Classical Jazz Artist Ready for Her Debut
by Kimberly Davis
Katrine Madsen may not be a name that stands on the tip of your tongue when you think about music, but she's made her mark across the world and is heading straight for the States with her unique blend of jazz, classical and soulful sounds. As she prepared her trip to the East Coast, where she will be performing this spring, she made the time to talk about her new album, Supernatural Love, and what it's like to perform with her husband.
InsideCx: Tell me about how you came into music. Were your parents musical?
KM: No. We always listened a lot to music. Neither of them introduced me to it. I think that both my mother and my father have a good ear, and they sing a lot. Every time I heard music I was very curious. I was very open-minded. When I went away to school, I knew this is where I am going to stay for a while. Every time there was music or theater, I was drawn into it.
InsideCx: What was your reaction to jazz?
KM: I remember the first time I heard [jazz], I thought, This is how I see myself inside. It was a way of breaking a feeling of loneliness. Not in a bad way. It was like someone was looking into my soul.
InsideCx: What effect did living in Brazil have on you?
KM: It was a totally new world for me. It was really exciting. There was a lot of improvisation that talked to me in a special way. I lived there for one year with a Brazilian family. I really got into Brazilian music. Everyone in Brazil knows how to play the guitar. It's a way of meeting and having a good time. In the evening everyone goes out to have a drink and someone starts playing. They thought I was fun because I was Danish, so they wanted me to sing. So I started using my voice a lot. I loved the Brazilian way of living. I adopted that in my soul and brought that back home with me when I was 16.
InsideCx: How did life change for you when you returned to Denmark?
KM: I tried to study like the others, but I couldn't concentrate. I was always in another place. So I entered the music conservatory in Denmark. I stayed there for four years and got my diploma.
InsideCx: Is that where you met your husband and bass player, Jesper Bodilsen?
KM: Yes. We were 19. We met before the music really started, when music was just a lot of fun. He wanted to enter the music conservatory and I thought maybe I should do that too. We have been following each other's ways through music since. We met during a course. He was playing in a band and I wanted to be a guest singer. It was my first real gig. He helped me out with the practical things, like my sound, and so we met and talked and it was very nice.
InsideCx: Your newest album, Supernatural Love, features several unusual arrangements of classic songs from many genres. How do you choose which songs to use?
KM: The melody has to be strong, and of course the lyrics are also very important to me. It makes no difference to me if the song is pop or country music. It's more important for me that the melody and the lyrics are beautiful. Then I take it in and put my own style into the music. For example, I have two Beatles songs, "Can't Buy Me Love" and "I'll Keep You Satisfied." I know "Can't Buy Me Love," but the other one I never heard before. So I was looking in a book with all their tunes and I found this lyric and thought it was beautiful. I sat down at my piano and I played it through. I did an arrangement and afterward I listened to a recording the Beatles did. Because sometimes if you hear an arrangement, then it's hard to do something new.
InsideCx: What do you have planned for the future?
KM: We are finishing a DVD. I would love to do a record with strings. That's something that I look forward to. And just playing and playing and playing.
To learn more about Katrine Madsen, visit www.katrine-madsen.dk.
