I hope 2024 has been kind to you all so far. To me, this first month, has meant a lot of admin work. Several arts and music funds have their application deadlines in this time of year and I have spent some time writing applications and project proposals.

But there are also a few artistic projects brewing. The project I’m working on for Vendsyssel Art Museum in the north of Jutland is still in progress. It’s a continuation of my solo album U·Synlig about musical interpretations of audio descriptions of visual art. I’ll be creating sound files with double bass and they will be available along with audio descriptions at the specific art works. My aim with this project is to make visual art more accessible and I’m very grateful for the support from Statens Kunstfond.

These days I’m listening to the improvisations from the concert I played there in December. Next up is the process of making compositions based on the improvisations and then getting them recorded. Thankfully, I have a couple of months before the deadline and a lot of time on my hand.

I’m also very excited (and a bit anxious) to have been selected to play a concert series in public schools in Denmark. It’s part of Levende Musik i Skolen (Live music in schools) and these solo concerts will also build on the work from U·Synlig.

Another big project is my upcoming album with Jeff “Tain” Watts and Carl Winther. This past week the artwork for the album was decided and it’s really coming together now. On February the 2nd, the second single of the album is released. The song is called Manhattan and it’s composed by Carl Winther. Carl has a great way of composing interesting bass lines so it’s a lot of fun to play his tunes as a bass player. Especially the drum solo in the end, where Carl and I have to keep the bass line together, while Jeff “Tain” is playing some amazing stuff on top!  

Manhattan means a lot for me. That’s where I really became a jazz musician. Studying at Manhattan School of Music from 2008 to 2009. Jey Anderson was my bass teacher. Other teachers there that had a huge impact on the way I play today were Dave Liebman, Phil Markowitz, Garry Dial and Cecil Bridgewater. 

You can buy the single and listen to it immediately on Bandcamp or you can pre-save it now on your streaming service of choice and it will land directly in your library on February 2nd.