Svend Asmussen is a Danish phenomenon. A household name in his own country, and Stéphane Grappelli’s favorite violinist, Asmussen has played violin with such greats as Fats Waller, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, John Lewis, and Toots Thielemans. Here Asmussen plays in front of a string orchestra accompanied by a jazz rhythm section. Actually, Svend is the string orchestra, overdubbing all the violin and cello voices. The pieces move in and out of classical, traditional, and jazz interpretations with Asmussen playing the seldom-heard tenor violin on several of the pieces. Men’s Living Joy and Präludium II are from J. S. Bach with the first moving into a 6/4 blues and the second exchanging rock and swing rhythms. Most will recognize A. Borodin’s danse de juenes filles as the pop hit Stranger in Paradise, played here with a lush romanticism. Ack Värmeland was transformed by Smetna into The Moldau, and Miles Davis played it as Dear Old Stockholm. Mozart’s Ah, Vous Dirais – Je Maman was popularized as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It starts off in pure classical fashion before transforming into a bouncy swing. The music is infectious fun, and Asmussen is amazing.
