Articles by Jakob Baekgaard
Kazzrie Jaxen: The Impulse of Creation
by Jakob Baekgaard
You can walk around in life and still discover something new each day. Maybe it's something that has just appeared, like a flower that has suddenly bloomed, or maybe it's something that has been there all along, like a stone at the side of the road. It's the same thing with music, it can be discovered and rediscovered all the time. The present and past exist side by side and sometimes a forgotten past can be brought into the present. ...
read moreMary Lou Williams: Into the Zone of Music
by Jakob Baekgaard
Few musicians have embraced the entire history of jazz like Mary Lou Williams, and at the same time shaped its development compositionally and instrumentally. She brought jazz into contact with classical music and played spiritual jazz before it became hip, but she was also a treasured teacher and mentor. Mary Lou Williams was born in Atlanta, Georgia on May 8, 1910, as Mary Elfrieda Scruggs. She grew up with an absent mother who drank, and the father was ...
read moreMisty: The Music of Johnny Mathis
by Jakob Baekgaard
The following is an excerpt from the chapter “Songs for the Season: The Christmas Albums" from Jakob Baekgaard's Misty: The Music of Johnny Mathis (Sonicbond Publishing, 2022). Songs for the Season: The Christmas Albums Every music genre deserves to be treated with respect, but that isn't always the case. Christmas music seems to incarnate both the best and worst aspects of the music industry. At its worst, it's a tactless celebration of commercialism, and at its best, it has ...
read moreMichael A. Levy: From Piano to iPad
by Jakob Baekgaard
It is a common perception that artists do their most innovative work when they are young and then gradually lose the spark of innovation in favor of a refinement of an already established artistic expression. There are, however, many artists who remain curious all their life and never stop being interested in the interplay between emerging technology and artistic creation. The British painter David Hockney is one such example of an artist who, late in life, discovered the possibilities of ...
read moreCheryl Richards: Another Spring, Another Song
by Jakob Baekgaard
It can be hard to find new things to say in old songs, but after many years of singing the standards, some singers are still able to discover the secret of a song. Cheryl Richards is a shining example of a singer who has been able to prove the relevance of the standards for a modern audience. Her musical approach doesn't cater to nostalgia, but highlights a link between tradition and experiment and has been described succinctly by ...
read moreAarhus Jazz Festival 2022
by Jakob Baekgaard
Aarhus Jazz Festival Various Venues Aarhus, Denmark July 9-16, 2022 With around 283,000 citizens, jny: Aarhus is the second-largest city in Denmark, and the role of playing second fiddle doesn't suit a city that tends to be overshadowed by its big brother, the capital jny: Copenhagen. Or so you would think. In fact, the vibe in Aarhus is laid back and relaxed. It's not without reason that the city is known as the “City of ...
read moreJakob Sørensen: A New Path for the Nordic Sound
by Jakob Baekgaard
For a long time, jny: Copenhagen has been considered the jazz capital of Denmark and the myth of the storied Montmartre club has continued to flourish while the ILK collective has kept the avant-garde spirit alive. But Copenhagen isn't the only place in Denmark where musical scenes can thrive. For some time, jny: Aarhus has manifested itself with its own creative environment and label, Jaeger Community Music, and artists like singer Karmen Rõivassepp, guitarist Gorm Askjær and the band I ...
read moreBarbara Carroll: Barbara’s Piano
by Jakob Baekgaard
Every record is a moment in time, but also a musical portrait of the artist who creates it. When Barbara Carroll released the Verve album, Barbara, in 1958, it would mark a watershed moment in her personal and musical life. Her husband and close collaborator, bassist Joe Shulman, died of a heart attack the same year at 33. This was one of their last sessions together. Shulman began playing in Carroll's trio in 1949, and they married in 1954. Recorded ...
read moreHazel Scott: Swing and Silence
by Jakob Baekgaard
Ahmad Jamal is often credited with creating a new spacious sound in jazz. He had a tingling sense of touch on the piano that let each note ring profoundly and famously inspired Miles Davis to explore the effects of silence and space. It was a sound equally admired and belittled as cocktail jazz because of its relaxed sound, perfect for the clubs, but it was more than light easy listening. It was a sophisticated kind of music that married classical ...
read moreVarious Artists: The Harry Smith B-Sides
by Jakob Baekgaard
An anthology of music is a mirror of the world. It says something about a specific time, a place, a genre, a label, or the life story of an artist. But in a few rare cases, an anthology can also help shape a musical landscape. In that sense, it becomes a musical map that not only draws the lines of the past, but also leads the way into the future. Released in 1952, Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music ...
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