From Dumbo, Brooklyn, Frederiksberg-born, Vejle-raised, Copenhagen- and New York-based Danish pianist and composer NIKOLAJ HESS gets ready for his upcoming concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Nikolaj talks about how he translates visual art to music in his project Transformative Reflections, film scoring, and his many jazz adventures, highlighting New York as a jazz capital. And he talks about improvisation, and making music with his brothers Mikkel and Emil.

Nikolaj talks about the Matisse: The Red Studio exhibition at SMK.

https://www.smk.dk/en/exhibition/henri-matisse-the-red-studio/

(Photographer: Jill Greenberg)

This conversation with Tina Jøhnk Christensen occurred on April 8, 2025.

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