Svend Asmussen (28 February 1916 – 7 February 2017) was a Danish jazz violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking". A Swing style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many of the other jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Stephane Grappelli. He played publicly until 2010 when he had a blood clot, his career having spanned eight decades.

Asmussen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, was raised in a musical family, and started taking violin lessons at the age of seven. Aged 16 he first heard recordings by jazz violinist Joe Venuti and began to emulate his style. He started working professionally as a violinist, vibraphonist, and singer at age 17, leaving his formal training behind for good. Early in his career he worked in Denmark and on cruise ships, with artists such as Josephine Baker and Fats Waller. Asmussen later was greatly influenced by Stuff Smith, whom he met in Denmark. Asmussen played with Valdemar Eiberg and Kjeld Bonfils during World War II, during which time jazz had moved to the underground and served as a form of political protest.

In the late 1950s, Asmussen formed the trio Swe-Danes with singer Alice Babs and guitarist Ulrik Neumann. The group became quite successful in Scandinavia for their music hall style entertainment and also toured the United States. Asmussen also worked with Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, and Duke Ellington. Asmussen was invited by Ellington to play on his Jazz Violin Session recording in 1963 with Stéphane Grappelli and Ray Nance.

In 1966, Asmussen appeared alongside Grappelli, Stuff Smith, and Jean-Luc Ponty in a jazz Violin Summit in Switzerland that was issued as a live recording. He made an appearance at the 1967 Monterey Jazz Festival, which included a celebrated violin summit with him, Ray Nance and Jean-Luc Ponty. In 1969, he guested on Snakes in a Hole, an album by the jazz-rock band Made in Sweden. He was still active playing violin at the age of 94.

Asmussen became a centenarian on 28 February 2016. He died peacefully in his sleep on 7 February 2017, just 3 weeks before his 101st birthday.

Asmussen's collection of jazz music, photographs, posters and other material is held in the jazz collections at the University Library of Southern Denmark. Asmussen's son, Claus Asmussen, is a guitar player in Denmark and a former member of the band Shu-Bi-Dua.

Source: Article "Svend Asmussen" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Svend Asmussen (28. februar 1916 – 7. februar 2017) var en dansk violinist, der mest spillede jazz, men i øvrigt spændte meget bredt.

Hans glimrende evner som entertainer kom til udtryk, når han som musiker medvirkede i revyer og kabareter. Det var også Svend Asmussen der i sin tid spottede Jørgen Ingmann. Han udgav mange grammofonplader, den første allerede i 1934. Fra 1943 og frem til 1958 optrådte han fast i Stig Lommers mange revyer. Senest optrådte han med guitaristerne Jacob Fischer og Aage Tanggaard.

I 2001 blev han æreskunstner i Østermarie på forgængeren, operasanger Tina Kibergs, forslag. Han valgte selv navnet til den lokalitet, der traditionelt opkaldes efter æreskunstneren: Svend Asmussens Sving.

Asmussens musikalske arkiv findes i dag i Jazzsamlingerne ved Syddansk Universitetsbibliotek.

Svend Asmussen var bror til tegneren Des Asmussen og far til Shu-bi-dua-musikeren Claus Asmussen. Han var gift første gang med Annegrethe Asmussen (død i 2000), med hvem han fik tre børn. I 2005 blev han gift med Ellen Bick Asmussen (Meier; f. 23. februar 1943), og de var sammen indtil hans død.

Svend Asmussen sov stille ind den 7. februar 2017 i sit hjem i Hornbæk.

Svend Asmussen est un violoniste danois (et, très accessoirement chanteur), né à Copenhague (Danemark) le 28 février 1916 et mort le 7 février 2017 à Dronningmølle. Il est surnommé «The fiddlin' Viking».

Élève violoniste dès sept ans, Svend Asmussen devient rapidement professionnel (chef d'orchestre en 1932). il enregistre en 1935, accompagnateur des Mills Brothers en 1938 pour leur tournée européenne, de Joséphine Baker la même année, de Valaida Snow en 1939, naviguant entre variétés et jazz orthodoxe, surtout après la guerre (par exemple dans le trio The Swe-Danes – avec Alice Babs - triomphe aux USA en 1959). Mais l'essentiel de son activité est vouée au jazz. Il enregistre avec de nombreux leaders prestigieux: Duke Ellington, John Lewis, Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli, Ray Nance, Stuff Smith (il affectionne les amicaux chases» de violon). Il tourne dans le monde entier, mais sa renommée dans la patrie du jazz ne dépassa jamais un cercle d'initiés.

Il s'éteint le 7 février 2017 à l'âge de 100 ans.

Son jeu emprunte à la fois à d'Eddie South et à Stuff Smith, mais il ajoute à ces influences une élégance toute personnelle, et sait agrémenter ses prestations par une humour de bon aloi et des dons de poly-instrumentiste (piano, vibraphone, guitare, contrebasse).

La seule perplexité concerne la signification des titres, parfois cauchemars typographiques tels que Jeg har så mange ønsker, Ræk mig din hånd ou Det vore synd att dö än.

Même son nom pose des problèmes, puisque 3 590 sites adoptent l'orthographe fautive: «Sven Asmussen»

Source: Article "Svend Asmussen" de Wikipédia en français, soumis à la licence CC-BY-SA 3.0.