Mads Vinding

Long regarded among Europe’s premier jazz bassists, Mads Vinding, who hails from Denmark, has performed alongside luminaries including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Gary Burton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bob Brookmeyer. Entirely self-taught, he turned professional by sixteen. For years he anchored the rhythm section at Copenhagen’s Montmartre club, supporting a steady stream of celebrated American guests. Sideman dates began appearing on disc in the late sixties; one such session paired him with bebop pianist Duke Jordan in 1974. The same year he led his own date, issuing Danish Design on Sonet. From 1978 he held a chair in Radioens Big Band, and from 1980 he worked with Ernie Wilkins’ Almost Big Band. Throughout the eighties he recorded and toured with pianist Kenny Drew, flugelhornist Art Farmer, pianist Herbie Hancock, guitarist Doug Raney, and others. Alongside drummer Billy Hart he belonged to the Hank Jones-led ensemble known as the Great Jazz Trio, which documented several albums in the late eighties and early nineties. The nineties found him equally busy, appearing on recordings with saxophonist Jesper Thilo, pianist Martial Solal, and additional partners. Toward the decade’s end he stepped forward more frequently as a leader. In 1997 he assembled the Mads Vinding Trio, recruiting fellow Dane Alex Riel on drums and Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi; that lineup cut The Kingdom Where Nobody Dies for Stunt Records. Later editions of the trio replaced Pieranunzi with Roger Kellaway and Carsten Dahl. Vinding’s output remains prodigious—he estimates more than six hundred sessions—and he has collected numerous European jazz honors. Beyond performance and recording, he has also written scores for film.