Jens Winther
Encyclopedia
Jens Winther was a Danish
jazz
trumpeter, composer
, arranger and bandleader
. He composed for and played in a long line of Europe
an big bands and other orchestras. His work includes compositions for symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles and choir
s. As a bandleader
, he was noted on the international
Jazz scene
with his JW European Quartet (originally a quintet), particularly since 2007. In 2008, he founded the fusion
band
JW Electrazz. From 2009, he was based in Berlin
, Germany
.
Jens Winther was born in Næstved, Denmark, in 1960. When aged 10 he started to play the trumpet and at 18, he moved to Copenhagen
to become a professional freelance trumpeter, playing with such bands as the New Jungle Orchestra, the Erling Kroner Tentet
, Candentia Nova Danica and Ernie Wilkins' Almost Big Band
. In 1982, he became a solo trumpeter in the DR Big Band
and from 1985 he also started to compose for it.
In 1989, Winther left the Big Band and moved to New York City
after receiving an invitation to join the two-year Jazz Composer’s Workshop under the direction of Bob Brookmeyer
. At the same time, he worked as a freelance trumpeter, playing with groups and musicians such as the Toshiko Akiyoshi Band
, Eddie Palmieri
, Kenny Barron
, Max Roach
, Tito Puente
, Marie Bauza Orchestra
, George Mraz
and Xavier Cugat Orchestra
.
In 1991, after the end of the workshop, he returned to Denmark. Subsequently he composed for numerous European big bands, mainly in the Nordic countries and Germany, as well as other orchestras and was a trumpeter in various constallations, including in his own band Jens Winther Group. On 5 May 1994, his first trumpet concerto
for symphony orchestra, Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, was performed for the first time. In 1998, he toured with George Gruntz
's concert band. On 29 April 1999, Winther and the Århus Symphony Orchestra performed his second trumpet concerto,The Eagle, for the first time in Århus Musikhus. He also collaborated with the Metropole Orchestra in the Netherlands on a number of occasions.
In 2007, he experienced an international breakthrough with his JZ European Quintet and went on a worldwide tour which included America
, Canada
, Australia
and China
. In 2008, he formed the fusion band JW Electrazz which had its world premiere on 22 March in Copenhagen Jazzhouse. In 2009, he moved to Berlin
, Germany, and formed the JW Berlin Quintet.
Winther died on February 24, 2011 reportedly from a stroke in his sleep.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trumpeter, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, arranger and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
. He composed for and played in a long line of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an big bands and other orchestras. His work includes compositions for symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles and choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
s. As a bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
, he was noted on the international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
Jazz scene
Scene
- Arts and media :* Scene , an element of a larger fictional work such as a play* Scene , a part of action in a single location in a TV or movie, composed of a series of shots* Scene , a BBC drama anthology for teenagers...
with his JW European Quartet (originally a quintet), particularly since 2007. In 2008, he founded the fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
JW Electrazz. From 2009, he was based in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Jens Winther was born in Næstved, Denmark, in 1960. When aged 10 he started to play the trumpet and at 18, he moved to Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
to become a professional freelance trumpeter, playing with such bands as the New Jungle Orchestra, the Erling Kroner Tentet
Erling Kroner
Erling Kroner was a Danish trombonist and bandleader.Kroner was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, but gained music education at Berklee College of Music in Boston during 1969–70 and 1973–74, though he played professionally as early as 1961, amongst others in Germany in the Dixieland Stompers...
, Candentia Nova Danica and Ernie Wilkins' Almost Big Band
Ernie Wilkins
Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. was a jazz arranger and writer who also played tenor saxophone. He might be best known for his work with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie...
. In 1982, he became a solo trumpeter in the DR Big Band
DR Big Band
The Danish Radio Big Band , often referred to as the Radioens Big Band is a jazz big band founded in Copenhagen in 1964, when the Copenhagen jazz scene was particularly active, and the city was regularly visited by prominent jazz artists from the USA.- Band history :Originally called The New Radio...
and from 1985 he also started to compose for it.
In 1989, Winther left the Big Band and moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
after receiving an invitation to join the two-year Jazz Composer’s Workshop under the direction of Bob Brookmeyer
Bob Brookmeyer
Robert Brookmeyer is an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer.-Biography:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre...
. At the same time, he worked as a freelance trumpeter, playing with groups and musicians such as the Toshiko Akiyoshi Band
Toshiko Akiyoshi
is a Japanese American jazz pianist, composer/arranger and bandleader. Among a very few successful female instrumentalists of her generation in jazz, she is also recognized as a major figure in jazz composition. She has received 14 Grammy nominations, and she was the first woman to win the Best...
, Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri , is a Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican pianist, bandleader and musician, best known for combining jazz piano and instrumental solos with Latin rhythms.-Early years:...
, Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
, Tito Puente
Tito Puente
Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
, Marie Bauza Orchestra
Mario Bauza
Mario Bauzá was an important Cuban musician. He was one of the first to introduce Latin music to the United States by bringing Cuban musical styles into the New York jazz scene...
, George Mraz
George Mraz
George Mraz is a jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and has worked with Stan Getz, Tommy Flanagan, Chet Baker and many other important jazz musicians...
and Xavier Cugat Orchestra
Xavier Cugat
Xavier Cugat was a Spanish-American bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a key personality in the spread of Latin music in United States popular music. He was also a cartoonist and a successful businessman...
.
In 1991, after the end of the workshop, he returned to Denmark. Subsequently he composed for numerous European big bands, mainly in the Nordic countries and Germany, as well as other orchestras and was a trumpeter in various constallations, including in his own band Jens Winther Group. On 5 May 1994, his first trumpet concerto
Trumpet concerto
A trumpet concerto is a concerto for solo trumpet and instrumental ensemble, customarily the orchestra. Such works have been written from the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
for symphony orchestra, Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, was performed for the first time. In 1998, he toured with George Gruntz
George Gruntz
George Gruntz is a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist and composer most noteworthy for his work with artists such as Phil Woods, Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin and Mel Lewis.From 1972 to 1994 he served as artistic director for...
's concert band. On 29 April 1999, Winther and the Århus Symphony Orchestra performed his second trumpet concerto,The Eagle, for the first time in Århus Musikhus. He also collaborated with the Metropole Orchestra in the Netherlands on a number of occasions.
In 2007, he experienced an international breakthrough with his JZ European Quintet and went on a worldwide tour which included America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. In 2008, he formed the fusion band JW Electrazz which had its world premiere on 22 March in Copenhagen Jazzhouse. In 2009, he moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany, and formed the JW Berlin Quintet.
Winther died on February 24, 2011 reportedly from a stroke in his sleep.
Awards
- 1982: Sonning's Music Grant
- 1983: Elected as the Danish representative in the European Youth Jazz Orchestra.
- 1987 Ben Webster PrizeBen Webster PrizeThe Ben Webster Prize is an annual jazz award set up by the Ben Webster Foundation to honour Danish and American Jazz musicians as well as other professionals active in the promotion of jazz in those countries. The American jazz musician Ben Webster spent his last ten years in Copenhagen, Denmark,...
- 1999: 2nd prize in the International Competition of Jazz Themes, Monaco
- 1998: Award from the Danish National Art Foundation for the Album "The Escape"
- 1990: 1st prize in the International Competition of Jazz Themes, Monaco
- 1991: 1st prize in the International Competition of Jazz Themes, Monaco
- 1992: 3-year scholarship as a composer from the Danish National Art Foundation
- 1995 Honorary Award from the organisation of Danish Jazz, Beat and Folk Authors
- * Danish Grammy for the best Danish Jazzrecording of the year
- 1996: 1st prize in the International Competition of Jazz Themes, Monaco (First time ever a musician has won the prize three times)
- 2009: Lifelong grant from the Danish Arts Foundation