of London, where bands represented the Danish jazz scene at sold-out concerts. The music has always been selected through an open call by a local British jury.

This year, however, Sounds of Denmark will be turned on its head. There will still be concerts at PizzaExpress Jazz Club, but this time, the club itself has handled the selection and booking of Danish bands that have previously performed on their stage. As a result, this year’s festival is called Sounds of Denmark Revisited and will take place from October 16–19, 2019.

Line-up for Sounds of Denmark Revisited 2019

• Morten Schantz Godspeed
  Morten Schantz (piano, synthesizers), Josh Arcoleo (tenor sax, electric bass & synthesizer), Anton Eger (drums)
• Snorre Kirk Quartet
  Jan Harbeck (tenor sax), Magnus Hjorth (piano), Anders Fjeldsted (bass), Snorre Kirk (drums)
• Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab
  Nikolaj Hess (piano), Anders ‘AC’ Christensen (bass), Mikkel Hess (drums)
• Hess is More
• Makiko Hirabayashi Trio w. Marilyn Mazur
  Makiko Hirabayashi (piano), Klavs Hovman (bass), Marilyn Mazur (drums/percussion/voice)
• Kathrine Windfeld Sextet
  Jakob Lundbak (alto & soprano saxophone), Marek Konarski (tenor saxophone), Rolf Thofte Sørensen (trumpet), Johannes Vaht (bass), Henrik Holst Hansen (drums), Kathrine Windfeld (piano & compositions/arrangements)

Creating Demand Among British Bookers

In the coming years, in addition to the festival, there will be intense efforts in a three-year period to strengthen demand for Danish jazz across the UK. This will be done by inviting bookers and promoters from England to Denmark to get a first-hand look at what’s happening on the Danish jazz scene. Additionally, a new strong partnership has been established with Baxter PR, one of the leading PR agencies in the British music industry, making it an ideal PR partner throughout the project.

The goal is for more Danish bands to be booked at local jazz clubs and to increase the visibility of Danish jazz in the British media. JazzDanmark is collaborating with JPN (Jazz Promoters Network), an association of bookers in the UK, and JazzNorth, the national jazz organization in Northern England.

Launch at Manchester Jazz Festival

The project will be launched on May 25th 2019 at the Manchester Jazz Festival, where the Danish band Equilibrium will perform. Immediately after the concert, there will be a reception for the new version of Sounds of Denmark.

This will take place at St Ann’s Church. The Equilibrium concert is at 1:00 PM, and the reception is at 2:30 PM. If you are in the area, you are of course welcome to attend.

The International Cultural Panel has just launched a cultural initiative in the UK that connects the cities of Manchester, Aarhus, and Aalborg through binding cultural collaborations. The launch of Sounds of Denmark in Manchester will mark this new initiative.

• Information about the Project
  The Sounds of Denmark festival first took place in 2016 and has consistently succeeded in gaining visibility in British media, creating new opportunities and collaborative relationships for the participating musicians. The project is one of the most ambitious Danish jazz initiatives in the UK in decades and strengthens the growing musical collaboration between the two nations. The Sounds of Denmark festival is presented in collaboration between JazzDanmark, PizzaExpress Live, Sue Edwards Management, and the Danish Embassy in London. The Augustinus Foundation has supported the first three editions. Learn more about the project here.
• The three-year promotional and PR collaboration is an extension of the Sounds of Denmark project, carried out in collaboration with JPN (Jazz Promoters Network), JazzNorth, and Baxter PR, with funding from the Danish Arts Foundation’s Project Support Committee for Music and the International Cultural Panel (IKP), which is a collaborative forum consisting of the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Business.

Line-up Sounds of Denmark Revisited 2019

Morten Schantz Godspeed
Morten Schantz (piano, synthesizers), Josh Arcoleo (tenorsax, elbas & synthesizer), Anton Eger (trommer)

Snorre Kirk Quartet
Jan Harbeck (tenorsax), Magnus Hjorth (pinao), Anders Fjeldsted (bas), Snorre Kirk (trommer)

Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab
Nikolaj Hess (piano), Anders ‘AC ‘Christensen (bas), Mikkel Hess (trommer)

Hess is More

Makiko Hirabayashi Trio w. Marilyn Mazur
Makiko Hirabayashi (piano), Klavs Hovman (bas), Marilyn Mazur (trommer/percussion/voice)

Kathrine Windfeld Sextet
Jakob Lundbak (Alt- & sopransaxofon), Marek Konarski (tenorsaxofon), Rolf Thofte Sørensen (trompet), Johannes Vaht (bas), Henrik Holst Hansen (trommer), Kathrine Windfeld (piano & kompositioner/arrangementer)