The Great Danish Songbook Majken Christiansen

• 1 Dansevise 05:18
• 2 Forelsket i København 06:12
• 3 Jeg har elsket dig så længe jeg kan mindes 06:22
• 4 Glemmer du 05:15
• 5 I skovens dybe stille ro 04:04
• 6 Jeg sætter min hat som jeg vil 03:58
• 7 Hvorfor er lykken så lunefuld 05:58
• 8 Man binder os på mund og hånd 04:50
• 9 I Aften 04:50
• 10 Hvor er livet dog skont 03:00
• 11 Tanta til Beate (Bonus track) 05:07
• Total Runtime 54:54

Info for The Great Danish Songbook

Welcome to The Great Danish Songbook – a jazz record consisting of Danish classics from the 1930s to the 1960s. The title has a parallel to the term The Great American Songbook and thus a humorous little play on words, which in all modesty equates old Danish songs with the American jazz standards. The goal of the record is to present songs from the “Danish Song treasury” in a re-arranged mainstream swing jazz tradition.

This nostalgic album rewinds time to Copenhagen in the 1930s; a time where there was live jazz music on almost every street corner, and where swing jazz was both entertainment and dance music. Together with the first Danish feature films, a large number of songs were composed, such as ‘Jeg har elsket dig så lenge jeg kan mindes / I Have Loved You As Long As I Can Remember’.

In addition, many musical revue songs were popular, such as ‘Man binder os på mund og hånd / They Tie Us Hand And Mouth’, for which the singer Liva Weel became famous. All these songs were quickly considered Danish popular music and soon were an important part of Denmark’s song treasure.

The melodies were often influenced by American jazz music, and went straight into the Danish folk soul, for example the musical film ‘Forelsket i København / In Love With Copenhagen’. Another classic is ‘Dansevise / Dance Song’, a beautiful jazz waltz that won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1963. A common feature was the many strong female vocalists such as Daimi Gentle who, with charm and a smile, sang ‘Jeg sætter min hat som jeg vil / I Put My Hat As I Want’ in 1967. The identical type of strong female character is also charmingly described in ‘Tanta til Beate / Beate’s Aunt’, a Norwegian bonus track on this album.

The Great Danish Songbook has been a great project to record, and we have enjoyed every note with a big smile. Hope you will enjoy our Danish “hygge”. (Andreas Dreier)

Majken Christiansen, vocals
Magne Arnesen, piano
Andreas Dreier, double bass
Thorsten Ellingsen, drums
Lars Frank, tenor saxophone (tracks 2, 7, 9, 11)

Recorded April 4.-6. 2024 by Leif Johansen at Newtone Studio, Oslo, Norway
Mixed and mastered June 2024 by Leif Johansen
Produced by Andreas Dreier and Torstein Ellingsen
Executive producer Odd Gjelsnes

Majken Christiansen
sings revitalized jazz in the tradition of the great jazz divas, and Ella Fitzgerald will always be one of the greatest inspirational sources. Majken does her concerts with an open and updated expression, and whatever she sings, she interprets the timeless lyrics and melodies of The American Songbook with warmth, honesty and conviction.

Majken is originally from Copenhagen. She has made countless concerts, has recorded several albums and has her own Danish fan club! Since 2001, Majken has lived in Oslo, where she is a soloist with Norway's most profound big bands and military orchestras and has toured a lot for "Rikskonsertene" in Norway and China.

With such a versatile quartet from Norway, Majken Christiansen is a perfect Danish counterpart. Elegant, fun and sensitive, but also powerful as a "big fat mama". Trained as an actor and singer in Denmark, Norway and The United States, Majken has it all to reach out to an audience, be it in a theater, in a concert hall or in a small club... (Erling Wicklund, producer in NRK)

Majken Christiansen is a flexible entertainer. At events and at jazz clubs, she likes to perform in trio, quartet and quintet formats. One of her projects is with Morten Gunnar Larsen (piano) and Georg Reiss (clarinet). She is also a soloist, fronting many big bands.

In 2017 Majken made a series of major concerts in connection with the celebration of Ella Fitzgerald's 100th anniversary.

This album contains no booklet.