Simon Cato Spang-Hanssen Musician

Updated: January 7, 2024

Born: April 13, 1955

1955

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark on April 13th

1970

Starts playing alto-saxophone, later also tenor and soprano

1976

Member of ”Strange Brothers” with Peter Danstrup , Ole Rømer and John Tchicai.

1978

Receives the annual Ben Webster Price and creates his own quartet “Spacetrain” with Ben Besiakov, Jesper Lundgaard and Alex Riel.

1979

Plays in many different groups with among others: Jan Kaspersen, Pierre Doerge, Marilyn Mazur, Atilla Engin, Okay Temiz, Mozar Terra, Chuim, Jesper Zeuthen,the Voodoo Gang….

1983

Joins the sextet of Brazilian drummer and composer Nenê, tours in Denmark and France (double-concertsl with Hermeto Pascoal e Grupo).

1985

Moves to Paris and plays with a.o.: Denis Badault ( National Jazz Orch.,quartet,duo,) Andy Emler, Nguyên Lê, Quintet Moutin, Ramuntcho Matta, Edouard Ferlet and with his own projects including musicians such as: Richard Bona, Billy Hart,Niels Lan Doky, J.F. Jenny-Clarke, Bojan Z., Alain Jean-Marie, Simon Goubert,Xavier Desandre, Mariane Bitran…

1995

Release of ”Mardi Gras, Chez Toi” and creation of ”Maaneklar” (a quintet with sax,flute, bass and two percussionists).

Release of”Ekwata”, duo with D. Badault.

1998

Moves back to Copenhagen and creates the tentet ”Central Earth” with among others: Poul Reimann,Fredrik Lundin, Bjarne Roupé, Marc Davis, Anders Mogensen…records ”Wondering” with Maaneklar for Dacapo.

1999

Concerts and recording with a new quartet with Thomas Clausen, Jesper Lundgaard and Billy Hart.( ”Identified” Dacapo ).

First performances with ”Ear Witness” with Emil Spányi, ,Linley Marthe and Felix Sabal-Lecco.

2000

Creation of ”Flower Machine” with Thomas Agergaard, Klavs Hovman and Marilyn Mazur.

2001

Concerts in quintet with a.o. Anders Bergcrantz and Kasper Villaume.

2002

“French Quartet” with Franck Tortiller, Yves Torchinsky and Francois Laizeau ( ”Noctiflore” Altrisuoni ). Release of ”Dancing on Monday” with Flower Machine. Member of the ”United Notions” saxophone-quartet.

2003

Release of ”Ear Witness” and ”Live in Copenhagen Jazzhouse” w. Central Earth (Music Mecca ).

2005

New 5-tet with Bob Rockwell, Peter Dahlgren, Jeppe Skovbakke/ Yasser Pino and Karsten Bagge .

”Rainbow Spirit” with Dawda Jobarteh, Thomas Fonnesbech and Ayi Solomon.

2006

Member of Edouard Ferlet’s ”l’Echarpe d’Iris” with Alain Grange and Xavier Desandre. New octet-version of ”Maaneklar” with a.o. Kristian Jørgensen, Bent Clausen, Benita Haastrup, Mariane Bitran…Member of Emil Hess “Evolution Nonet”. Quartet with Mario Canonge, Michel Zenino and Tony Rabeson. Member of Niels Praestholms “EMBLA”.

2007

Start of the record label Alisio ( Spangster Records), release of Rainbow Spirit and ”Coexistence” with the 5-tet. Member of Alain Apaloo’s “API PIPO”.

2008

release of “The Riddle” with Ear Witness. Live-recording in Copenhagen Jazzhouse with “MAANEKLAR XL”. Nominations for Danish Jazz Awards: Composer of the Year, Album of the year: Coexistence, cross-over album of the year : Rainbow Spirit.

Take Five With Simon Spang-Hanssen

by Simon Spang-Hanssen
May 13, 2013

Meet Simon Spang-Hanssen:First concerts in 1976 with John Tchicai and Strange Brothers, later also with Ben Besiakov, Jesper Lundgaard, Alex Riel, New Jungle Orchestra, Jan Kaspersen, Mozar Terra, Doug Raney.In Paris, from 1985-98: Orchestra National de Jazz, Denis Badault, Andy Emler, Nguyên Lê, Quintet Moutin, Ramuntcho Matta, Edouard Ferlet.Since 1998, mainly leader of my own ensembles with, amongst others, Kristian Joergensen, Bob Rockwell, Marilyn Mazur,Linley Marthe, Dawda Jobarteh, Thomas Fonnesbech, Mariane Bitran, Xavier Desandre, ...

331

Album Review

Simon Spang-Hanssen: Ear Witness

Read "Ear Witness" reviewed by Annika Westman

by Annika Westman
October 21, 2005

Ear Witness--whose members are from Denmark, Hungary, Mauritius, and Cameroon--is not exactly your average jazz quartet. To be a bit more precise, let's call this music what it is: funky fusion. Ear Witness is one of Danish saxophonist Simon Spang-Hanssen's many projects, and he wrote eight of its pieces (the ninth is a group composition). Each song has a catchy theme, which is one of Spang-Hanssen's trademarks. Sometimes they're almost too catchy for me, since they have a tendency to ...

206

Album Review

Simon Spang-Hanssen Quartet: Noctiflore

Read "Noctiflore" reviewed by Annika Westman

by Annika Westman
October 20, 2005

After having listened through Noctiflore several times under various circumstances, I bathed my ears properly in it one afternoon. There is no other remedy as good as an ear bath! To sit or lie comfortably with your eyes closed and disperse your ears into music, at a reasonably loud volume, with nothing else happening except the musical movements. Remedy for what? Well, I'd say for just about anything. There's not much in this world that can't be cured by one ...

188

Album Review

Simon Spang-Hanssen & Maneklar: Wondering

by Glenn Astarita
May 1, 1999

Wondering, is a new release from the fine Denmark based record label, “Dacapo Records”. Danish jazz is alive and well while making gainful commercial and artistic strides within the International Modern Jazz scene. On Wondering, saxophonist Simon Spang-Hanssen with his group, “Maneklar” parallel Denmark’s beloved “New Jungle Orchestra” with the incorporation of cross-cultural rhythmic elements along with, East meets West slants and motifs.

Simon Spang-Hanssen is a very impressive technician whether performing on alto or soprano sax. Simply put, this ...

"One has a clear sense of continuous intensety and inner glow when the saxophone- player Simon Spang-Hanssen is onstage. " Kjeld Frandsen , Berlinske Tidende (DK)

"Simon Spang-Hanssen, tenor & soprano saxophone, whose imagination seems unexhaustible..." Michel Contat , Telerama ( FR )

"He makes you think of Johnny Griffin because of the vélocity and the impatience, Dexter Gordon because of a sort of half-feinted nonchalance , immediately contradicted by his George Adams side ( a certain way of transgressing the references by lyricism and excess )" Franck Bergerot , Jazz Hot ( FR )

"One has a clear sense of continuous intensety and inner glow when the saxophone- player Simon Spang-Hanssen is onstage. " Kjeld Frandsen , Berlinske Tidende (DK)

"Simon Spang-Hanssen, tenor & soprano saxophone, whose imagination seems unexhaustible..." Michel Contat , Telerama ( FR )

" Simon Spang-Hanssen is a very impressive technician whether performing on alto or soprano-sax. Simply put, this guy can play ! .."Wondering" is yet further evidence of an enormously talented conglomerate of Danish Jazz musicians who are willing to take chances yet produce music that is surprisingly accessible." Glenn Astarita allaboutjazz ”

…is in incredible shape, and in both ”Trinity Blues” and ”Flip Fool” his playing almost makes you think of Sonny Rollins: energy and imagination seems unlimited” Joergen Siegumfeldt (Berlingske Tidende, DK )

" and yes, “our man” provides his best, as well as when he makes you think of Ornette Coleman in Marocco (on soprano), plays the flute with reminiscences of Abdullah Ibrahim, or is simply himself”. Flemming Olsen ( Jazz Special sept. o8 ) « Simon Spang-Hanssen possesses the art of enthousiasming himself and his fellow musicians.... » Frank Buchmann-Moeller ( Fynsk Stiftstidende, DK )

” The soprano finds its own sound, profound, sometimes enchanting, with the particular lyricism that is special for small-bodied instruments (and one notices a touching kinship with the harmonica of TootsThielemans in “Lady Love”. “ Yvan Amar ( Jazzman, France )

“Spang-Hanssen places himself in a sort of post-bop tradition; and his playing, while staying highly personal, evokes that of grand masters like Coltrane, Rollins or Lacy.” Sylvain Siclier ( Jazz Man , France )

“An ardent European saxophonist, with a Texan sound, round, fleshy and with a passionate phrasing.” Michel Contat ( Telerama, France ) ABOUT “Central Earth” live and CD (“South of Nowhere SPCD 001)

“Saxophonist Simon Spang-Hanssen is a composer of remarkable originality. Undoubtedly colored by his collaboration with a large spectrum of musicians during his long stay in Paris, the pieces had either African, Middle-Eastern or orthodox jazz- accents, without, at any point, giving the impression of being exercises in style. And- not least important- in a way so that appeared to have the melodic element as a determinating factor for the formal structure. At the same time the ethnic imprint was not so strong as to mask the basic jazz-roots of Spang-Hanssen: the final tune “Dexterism” was a vital, almost fiftyish classic blues and others were more or less modeled on the A-A-B-A form of American song-tradition.” Thorbjoern Sjoegren , ( Politiken, DK )

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Primary Instrument

Saxophone

Location

Copenhagen

Clinic/Workshop Information

Ensemble-playing. Based on a series of originals the students( all levels ) works with interpretation, form , section-work, creativity, spontaneous arrangements, reading, understanding of structure, sound, improvisation... Ideally the clinic runs for a couple of days and end with a concert.

"Rhythmic Music Conservatory", Copenhagen ,the Fyen Conservatory, music-schools in Sønderborg, Brandbjerg(Denmark )... Clinics in Grenoble,Rouen, Montpellier (France ), Mexico D.C.

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Simon Cato Spang-Hanssen

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