Danish jazz violinist
Svend Asmussen
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![Svend Asmussen on the cover of the Swedish weekly Se 1945](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Svend_Asmussen_Se.jpg/220px-Svend_Asmussen_Se.jpg) Svend Asmussen on the cover of
the Swedish weekly
Se
1945
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Birth name
| Svend Harald Christian Asmussen
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Born
| (
1916-02-28
)
28 February 1916
Copenhagen
, Denmark
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Died
| 7 February 2017
(2017-02-07)
(aged 100)
Dronningmølle
, Denmark
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Genres
| Jazz
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Occupations
| Violinist
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Years active
| 1923?2010
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Musical artist
Svend Asmussen
(28 February 1916 ? 7 February 2017) was a Danish
jazz
violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking".
[1]
A Swing-style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many other notable jazz musicians, including
Duke Ellington
,
Benny Goodman
and
Stephane Grappelli
. He played publicly until 2010 when he had a blood clot, his career having spanned eight decades.
Life and career
[
edit
]
Svend Asmussen with The
Swe-Danes
in 1961, with
Alice Babs
at the center
and
Ulrik Neumann
to the right.
Asmussen was born in
Copenhagen
,
Denmark
, was raised in a musical family, and started taking violin lessons at the age of seven.
[2]
Aged 16, he first heard recordings by jazz violinist
Joe Venuti
and began to emulate his style. He started working professionally as a violinist,
vibraphonist
, and singer at age 17, leaving his formal training behind for good. Early in his career he worked in Denmark and on cruise ships, with artists such as
Josephine Baker
and
Fats Waller
. Asmussen later was greatly influenced by
Stuff Smith
, whom he met in Denmark. Asmussen played with
Valdemar Eiberg
and
Kjeld Bonfils
during
World War II
, during which time jazz had moved to the underground and served as a form of political protest.
In the late 1950s, Asmussen formed the trio Swe-Danes with singer
Alice Babs
and guitarist
Ulrik Neumann
.
[2]
The group became quite successful in
Scandinavia
for their
music hall
style entertainment and also toured the United States. Asmussen also worked with
Benny Goodman
,
Lionel Hampton
, and
Duke Ellington
.
[2]
Asmussen was invited by Ellington to play on his
Jazz Violin Session
recording in 1963 with
Stephane Grappelli
and
Ray Nance
.
[2]
In 1966, Asmussen appeared alongside Grappelli, Stuff Smith, and
Jean-Luc Ponty
in a jazz
Violin Summit
in Switzerland that was issued as a live recording.
[2]
He made an appearance at the 1967
Monterey Jazz Festival
, which included a celebrated violin summit with him, Ray Nance and Jean-Luc Ponty. In 1969, he guested on
Snakes in a Hole,
an album by the jazz-rock band
Made in Sweden
. He was still active playing violin at the age of 94.
[3]
Asmussen became a
centenarian
on 28 February 2016.
[4]
He died peacefully in his sleep on 7 February 2017, at age 100.
[5]
Asmussen's collection of jazz music, photographs, posters and other material is held in the
jazz collections at the University Library of Southern Denmark
. Asmussen's son,
Claus Asmussen
, is a guitar player in Denmark and a former member of the band
Shu-Bi-Dua
.
Discography
[
edit
]
As leader
[
edit
]
- Plays Hot Fiddle
(
Parlophone
, 1953)
- Danish Imports
with Ulrik Neumann (Warner Bros., 1961)
- European Encounter
with
John Lewis
(Atlantic, 1962)
- Scandinavian Folk Songs Sung and Swung!
with Alice Babs (Philips, 1964)
- Evergreens
(Odeon, 1965)
- Violin Summit
with Stephane Grappelli, Stuff Smith, Jean-Luc Ponty (Prestige, 1968)
- Just Fiddlin' Around
with Deiter Reith (Murbo, 1967)
- Two of a Kind
with Stephane Grappelli (Polydor, 1968)
- Yesterday and Today
with Toots Thielemans (A&M, 1973)
- Toots and Svend
with Toots Thielemans (Sonet, 1973)
- As Time Goes By
with Lionel Hampton (Sonet, 1978)
- June Night
(Doctor Jazz, 1983)
- String Swing
with Ulf Wakenius (Sonet, 1983)
- On the Good Ship Lollipop
with Teresa Brewer (Doctor Jazz, 1983)
- Makin' Whoopee...and Music
(Arbors, 2009)
- Rhythm Is Our Business
(Storyville, 2009)
[6]
- The Jazz Man Hitler Failed to Silence
(Roastin, 2011)
[7]
As sideman
[
edit
]
- Oscar Aleman
,
Swing Guitar Masterpieces 1938?1957
(Acoustic Disc, 1998)
- Sathima Bea Benjamin
,
A Morning in Paris
(Enja, 1997)
- Kenny Drew
,
Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
,
Ed Thigpen
,
Prize/Winners
(Matrix, 1978)
- Duke Ellington
,
Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session
(
Atlantic
, 1976)
- David Grisman
,
Svingin' with Svend
(Zebra Acoustic, 1988)
- L. Subramaniam
,
Garland
(Storyville, 1982)
References
[
edit
]
Sources
Notes
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Svend Asmussen
at Wikimedia Commons
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