Susi (Susanne) Hyldgaard – Danish vocalist, composer and accordion player, b. June 17 1963 in New York. Performed with Aldo Romano JAZZPAR Quintet +1 at the Event 2004.

Susi Hyldgaard was born into a diversely musical, expatriate family. Her father, a jazz enthusiast and weekend musician who played double bass, had a huge collection of jazz records and Susi was weaned on the sounds of Bill Evans among others. Then, when she started studying piano at five, her musical tastes were driven by the other half of her family, all of whom played classical music. But the requirements of classical music, the stringent need to play things perfectly and as written, made her uncomfortable. So, while by 15 she had won some prizes, one night, while playing in a concert hall she became so nervous, that afterward, she could not even remember being on stage. This experience prompted her to take a break from playing for a while, but eventually she found her way back playing jazz. Along the way she has studied at the Department of Musicology, University of Copenhagen and she has been working free-lance as a journalist for the Danish National Broadcasting Corporation.

Hyldgaard’s first solo project in 1996 was a mix of pop and jazz with an underground vibe to it. For her second release in 2000 she chose an acoustic direction with a machine sound to it, taking a jazz band and making them fit into the pop form. Susi Hyldgaard was awarded a Danish Grammy for the project.

The title of her third solo release in 2002, "Homesweethome", refers to a place that does not always live up to our expectations and sometimes has difficulty competing with the homes of others where everything appears to function better. It delves deep into the waves of solitude, yet retains a touch of bitter-sweet laughter. Keywords: a crazy 1960s band, a melancholic accordion player, a pedal freak of a trumpeter and a pinch of jazz ‘n’ poetry. Hyldgaard is more interested in soundscapes that foster the mood than in perfection.

Susi Hyldgaard has toured intensively in both Canada and Europe. Her CDs, as well as her live performances, have received first-rate reviews internationally. She has performed in duos with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Nils Landgren and she has worked with Dalia Faitelson among others. She also composes for film and finds the work with directors and pictures a pleasant change from performing. Along with Per Jørgensen, Susi Hyldgaard recreated the dialogue of Michael Mantler’s version of Paul Auster’s Hide and Seek, an operatic theater play presented in Copenhagen and Berlin – the music has been released on ECM.

Few musicians are able to mix such a variety of expressions as Susi Hyldgaard. All the different fragments of genres come out well balanced and her enthusiastic enterprises touch many different kinds of listeners. Her unique style and vocal skills, passionately take you to the heart of the songs.