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Sounds of Denmark


PizzaExpress Jazz Club, Dean Street, Soho, London, W1


Sounds of Denmark offers a snapshot of one of Europe’s most vibrant jazz scenes. Famed for their Bauhaus-influenced modern architecture & design and culinary flare, Denmark, the country that also gave the world the Scandi-noir of The Killing alongside the comforting concept of Hygge is also home to one of the most varied and sophisticated jazz scenes in Europe.

Denmark’s rich jazz heritage dates back to the sixties when artists such as Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon and Kenny Drew settled in Copenhagen leaving an indelible influence. But it wasn’t just mainstream greats, artists such as Albert Ayler and Cecil Taylor recorded landmark albums in Copenhagen helping to lay the foundations of what would become free jazz. Meanwhile, Danish artists such as Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Palle Mikkelborg and John Tchicai were key architects of a unique European jazz. Today, the Copenhagen Jazz Festival is one of the biggest jazz festivals in Europe with 1200 concerts over 10 days welcoming over 250,000 visitors.

Denmark’s vibrant scene informs Sounds of Denmark, a five-day festival in September at one of London’s premier venues, the award-winning PizzaExpress Jazz Club featuring eight superb Danish groups to showcase just how dynamic, eclectic and exciting the Danish jazz scene is.

Sounds of Denmark is an ambitious Danish jazz initiative in the UK and a new and exciting musical cooperation between the two nations. PizzaExpress Jazz Club is known for breaking artists in Britain before everyone else - for example the likes of Gregory Porter, Diana Krall and Norah Jones made their UK debuts at the venue. The project was launched in 2016 as a collaboration between JazzDanmark, PizzaExpress Jazz Club and Sue Edwards Management with support from the Royal Danish Embassy in London and Augustinus Fonden.

During the five day festival, more than 30 Danish musicians will perform in London in order to represent the dynamic Danish music scene. Eight Danish groups have been chosen to take part in the programme after an extensive selection process, in which a British music industry selection panel took part featuring journalists, promoters and music business professionals.

Read more about Sounds of Denmark here.