Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen

Niels -Henning Ørsted Pedersen ( NHØP ) ( born May 27, 1946 in Osted, Denmark, † 19 April, 2005 Ishøj, Denmark) was a Danish jazz bassist and one of the most sought-after instrumentalists. He was known in particular for its flawless, seemingly handicapped by any technical limitations virtuosity on the bulky double bass. This was, among other things on his special technique, the "four- finger technique " due, so he was ahead of his time. Because of its long and unwieldy name he used also pleased to offer the abbreviation " NHØP ". From colleagues, he was sometimes referred to as "the great dane with the never -ending name" ( the Great Dane with the endless name, " great dane " means in English but also German mastiff).

Life and work

Niels -Henning Ørsted Pedersen was the son of a teacher at a community college. After Ørsted Pedersen had initially learned piano six years, he switched to bass. Since the age of 14 he played together with leading Danish jazz musicians.

Count Basie offered the only 16 -year-old to play in his orchestra. However, he opted for a commitment in the Copenhagen Jazz Club " Jazzhus Montmartre " and was a member of the Danish Radio Orchestra. Also in the future he beat all offers of a permanent residency in the United States.

In the 1960s, he was in demand as a touring musicians, especially American jazz musicians such as Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, Dexter Gordon, Joe Pass, Ben Webster or Bud Powell. In the 1970s, Niels -Henning Ørsted Pedersen began an ongoing collaboration with pianist Oscar Peterson. The bassist Ray Brown recommended him Oscar Peterson: "It's the only one I know who can possibly keep up with you." Also at this time he started a career as a soloist and bandleader.

Since the 1980s Ørsted Pedersen worked closely with pianist Kenny Drew, with whom he especially enjoyed great success in Japan until his death in 1993. In 1991 he made with his childhood friend and long-time conductor of Danmarks Radio Bigband, Ole Kock Hansen, a series of in Denmark acclaimed jazz variations of Danish folk songs out. He then founded together with the Swedish guitarist Ulf Wakenius and guest musicians the NHØP Trio, with whom he completed numerous tours and recordings produced on recordings. Ørsted Pedersen taught at Rytmisk of Music in Copenhagen.

Two months before his death he gave in Vienna his last recorded concert. Also present were Árni Egilsson and Wayne Darling on bass, and the pianist Fritz Pauer and drummer John Hollenbeck. He died on 19 April 2005 at his home in Ishøj at Copenhagen of heart failure and left behind his wife Solveig and three children.

Disco Graphical Notes

Niels -Henning Ørsted Pedersen has the following LPs and CDs released, among other things, or participated in these:

• Duo (1973, with Kenny Drew )
• The Good Life (1973, with Joe Pass and Oscar Peterson )
• The Trio (1974, Live in Chicago with Joe Pass and Oscar Peterson )
• Jaywalkin ' (1975 )
• Double Bass 1976 ( with Sam Jones)
• Pictures 1976 ( with Kenneth Knudsen )
• Trio 1, and Trio 2 (1977, with Philip Catherine and Billy Hart)
• Chops (1978 with Joe Pass )
• Tania Maria ( 1978)
• Tivoli Gardens (1979) ( with Joe Pass and Stéphane Grappelli )
• Tania Maria & Niels -Henning Ørsted Pedersen ( 1979)
• Dancing on the tables (1979, with Dave Liebman, John Scofield and Billy Hart)
• Eximious (1982, with Joe Pass and Martin Drew )
• The Eternal Traveller ( 1984)
• Heart to Heart (1986, with Palle Mikkel Borg and Kenneth Knudsen )
• Melo Perquana, (1988, Olufsen ), with Atilla Engin
• Hommage / Once Upon a Time (1990, with Palle Mikkel Borg )
• Uncharted Country (1992 )
• Ambiance (1993, with Danmarks Radios Big Band )
• Åh Abe (1993 )
• To a Brother ( 1993)
• Mostly Elegies (1995, with Dick Hyman )
• Those Who Were (1996 )
• Friends Forever (1997)
• A Summer Night in Munich ( 1998), with Oscar Peterson, Ulf Wakenius, Martin Drew
• This Is All I Ask (1998)
• In the Name of Music (1998, with Trio Rococo )
• The Duets (1999, with Mulgrew Miller)
• Stephane Grappelli Tribute to (2001, with Didier Lockwood and Biréli Lagrène )
• Friends Forever (2005, commemorative production, 2 CDs)

Honors

Niels Henning Ørsted Pedersen received three times the price as "Best Bassist of the Year" of the international jazz magazine Down Beat and 1991 the price of music Nordisk Råd.