Home » Jazz Musicians » Kresten Osgood

Kresten Osgood

Kresten Osgood is one of these people who at the same time defy and totally own categories. An extraordinary drummer and improviser who with the fullest respect to tradition, challenges it at any given moment of his creative endeavors. He has about a 100 albums to his credit, toured practically everywhere, has been performing and/or recording with legends like Roscoe Mitchell, Paul Bley, Lee Scratch Perry, William Parker, Masabumi Kikuchi, Derek Bailey, Wadada Leo Smith, Jason Moran, Michael Blake, Oliver Lake, Kurt Rosenwinkel, John Tchicai, Tim Berne, Justin Vernon, Peter Brötzman, Joshua Redman, Eugene Chadbourne, Billy Preston, Alan Silva, Brad Mehldau, Mats Gustafsson, Bennie Maupin, The National, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Sam Rivers, Henry Grimes, Dr. Yusef Lateef, Warren Smith, and many many others.

But even that doesn't really cover the full spectrum of what he has been up to in his career. A successful rapper, composer, pianist, vocalist, saxophonist and trumpeter, a true multi-instrumentalist, a powerful organizer being an extremely important driving force in lifting and pushing the music life in Copenhagen forward, entertainer with his own shows in TV and radio, receiver of numerous awards and honors, A very sharp kaleidoscope man, regardless of the context always realizing his fullest potential.

Kresten has been involved in a 17 part series about the history of danish jazz. a podcast released by the Danish National radio.

Kresten Osgood, Adriano Clemente & Rempis Percussion Quartet

by Maurice Hogue
July 10, 2023

Danish drummer Kresten Osgood has always fascinated me with his versatility, and he's one of those do-everything cats: composer, saxophonist, singer, organizer, media host and rapper. But it's his drumming that gets the spotlight in this show with a peek at back catalogue plus a new release with iconic drummer Ra Kalam Bob Moses and guitarist Tisziji Munoz. Adriano Clemente, multi-instrumentalist and band leader from Naples, Italy, was inspired by John Coltrane's spiritual journey, and with his Akashmani Jazz Ensemble, ...

Radio & Podcasts

Kresten Osgood, Ronnie Foster, Melissa Stylianou, Ghost Horse & More New Releases

by Ludovico Granvassu
June 28, 2022

An Hammond B-3onanza! Ronnie Foster is back, with a reissue of Two-Headed Freap and the first new album in almost four decades, Reboot, and so is the Gentle Giant of Danish jazz drummer-turned-Hammond player Kresten Osgood. A compare and contrast between Gerald Clayton and Melissa Stylianou, Gene Bertoncini and Ike Sturm, as well the new gems by Ghost Horse and Liquid Saloon complete a playlist that is all killer, no filler!Happy listening!PlaylistBen Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme ...

Album Review

Maneri / Kalmanovitch / Jacobson / Osgood: Variations On No Particular Theme - Part 1

Read "Variations On No Particular Theme - Part 1" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
December 14, 2021

This free improvisation chamber quartet is an interesting study in bold, yet even-tempered music making. Tomo Jacobson, the Polish-born bassist now making Copenhagen his home, assembled this Europe-meets-North American cast for what appears to be the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Jacobson is joined by Danish drummer Kresten Osgood and two violists, the Canadian Tanya Kalmanovitch and American Mat Maneri. Jacobson and Osgood are members of the septet Moonbow, and the drummer released Tzokth Songs (Isula Jazz, 2016) along with ...

Album Review

Kresten Osgood Quintet: Kresten Osgood Quintet Plays Jazz

Read "Kresten Osgood Quintet Plays Jazz" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
January 21, 2019

One way of getting a handle on a jazz artist's style is a perusal of their “played with," “recorded with" resume. Danish drummer Kresten Osgood has collaborated in the recording studio with the likes of pianists Paul Bley and Masabumi Kikuchi, bassist Mark Dresser and saxophonist Sam Rivers--free-flying iconoclasts all. The drummer/bandleader lives up to that characterisation here. Kristen Osgood Quintet Plays Jazz, a wide-tanging two CD set, explores some lesser-known tunes from some of music history's freer ...

Album Review

Kresten Osgood Quintet: Kresten Osgood Quintet Plays Jazz

Read "Kresten Osgood Quintet Plays Jazz" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
January 18, 2019

Danish drummer Kresten Osgood achieves the musical equivalent of pay-it-forward with Kresten Osgood Quintet Plays Jazz. His ensemble of up-and-coming Copenhagen musicians delivers convincing renditions of some archetypal compositions, plus three originals by the leader. The choice of music on these two discs exposes the quintet to many types of possible criticism. Listeners familiar with the music of Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Eric Dolphy and Charles Mingus most certainly have seminal recordings of these artists burned into their ...

Lyrics

C’è del mood in Danimarca! Viaggio nella Copenhagen del jazz, tra tradizione e nuovi collettivi

by Enrico Bettinello
September 19, 2016

La città di Copenhagen è stata tra le prime e più attive capitali europee ad accogliere, sin dagli anni Cinquanta, alcuni dei migliori jazzisti americani che trovavano in Europa condizioni di lavoro e di rispetto artistico maggiori che in patria. Musicisti come Oscar Pettiford, Stan Getz, Ben Webster, Dexter Gordon, Duke Jordan, Kenny Drew sono solo alcuni degli artisti che, per periodi più o meno lunghi, hanno stabilmente vissuto nella capitale danese, contribuendo a fare crescere la scena ...

Live Review

Jazz for Kids: Copenhagen Jazz Festival

by Eyal Hareuveni
July 27, 2015

Jazz for Kids: Folkegaven (Kresten Osgood & Lars Greve) and Sun Ra for KidsCopenhagen Jazz Festival Søndermarken Park, Frederiksberg July 10, 2015 The Copenhagen Jazz Festival is a massive event, lasting 10 days, offering 1,200 concerts that envelope all corners of the Danish capital and draws an audience of about 250,000 people. Some of them are children, enjoying a special six-day program designed for them, featuring some of the best musicians performing at the festival. ...

Radio

Philadelphia's WRTI 90.1 launches fascinating new podcast about the history of jazz in Denmark

Source: Michael Ricci
March 26, 2022

WRTI is proud to announce the launch of Dangerous Sounds, an eight-episode podcast series on WRTI.org. Based on the award-winning Danish podcast Dangerous Tones—The Story of Danish Jazz, Dangerous Sounds is the English-language version presented by WRTI in collaboration with JazzDanmark, the national Danish organization for jazz. “This revealing new Dangerous Sounds series showcases a powerful history and relationship between the U.S. and Denmark through jazz, and significantly adds to the overall history and appreciation of jazz music in America, ...
read more

Performance / Tour

Kresten Osgood Trio with Oliver Lake & Michael Gregory Jackson at Cornelia Street Caf Thursday April 6

Source: All About Jazz
April 4, 2006

CORNELIA STREET CAFE 29 Cornelia Street NYC, New York 212-989-9319 between West 4th and Bleecker Sts, Greenwich Village 1,9 Subway to Sheridan Square; A, C, E, B, D, F to West 4th St.

Kresten Osgood Trio

Oliver Lake, saxes Michael Gregorry Jackson, guitar Kresten Osgood, drums

Thursday April 6, 8:30PM & 10:00PM cover $10 + $6min.

This evening features a very specialmeeting of new ...
read more