The annual Copenhagen Jazz Festival is soon upon us, and once again Andreas Toftemark, one of the capital’s most productive musicians, becomes a busy man.
He plays a total of 18 concerts – see andreastoftemark.com/agenda for more details.
More concerts
On the festival’s opening day, June 24, catch him with his groove band Don’t Laugh I’ve Got A Plane To Catch at Kayak Bar.
On July 3 and 4, he will perform with Benny Benack III as part of an American / dk quintet, and later the fourth for a live jam session at La Fontaine with musicians from New York.
Finally, on July 8, he performs original compositions with his Oh People Quintet as part of the Music Syndicate at Musikhuset København
Internationally coordinated
Given the Dane’s international background – he studied at both the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and the New School of Jazz in New York, as well as residing in Sweden – we thought he would be the ideal candidate to ask for recommendations over in addition to his own shows, of course!
After all, his career is taking big leaps at the moment. Recently, the Andreas Toftemark Quartet was signed to April Records.
Toftemark is also co-founder and curator of the jazz association Musik Syndikatet, which holds its own festival as part of the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in Musikhuset København.
Who inspires you?
I would say Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, St John and Lester Young. Many old names, but I think it’s a testament to how big and influential they are.
What projects have you been involved in recently?
I have my own band called Andreas Toftemark Quartet and we perform during the festival. We released an album a year ago. We have Calle Brickman on piano, Andreas Svendsen on drums and Felix Moseholm on bass – some of the greatest young jazz musicians in Copenhagen! I also work with a new jazz quintet called Oh People, which has a more traditional jazz vibe. We have Lasse Mørck on bass, Henrik Holst Hansen on drums, Casper Christensen on guitar, Jonas Due on trumpet and myself on sax.
How is your music making process?
I work on original compositions, but I do not want to describe myself as a composer. Instead, I’m a saxophonist who sometimes gets a tune stuck in my head, and then I have to write it down to get on with my day. My goal is just to always get better, and then everything around it usually comes with it.
Where are the best places to see live jazz in Copenhagen?
In Copenhagen you can go to jam sessions every night and see several concerts every day, so it is a good place to be for a jazz musician or a jazz fan. Monday you can go to Hvide Lam, Tuesday Hovmester, a new place that has live jazz, Wednesday and Friday late at night you can go to Christiania Jazzklub. On Thursdays you can always find a concert somewhere in the city. On Saturday I would recommend Galathea Inn, and on Sunday La Fontaine of course.
I would also recommend checking out Paradise Jazz, which is led by Tove Enevoldsen, the widow of Ben Jædig, a famous Danish saxophonist. She has a lot of soul.
And if you were to pick a favorite?
The Seahorse is one of my favorite bars in Copenhagen. It has a diverse, international crowd and there are always lots of young people enjoying music there.
How would you describe the Copenhagen jazz scene?
Although Copenhagen is a small place, there is a really strong scene. There’s a community of musicians here, so it’s like a family. There is a lot of history that not many other cities have and this has built a really strong foundation for what is going on now. We had musicians like Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, one of the greatest bassists of the time. There has also been a history of American jazz innovators coming to Denmark, such as Dexter Gordon and Ben Webster. These days, not many touring Americans come through Copenhagen, but I hope that changes soon.
Who would you like to see at the festival?
The festival is the busiest month of the year for most Danish jazz musicians – I play about 18 concerts in 10 days! So unfortunately or luckily I want to be so busy that I do not get to see anything, but I would have liked to have seen Herbie Hancock. He’s a great musician.
Source: The Nordic Page