Niels Wilhelm Knudsen - Impulse (2018)

I began my musical journey playing electric bass in a Rock band as a teenager around 1990. Moving to Copenhagen, I started gigging with a Metal band and various wedding bands playing Pop, Soul, Funk and Salsa. By the late 90’s I stumbled across a beautiful old doublebass in a recording studio. I fell in Love with the instrument immidiately! I sold my CD collection to raise money for a doublebass, and began playing Jazz.

In the early 00’s I enrolled in Musicology studies at the University of Copenhagen, earning a Bachelor degree. This led to teaching positions at various music schools and a lot a private bass students.

Around the same time I started playing with a cover band doing Black Sabbath songs, we played a lot of shows around Denmark.

I Love a challenge and this has led me into a wide range of bands and projects over the years:

Theater work, Avantgardejazz, Gypsy Swing, Singer/Songwriter, Choirs, Country music

But since I got my hands on the double bass I have been playing a lot of Jazz … with lots of small groups, with lots of great players … This led me to finally forming my own group and start recording my own music.

I still play all kinds of music and love doing it.

1. Unreliable 04:43

2. Looking Down 07:17

3. Third Eye 04:40

4. Mojito 04:44

5. Sweet Spot 07:03

6. Comida Lenta 05:22

7. Monochrome 08:45

Niels Wilhelm Knudsen bass

Thomas Hass tenor sax

Kathrine Windfeld piano

Michael Dalgas drums

Kathrine Windfeld Big Band plays Thomas Agergaard - Black Swan (STORYVILLE RECORDS 2018)

In recent years, some of the most exciting Danish jazz has been emanating from pianist, arranger and composer Kathrine Windfeld’s Big Band. She’s been widely praised by critics, both in Denmark and abroad. However, the 32-year-old Windfeld is also generous when it comes to letting others explore the possibilities of her 5-year-old big band – in this case an extremely experienced figure on the Danish jazz scene, saxophonist and composer Thomas Agergaard, who is 23 years Windfeld’s senior.

Clearly, Agergaard’s music for Kathrine Windfeld’s Big Band has been a creative challenge for all involved. The orchestra is used to Windfeld’s meticulously worked out and prepared compositions that. With Agergaard, however, the music is often delivered spontaneously, and some of the compositions were crafted right in the studio, a whole new way for the band to work.

“Thomas writes quite differently than I do,” says Kathrine Winfeld, “with many different references to contemporary classical music, among other things, and he often goes in for the free-tonal approach, sometimes the symphonic. He works more spontaneously and thrives on the energy of the moment. This is beneficial to the music, but is also a challenge when we are so many together and have to make something work within a limited time frame.”

On this occasion Agergaard utilizes smaller units of the big band while also working brilliantly with the entire ensemble. Part of the repertoire consists of renewed preexisting compositions, such as Different Corner and the vehement Hast, while other compositions such as the ballad, Airborne Lotus, was written just before the recording was made.

Thomas Agergaard displays his high caliber as all-around soloist on alto sax and flute. At the same time, he makes room for other soloists and quirky ideas, such as having the band’s guitarist spontaneously play the mandolin during a number for the first time. All of these are elements that have strengthened Kathrine Windfeld’s Big Band. As she says herself: “It’s been exciting for the band, and not least of all for myself, to have a different kind of repertoire.”

1 Black Swan 6:44

2 Human Be Legends 5:02

3 Different Corner 7:03

4 Hast 5:57

5 Air Born Lotus 4:04

6 Opus 1 Suite, Dream Society 3:48

7 Opus 1 Suite, History Talks 5:10

8 Opus 1 Suite, Fixing Room 2:33

9 Opus 1 Suite, For Nick 3:32

10 Opus 2 Suite, Storm P 6:11

11 Opus 2 Suite, Testing 3:19

12 Opus 2 Suite, Why Why Why 3:26