ABOUT

I was born on a regular winter’s day the 10th of February 1989 in a danish coastal city by the name of Svendborg. My father and grandfather were both classical double bass players, and therefore I have always had double basses around the house. In elementary school, I started playing electric bass, and later also piano and guitar. At the age of 12, my friend Søren Nørregaard showed me some of his compositions, and with it the magic of composing music. At the age of 16, enrolling in High School (Svendborg Gymnasium), I met people the same age as me, ACTUALLY interested in jazz. Until then I had thought jazz was dull and solely for old people, but now I had found an entry point, and it didn’t take long before I fell in love with jazz music and with it, the double bass. I remember being especially fond of Bill Evans and Scott Lafaro, listening to ‘Explorations’ and ‘Waltz for Debby’ for hours on end.

Copenhagen

After graduating from high school in June 2008, my interest in music took me to Copenhagen where I started at the Frederiksberg MGK and at the same time started exploring the danish jazz scenery. That is where I first met Snorre Kirk and through him Magnus Hjorth, who by then already were very established jazz musicians. Even though they were way way ahead of me musically speaking, they gave me the chance to play with them and join their respective bands. After two years at MGK (Musikalsk Grund Kursus), I moved to Sweden, studying the jazz program at Skurups Folkhögskola, before returning to Copenhagen and enrolling at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory (RMC).

Mexico 2015

Apart from music, I have always been very interested in art, culture, and languages. This interest sparked the idea of living abroad for a while. I found the perfect place to do this in a Mexican mountainous city by the name of Xalapa. In the autumn of 2015, I enrolled in La Facultad de Música de la Universidad Veracruzana, studying under the principal double bassist of the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra, Andrzej Dechnik. In the short span of 5 months, I ended up learning so many things not only about Mexico, but also about music, language, and people, and I knew I had to someday come back…

Denmark 2016 – 2018

I released my debut album “Imagining Places I’ve Never Been” in 2017. I had been working with a chordless (no piano/guitar) quartet instrumentation for a while, and I really liked it. This album was the product of the years leading up to its release in 2017. The band had Jesper Løvdal on sax and clarinet, Tobias Wiklund on cornet, Snorre Kirk on drums, and myself on bass.

Much to my surprise, the album ended up winning the award as the best album of the year “Jazznyt Prisen 2017”, AND one of the compositions “Prairie Sunset” won me the 3rd prize as “Young Jazz Composer 2017”. I was completely blown away by how well-received this album was.

I followed up this project with something very different. It was a 6-piece suite depicting the Aztec Myth of Creation “El Quinto Sol”. The band was a sextet again with Snorre and Jesper on drums and sax/clarinet respectively. I then added Jakob Sørensen on trumpet, Raphael Gimenes on guitar, and Yohanier Ramón on percussion. I took a lot of inspiration from Mexican folklore music and classical music. One of the compositions “Tezcatlipoca” won me the prize as “Young Jazz Composer 2018”.

Mexico 2019 – 2021

Obviously, I have been very inspired by my time in Mexico, and I had always felt like I had so much more to learn. So, in January 2019 I decided to once again move back to Mexico. This time without knowing when I would be going back to Denmark. I was very fortunate to get a position as teacher at the Music Conservatory (Centro de Estudios de Jazz, Universidad Veracruzana) in Xalapa. This period in my life is one I think back on as one of the greatest in my life, getting to know all the students and musicians. I learned so much from colleagues and students and will forever be grateful to have had this opportunity. I also played in many different projects and got to know many great people and visited many incredible places.

Denmark 2021 – Now

Even though it’s been a lot of work to move to the other side of the planet and back again, it has without a doubt been worth it. So now I find myself living in Copenhagen once again, playing, composing, and teaching music.

During my career, I have been very fortunate to play with absolutely fantastic musicians, meet extremely interesting people, and visit places I never would have met, if it hadn’t been for music. For all this, I am very grateful.

DISCOGRAPHY

Lasse Mørck – Imagining Places No One’s Probably Ever Been (March 2023)

Tobias Wiklund – Silver Needle 2022

Niclas Bardeleben – New Orleans in my Heart, Copenhagen in my Blood 2020

B-Bike-Sun-Tree – Robo Nui 2020

Ramiro Gonzalez – Mexican Pavillion 2019

Tobias Wiklund – Where the Spirits Eat 2019

Sidsel Storm – Awake 2019

Lasse Mørck – The Aztec Creation Myth Suite 2018

Snorre Kirk – Beat 2018

Lasse Mørck Quartet – Imagining Places I’ve Never Been 2017

Snorre Kirk – Drummer & Composer 2017

Per Thornberg – Lines for Lage 2016

Snorre Kirk – Europa 2015

Magnus Hjorth Trio – Blue Interval 2014

RECOGNITION

Young Danish Jazz Composer 2018 1st prize winner for the composition Tezcatlipoca from the album The Aztec Creation Myth Suite.

Winner of the Jazznyt Prisen 2017 for the album: Imagining Places I’ve Never Been

Young Danish Jazz Composer 2017 3rd spot winner for the composition Prairie Sunset.

Young Danish Jazz Composer 2012 finalist for the composition Backyard Bump.

Reciever of several grands, including Beckett Fonden, Fonden af 1989 & Nordea-fonden.