Story of the project

Svend Asmussen was one of the greatest Danish violinists of the 20th century. His sound was rich and charming, and phrasing was always full of fantasy. After his passing in 2017, at the age of 100, he remains a glowing inspiration to any violinist, classical or rhythmic.

When I was 10 years of age, I experienced Svend live in concert. He was 90 at the time, still giving a staggering performance, constantly communicating with the audience, joking and flirting, making each of us feel involved.

After the performance, I came with my mother back stage to meet the legend, and the world star took plenty of time to talk to a little boy who was eager to talk about the two and a half notes he played on the violin too.

Some ten years later, I get a request for my debut album, only just released at the time. It happened to be from Svend and his wife Ellen. The album had managed to get itself reviewed in a jazz magazine, where they had read about it. I was allowed to visit them and deliver the album in person and from that meeting on I was gifted a very special friendship with Svend and Ellen.

Svend later gifted me a collection of arrangements for solo violin. Eleven virtuoso arrangements of famous jazz standards, created with his lifelong experience and containing some of his best ideas and musical solutions for these pieces.

With the help and advice of violinist Bjarke Falgren, I was put in touch with Danish-Norwegian drummer Snorre Kirk. After meeting in a tiny little rehearsal studio on Østerbro, Copenhagen, the approach to this very special material by Svend Asmussen was found. Our two friends, pianist Calle Brickman and bassist Anders Fjeldsted, were asked in and two years and many, many wonderful concerts later, this album came to life during three days on the sunny island of Bornholm.

What is to be experienced on this album is genuine material created by Svend Asmussen, which has been gently wrapped in “our own jazz”, so to speak. The solos remain as true to their written form as possible, with only few exceptions where I simply couldn’t help myself.

I hope this album will bring joy, whether being listened to with great concentration or simply running in the background whilst converstation is buzzing over drinks. My greatest wish is that it will be able to do both.

– Niklas Walentin, March 2024.

P.S. An extra work has found its way on to our record, the “Tango Jalousie” by Danish composer Jacob Gade. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of one of the most played melodies in the 20th century worldwide, my arrangement in this style came to proper fruition thanks to my three friends and the way they individually improvised their parts. I am very grateful that the opportunity came to make this the overture for our record.

SVEND ASMUSSEN

Jazz violinist, showman, and band leader.

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Svend Asmussen was raised in a musical family, and started studying the violin at the age of seven with his immediate training being in the classical repertoire.

“My foremost inspiration was of course Johann Sebastian Bach,

whose famous solos I often practiced”

-Svend Asmussen

At the age of sixteen, he became inspired by listening to recordings by jazz violinist Joe Venuti and began to emulate his style and soon after started working professionally as a violinist, vibraphonist, and singer at age 17, leaving his formal training behind.

From early on in his career he had the chance to work with world renowned artists such as Josephine Baker and Fats Waller, in particular on cruise ships. Asmussen later was greatly influenced by Stuff Smith, whom he met in Denmark. Asmussen also kept highly active during the second World War where jazz, played with Valdemar Eiberg and Kjeld Bonfils, had moved to the underground and served as a form of political protest.

Svend Asmussen formed the trio Swe-Danes with singer Alice Babs and guitarist Ulrik Neumann which became a huge success and toured most of the world.

Through his life, Asmussen worked with most of the great jazz musicians, such as Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Stephan Grappelli, Stuff Smith, Toots Thielemans and Jean-Luc Ponty to name a few. He received one of the most prestigious jazz prizes, also awarded to Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck, The Jazz Club of Sarasota’s “The Satchmo Award” in 2012.

He is considered a jazz icon in Scandinavia and many other parts of

the world.

He was still performing at the age of 94 and became a centenarian on 28 February 2016.