Home » Jazz Articles » Take Five With... » Take Five With Jens Larsen
Take Five With Jens Larsen
Danish Guitarist Jens Larsen took up playing guitar at the age of 12. Fascinated by jazz, he decided to first study in Copenhagen and later to leave for the Netherlands to study and later graduate cum laude from the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. He is now active working as a guitarist, composer and arranger in The Netherlands and performing with Tr?ben throughout Europe.
His intelligent style of playing is in perfect balance with the necessary emotion and energy that is needed when making music. Not only his playing but also his compositions leave a major imprint on the sound of Tr?ben.
He has played and recorded with
Michael Brecker
saxophone, tenor1949 - 2007
John Engels
drumsb.1935
Slide Hampton
trombone1932 - 2021
John Abercrombie
guitar1944 - 2017
Instrument(s):
Guitar.
Teachers and/or influences?
After some years of lessons in classical guitar, I started to take lessons from Jens Kokholm while studying mathematics at the University of Aarhus. Later, I realized that I wanted to learn jazz and, after moving to Copenhagen, began studying with Morten Kargaard and Bjarne Roupe. In 1998 I moved to The Hague, in The Netherlands, to start my study at the Royal Conservatory. While I was there I had the chance to study with Peter Nieuwerf, Wim Bronnenberg and Eef Albers.
Besides all my guitar teachers, I have always found that I learned a lot from all the people I had the chance to play with, speaking and playing with different bassists, pianists, drummers and singers have shaped and influenced my playing just as much—if not more—than my lessons.
A similar thing could be said about learning other styles than jazz. While I love the jazz tradition, I have also found a lot of inspiration in checking out for example African and Brazilian music or listening to a lot of pop and rock music.
I knew I wanted to be a musician when...
I realized that some of the people I was jamming with wanted to be musicians and thought they could; I figured, then, I could do so, too. Turns out that we all could.
Your sound and approach to music:
With my music and my band, Tr?ben, we are exploring what we can do to make jazz music where the song as a whole has meaning. To me, a lot of jazz music I listen to is great, but the form as a whole is a bit chopped up, going from one solo to another, with the story in the whole song getting lost a bit. That does not have to be bad; a lot of my favorite records are like that, but we wanted to try something else.
Road story: Your best or worst experience:
Going to Tunisia to play at the Queens Day celebration. We were supposed to play at a party at the Embassy and ended up only playing the national anthem once, because of an accident back in the Netherlands that got everything cancelled.
Favorite venue:
There are a lot of nice places that I have had the pleasure of playing. From bigger festivals like North Sea, Copenhagen Jazz and Jazz in Duketown to small clubs run by people who love the music like Jazzzolder in Belgium, or Jazz at the Crow in Eindhoven. They are very different, but I have had more good experiences than bad, and I am very grateful for that!
Your favorite recording in your discography and why?
Tr?ben , Push. Mainly because it is a band consisting of friends who are also people I've worked with a long time, so we were very happy with the recording, and it has been very well received.
Another very important aspect is that I wrote a lot of the music and it is the first time I got to do that for a record.
The first Jazz album I bought was:
A
Charlie Parker
saxophone, alto1920 - 1955
Jimi Hendrix
guitar, electric1942 - 1970
Stevie Ray Vaughan
guitar1954 - 1990
What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically?
I don't know what I am contributing, I think that is more for other people to decide. I have recently become aware that I feel so much more inspired by seeing live music, so I hope to get more time to go see some concerts in the coming months or years!
CDs you are listening to now:
Andrés Thór, Mónókróm.
Desert Island picks:
Wayne Shorter
saxophone1933 - 2023
Kurt Rosenwinkel
guitarb.1970
Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
Keith Jarrett
pianob.1945
How would you describe the state of jazz today?
Jazz like all arts is struggling, but it seems to me that all arts were always struggling. I hope that in my creative career choice I will prove creative enough to also make a living. I have been so far.
What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing?
Getting the music out there and trying to keep the interest going. Keeping the music relevant by trying to write and perform in a way that is relevant today. Teaching is essential since, to me anyway, I can help students feel the fun of playing with other people and jazz is the style of music with the most room for communication.
What is in the near future?
With Tr?ben, we are planning a tour in Scandinavia and, of course, we plan to keep playing concerts in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. We are also starting to prepare the next Tr?ben CD.
Photo Credit
Harry Kes
Tags
Jens Larsen
Take Five With...
Michael Brecker
John Engels
Slide Hampton
John Abercrombie
Charlie Parker
Jimi Hendrix
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Wayne Shorter
Kurt Rosenwinkel
Miles Davis
Keith Jarrett
Comments
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Support All About Jazz
All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.
Go Ad Free!
To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.Showcase
Buy Now
Featured
Carnaval - The Songs Were So Beautiful
By Antonio Adolfo buy
Darwin AI: Surivior Choice
By Alex Otey buyGiveaway
