Svend Asmussen (28 February 1916 – 7 February 2017) was a Danish

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking". A Swing style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many of the other jazz musicians, including

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

and

Stephane Grappelli Stephane may refer to: * Stéphane, a French given name * Stephane (Ancient Greece) A stephane (''ancient Greek'' στέφανος, from ''στέφω'' (stéphō, “I encircle”), '' Lat.'' Stephanus = wreath, decorative wreath worn on the head ...

. He played publicly until 2010 when he had a blood clot, his career having spanned eight decades.

Life and career

Asmussen was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, was raised in a musical family, and started taking violin lessons at the age of seven. Aged 16 he first heard recordings by jazz violinist

Joe Venuti Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie La ...

and began to emulate his style. He started working professionally as a violinist,

vibraphonist The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

, 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 Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

and

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

. Asmussen later was greatly influenced by

Stuff Smith Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith (August 14, 1909 – September 25, 1967), better known as Stuff Smith, was an American jazz violinist. He is well known for the song "If You're a Viper" (the original title was "You'se a Viper"). Smith was, alo ...

, whom he met in Denmark. Asmussen played with Valdemar Eiberg and Kjeld Bonfils during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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 Hildur Alice Nilsson (26 January 1924 – 11 February 2014), known by her stage name Alice Babs, was a Swedish singer and actress. She worked in a wide number of genres – Swedish folklore, Elizabethan songs and opera. While she was best known i ...

and guitarist

Ulrik Neumann Ulrik Neumann (23 October 1918 – 28 June 1994) was a Danish film actor and musician. He appeared in 19 films between 1940 and 1966. Ulrik Neumann was an accomplished guitar player. From 1959 to 1961 he was a member of the trio Swe-Danes wi ...

. The group became quite successful in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

for their

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

style entertainment and also toured the United States. Asmussen also worked with

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

, and

. Asmussen was invited by Ellington to play on his '' Jazz Violin Session'' recording in 1963 with

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the firs ...

and

Ray Nance Ray Willis Nance (December 10, 1913 – January 28, 1976) was an American jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer. He is best remembered for his long association with Duke Ellington and his orchestra. Early years Nance was the leader of his ow ...

. In 1966, Asmussen appeared alongside Grappelli, Stuff Smith, and

Jean-Luc Ponty Jean-Luc Ponty (born 29 September 1942) is a French jazz violinist and composer. Early life Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano. At sixteen, he was admitt ...

in a jazz ''

Violin Summit The Summit format is used in jazz to bring together performers on a particular musical instrument. Though these recordings often feature other musicians (notably a rhythm section), the main instrument is focused upon in a celebratory way. The saxo ...

'' in Switzerland that was issued as a live recording. He made an appearance at the 1967

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jaz ...

, 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. Asmussen became a

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...

on 28 February 2016. He died peacefully in his sleep on 7 February 2017, just 3 weeks before his 101st birthday. Asmussen's collection of jazz music, photographs, posters and other material is held in the

jazz collections at the University Library of Southern Denmark The Music Department at the University Library of Southern Denmark in Odense has through donations and acquisitions since 1997 achieved the status of research archive of specialised jazz studies. The Danish Jazz Center closed on 1 July 1997. Much ...

. Asmussen's son, Claus Asmussen, is a guitar player in Denmark and a former member of the band

Shu-Bi-Dua Shu•bi•dua or Shu-bi-dua is a Danish pop group that was formed in 1973 in Copenhagen, as an expansion of the group ''Passport''. Throughout their 40-year history, Shu-bi-dua changed their lineup many times, however their lead singer was with ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Plays Hot Fiddle'' (

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

, 1953) * ''Danish Imports'' with Ulrik Neumann (Warner Bros., 1961) * ''

European Encounter ''European Encounter'' is an album by American pianist and composer John Lewis and Danish violinist Svend Asmussen recorded for the Atlantic label in 1962.

'' with

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

(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) * ''The Jazz Man Hitler Failed to Silence'' (Roastin, 2011)

As sideman

* Oscar Aleman, ''Swing Guitar Masterpieces 1938–1957'' (Acoustic Disc, 1998) *

Sathima Bea Benjamin Beatrice "Sathima Bea" Benjamin (17 October 1936 – 20 August 2013) was a South African vocalist and composer, based for nearly 45 years in New York City. Early life She was born Beatrice Bertha BenjaminChinen, Nate ''The New York Times'', 29 ...

, ''A Morning in Paris'' (Enja, 1997) *

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five.Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler (2 ...

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (, 27 May 1946 – 19 April 2005), also known by his abbreviated nickname NHØP, was a Danish jazz double bassist. Biography Pedersen was born in Osted, near Roskilde, on the Danish island of Zealand, the son of ...

Ed Thigpen Edmund Leonard Thigpen (December 28, 1930 – January 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965. Thigpen also performed with the Billy Taylor trio from 1956 to 1959. Biography ...

, ''Prize/Winners'' (Matrix, 1978) *

, '' Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1976) *

David Grisman David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

, ''Svingin' with Svend'' (Zebra Acoustic, 1988) *

L. Subramaniam Lakshminarayana Subramaniam (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music. Early years Subramaniam was born in Madras, Madras Presidency, Br ...

, ''Garland'' (Storyville, 1982)

References

Sources * * Notes

External links

The Jazz collections at the University Library of Southern Denmark

AllMusic Biography by Scott Yanow

Svend Asmussen: Phenomenal Jazz Fiddler by Richard J. Brooks

Svend Asmussen
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asmussen, Svend 1916 births 2017 deaths Danish jazz violinists Male violinists Musicians from Copenhagen Danish centenarians Male jazz musicians Swe-Danes members Storyville Records artists Sonet Records artists Men centenarians Arbors Records artists