35: Welcome to Copenhagen

It’s music festival season again, a time when throngs of American jazz musicians descend on Europe, hopping from city to city and stage to stage, gathering their nuts for the cold, unforgiving and gigless winter months.

I recently spent a few days at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, performing at the Jazzhus Montmartre, interviewing local and international musicians, and exploring the scene. Along the way, I had an ongoing series of conversations with my father, Ben Sidran with whom I was performing, and who joins me here as a kind of coconspirator.

As we wandered through the heart of the city, we wondered aloud about the state of jazz education, the statelessness of popular culture today, and the future of the music. But mostly, we just walked and talked, and this episode is the result.

For me, this was more than just an exercise in journalism. It was an actual, transformative experience, captured in the moment. I’m so excited to present it now.

Stream below or download from iTunes.

Includes  Bob Mintzer and Russell Ferrante of the Yellowjackets, Ricky Peterson and Nicky Maroch of the David Sanborn band, and our own band mates Bob Rockwell and Billy Peterson. We also talked to some new friends, including pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Larry Grenadier, and met a few local jazz characters as well, like Henrick Iversen of the Ben Webster Foundation, Christian Brorsen from the Jazzhus Montmartre, and two wonderful young Danish jazz musicians. 

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