Om utgivelsen
Welcome to The Great Danish Songbook – a jazz record consisting of Danish classics
from the 1930s to the 1960s. The title has a parallel to the term The Great American
Songbook and thus a humorous little play on words, which in all modesty equates
old Danish songs with the American jazz standards. The goal of the record is to
present songs from the “Danish Song treasury” in a re-arranged mainstream swing
jazz tradition.
This nostalgic album rewinds time to Copenhagen in the 1930s; a time where there
was live jazz music on almost every street corner, and where swing jazz was both
entertainment and dance music. Together with the first Danish feature films, a large
number of songs were composed, such as ‘Jeg har elsket dig så lenge jeg kan mindes
/ I Have Loved You As Long As I Can Remember’.
In addition, many musical revue songs were popular, such as ‘Man binder os på
mund og hånd / They Tie Us Hand And Mouth’, for which the singer Liva Weel
became famous. All these songs were quickly considered Danish popular music and
soon were an important part of Denmark’s song treasure.
The melodies were often influenced by American jazz music, and went straight into
the Danish folk soul, for example the musical film ‘Forelsket i København / In Love
With Copenhagen’. Another classic is ‘Dansevise / Dance Song’, a beautiful jazz waltz
that won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1963. A common feature was the many
strong female vocalists such as Daimi Gentle who, with charm and a smile, sang
‘Jeg sætter min hat som jeg vil / I Put My Hat As I Want’ in 1967. The identical type
of strong female character is also charmingly described in ‘Tanta til Beate / Beate’s
Aunt’, a Norwegian bonus track on this album.
The Great Danish Songbook has been a great project to record, and we have enjoyed
every note with a big smile. Hope you will enjoy our Danish “hygge”.
Andreas Dreier
Musikere
Majken Christiansen - Vokal
Magne Arnesen - Piano
Andreas Dreier - Akk bass
Thorsten Ellingsen - Trommer
Lars Frank - Tenorsaxofon
