Niels-henning ørsted pedersen biography

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, (May 27, &#; April 19, ) was a Danish jazz double bassist known for his impressive technique and an approach that could be considered an extension of the innovative work of Scott LaFaro. Born in Osted, near Roskilde, on the Danish island of Zealand, Pedersen was known as The Great Dane with the Never-Ending Name, or sometimes simply as NHØP. As a child, Pedersen played piano. As a teenager he started learning to play double-bass and at the age of 14, while studying, he began his professional jazz career in Denmark with his first band, Jazzkvintet 60 (Danish for ‘Jazz Quintet 60′). Later on, he was engaged as the regular bassist at Copenhagen’s Jazzhus Montmartre. At 17, he had already turned down an offer to join the Count Basie orchestra, mainly because he was too young to get legal permission to live and work as a musician in America. During the s, Pedersen played with several important American jazzmen who were touring or resident in Denmark, includ

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Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen: Danish Bass Virtuoso

His full name was Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, so everyone called him NHØP. Colleagues in the jazz world called him one of the best and most versatile bass players in the business.

The Danish musician, who studied piano as a child, first picked up the double bass when he was Within a couple of years, he was backing world-class visiting artists like Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon at the Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen. Count Basie offered him a job in , but he had to turn it down because he was only 17 and therefore too young for an American work visa.

Bill Evans brought Pedersen on the Danish leg of his tour in , as did Jean-Luc Ponty, Dizzy Gillespie, and Ella Fitzgerald. One of his trickiest gigs was playing with pianist Oscar Peterson, notoriously fleet of finger. Pedersen was up for the challenge: he had some of the fastest fingers ever to pluck the strings of an upright bass, and critics compared his technique to virtuo

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Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, 58; Jazz Bassist of Agile Invention

Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, the Danish bassist whose virtuosity and flawless sense of time made him a favorite accompanist for many of the leading names in jazz, most notably pianist Oscar Peterson, has died. He was

Orsted Pedersen, known as NHOP for his lengthy name, died Tuesday at his home in Ishoj, south of Copenhagen, his manager told Danish media. The cause of death was not announced.

Born in Osted, Denmark, Orsted Pedersen learned piano as a child but switched to double bass at an early age. By his mid-teens he was astonishingly proficient and was a fixture in the house band at Copenhagen’s legendary Montmartre jazz club. While still a teenager, he was offered an opportunity to come to the United States to play in Count Basie’s band but was unable to get a work permit.

Through the s, word of his prowess spread and he became a sought-after sideman for American jazzmen playing in Scandinavia. Before he w