Veronica Mortensen

Between Greece and Denmark, Veronica Mortensen has built a career marked by vocal jazz, soul, and work with big bands. The daughter of singers Titika and Allan Mortensen, she spent much of her childhood in Greece before returning to Denmark, where she trained at the conservatory and made her first appearances in soul groups, big bands and the experimental jazz ensemble Virtual Fantasy, while also performing in musicals such as Hair in Copenhagen and Paris. In 2003 she released her debut album Pieces in a Puzzle on Sundance Records, blending acoustic jazz writing with programming; in 2007 she followed with Happiness Is Not Included, combining original compositions and covers of Anglo‑Saxon songwriters. Her warm timbre, taste for clear melodies and a text‑centred writing approach place her at the crossroads of contemporary jazz, the songwriting tradition and arrangements for large ensembles. At the same time she began a sustained collaboration with bassist and composer Peter Vuust, documented on the albums Image of Falling (2005), September Song (2013) and Leaves of Love (2017), coloured by intimate Nordic jazz. A regular guest of Klüvers Big Band, later Aarhus Jazz Orchestra, as well as Athens Big Band and Sweden’s Bohuslän Big Band, she recorded the live album I’m The Girl at the Aarhus Jazz Festival in 2010; on the Stunt Records label she released Catching Waves in 2013 and Presents Passed in 2015, the latter focused on lesser‑known standards. More recently Veronica Mortensen continues to perform on Danish and international stages and in 2022 released the album Live at Nødebo with bassist Mads Vinding, confirming her grounding in a vocal jazz that is both composed and open to improvisation.