Peter Nissen is a Dane born in 1950. He started as a band leader in 1967 and made his living playing jazz music until 2007. His first instrument was a cornet, then he switched to the banjo and for the last thirty years played the drums. In 1973, he began bringing jazz veterans to Denmark. The first one was Kid Sheik Colar and later on came tours and recordings with Brother Cornbread, Wild Bill Davison, Milton Batiste, Tuba Fats, Jacques Gauthe, Shirley Alexander, Gregg Stafford, Wendell Eugene, Big Al Carson, Dwayne Burns, Fred Lonzo, and Sammy Rimmington among others.

Peter worked for many years off and on for The Danish National Broadcasting System (Danmarks Radio) writing and producing satire and making portraits of jazz greats as well.

Today Peter is a writer who has published Educational Material introducing children to Jazz (In Danish, Bibliotekscentralens Forlag) and in 2006 the highly acclaimed novel “Blues For Degas” (in Danish, Hovedland). Peter Nissen stopped as a bandleader seven years ago, but this year formed a new band – Buddy Boldens Buddies – with the ambition to play red hot jazz from the Bolden era, as well as lecturing about the early days of jazz and the enigmatic Buddy Bolden.

Jazz history has always been one of Peter’s main interests, and on his many travels to New Orleans he has interviewed several jazz veterans who knew about Buddy Bolden. This has given new insight and proven to be very helpful in writing his new book, where Buddy Bolden, Storyville, New Orleans Jazz around the turn of the last century, voodoo, Robert Charles, and the racial tensions of the area are strands which have been woven together.

The pivotal figure of the book is Buddy Bolden, but the narrator is Nora Bass, his common-law wife, whose life for some six years was tightly interwoven with his. She describes him as enigmatic – a unique musician, band leader, womanizer, family man, boozer, and indignant social activist. The book is fiction but, wherever possible, anchored in historical facts. Peter has used artistic license to fill holes here and there in order to create a compelling story.

 

Photo: Peter Nissen collection

 

Om forfatteren

Peter Nissen er født i Danmark i 1950. Han startede som orkesterleder i 1967 og levede af at spille jazz indtil 2007. Hans første instrument var kornet, så skiftede han til banjo og spillede i de sidste 30 år trommer. I 1973 begyndte han at bringe jazzveteraner til Danmark. Den første var Kid Sheik Colar, og senere kom tournéer med Brother Cornbread, Wild Bill Davison, Milton Batiste, Tuba Fats, Jaques Gauthe, Gregg Stafford, Wendell Eugene, Big Al Carson, Dwayne Burns, Fred Lonzo, Sammy Rimmington og flere andre.

Peter arbejdede som freelancer for DR i mange år, hvor han skrev satire og tegnede portrætter af store jazzmusikere.

I dag er Peter forfatter, som har fået udgivet undervisningsmateriale, der introducerer børn til jazz (Bibliotekscentralens Forlag), og i 2006 kom den anmelderroste roman ”Blues for Degas”, (Hovedland)

Peter Nissen stoppede som orkesterleder for 7 år siden, men dannede i 2014 et nyt orkester, Buddy Boldens Buddies, med den erklærede ambition at spille ”red hot jazz” fra Bolden-æraen og sideløbende holde foredrag om jazzens første år og den gådefulde Buddy Bolden.

Jazzens historie har altid været en af Peters hovedinteresser, og på sine mange rejser til New Orleans har han interviewet adskillige jazzveteraner, som kendte til Buddy Bolden.

Dette har givet ny indsigt og vist sig fordelagtigt i bestræbelserne på at skrive Buddy Boldens Storyville Blues, hvor Buddy, Storyville, jazz omkring begyndelsen af forrige århundrede, voodoo, Robert Charles og periodens racespændinger er vævet sammen.

Hovedpersonen i bogen er Buddy Bolden, men fortælleren er Nora Bass, Boldens samleverske i ca. 6 år. Hun beskriver ham som gådefuld – en enestående musiker, kapelmester, kvindebedårer, familiefar, fordrukken og indigneret samfundsoprører.

Bogen er fiktion, men baseret på historiske kendsgerninger. Peter Nissen har benyttet sin kunstneriske frihed til at binde enderne sammen for at skabe en gribende og dramatisk historie.