10 May 2026
The mini-tour of Europe’s concert venues continues, with a slight diversion…
On Sunday afternoon, we went to the Christiania Jazz Club in Copenhagen to see the Good Vibes Quartet.
So, how does this fascinating and uplifting experience fit into our tour of some of Europe’s major concert venues? The Jazz Club is located in an area known as Freetown Christiania, a former army barracks which became a commune and a home for alternative lifestyles in the early ‘70s. In 2024, the illegal cannabis trade was shut down, and the area is now a tourist attraction, still with a bohemian feel similar to that of Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
But Sunday’s gig did provide a link with Europe’s finest classical concert halls. If classical music in the early 20th century sometimes incorporates jazz, the Good Vibes Quartet sometimes incorporate classical music into jazz. The group describe themselves as ‘When classical virtuosity meets the groove of jazz.’
Drummer René Mathiesen plays timpani with The Danish National Symphony Orchestra. We are due to see the orchestra perform the French composer Olivier Messiaen’s mighty Turangalîla Symphony at the DR Koncerthuset on Thursday, but René told us that, despite the symphony’s massive percussion, no timps are needed!
The usual vibraphone player in the band, Wieland Welzel, is another classical luminary, Principal Timpanist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, but on Sunday the guest star on vibraphone was Morten Grønvad. He has performed with numerous jazz artists, including the Danish Radio Big Band and the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Jazz veteran Jon Bruland played bass, sometimes playing upright bass and sometimes playing a custom 6-string Celinder electric bass. He started with Debbie Cameron’s band at 15 and has written several film scores. He joined Kasper Winding’s band in 1989 and later Alberte Winding’s band.
The fourth member of the quartet was Thomas Clausen on piano, who has been a professional jazz musician for over 50 years. He has played with Palle Mikkelborg, Dexter Gordon, Ben Webster and many others.
Sunday’s gig was an absolute joy. It was a pleasure to hear such virtuosic musicians playing in such an intimate venue, and to see their evident delight in each other’s company. Some highlights from the second set: Rain, written by Clausen, which featured astonishing piano playing, including a chord sequence that reminded me of Messiaen and Debussy, and a duet with Mathiesen that felt like Steve Reich; Bee, Bob & Ulla (can you see what he did there?), a lively rock’n’roll number written by Grønvad, at the end of which he threw all four of his vibraphone sticks in the air like a rock drummer; Any Heaven, a gorgeous piece by Bruland; and Mathiesen’s highly rhythmic Mozambique.
Next stop, DR Koncerthuset!
Now read on…
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