Hugo Rasmussen in 2010 Photo credit: B. Stegmann/ Creative Commons

The Danish jazz community is mourning the loss this weekend of a central figure, the bassist Hugo Rasmussen. His unaffectedness, his humour and his friendliness are the stuff of legend. His quality and positivity as a player were inspirational and in permanent demand. He appears on over 1,000 albums. He would regularly play 20-25 gigs each year in the Copenhagen Jazz Festival. As saxophonist Jakob Dinesen said of him in 2014 : “I don’t know anyone else like Hugo. Neither as a bassist or a human being. His ability to take self-importance and snobbery out of music is liberating – and does not prevent him from playing the coolest and most beautiful bass I can imagine. ” The glorious sound of Rasmussen soloing is in the video below from [4:15].

In sadness.

LINKS: Interview / magazine feature from Politiken in 2014
Obituary at Politiken