Jens Jefsen

Bio Jens Jefsen has been one of northern Europe's most prominent jazz bassists since the 1970s. Born 1946 in Bov, on the Jutland peninsula in southern Denmark, he studied to be a piano tuner before turning to the study of music. In 1969, he enrolled in the Royal Conservatory of Music in the city of Aarhus, studying the double bass (aka the upright bass, as very distinct from the now much more familiar bass guitar). He graduated in 1973 and quickly developed a following with his personal style of playing, and went on to perform with a vast array of musicians, both from Denmark and those visiting from America, including Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, Ben Webster, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Clark Terry, Zoot Sims, and Al Cohn. He has also worked in contemporary jazz going into the new century, collaborating with Bob Rockwell, Thomas Clausen, Alex Riel, Bob Mintzer, Jerry Bergonzi and Lars Jansson among numerous others. Apart from his performing work, he also teaches bass at the Royal Conservatory's department of non-classical music in Aarhus, where he has resided since 1969. As of 2023, he has had at least ten CDs of his own work out. He has also participated in two movies, played for many years with all of Denmark's beloved Povl Dissing and Benny Andersen and is now a member of a band called 'Hymner og Ukrudt', which pays tribute to both aforementioned artists. Jens Jefsen is a subject of a short film, Svantes Viser from 2006. ~ Bruce Eder, Ravi