Entrance

Entrance was a Danish jazz-rock band that released three albums between 1977 and 1984 on Metronome.

Members: Palle Mikkelborg (trumpet, flugelhorn, synthesizer, piano), Kenneth Knudsen (piano, Mini Moog, Polymoog), Jesper Nehammer (saxophone, flute), Bjarne Roupé (guitar), Thomas Clausen (keyboards), Bo Stief (bass), Kasper Winding (drums, percussion, melodica), Jon Christensen (drums), Ethan Weisgard (percussion, drums), Lennart Gruvstedt (drums)

Background

Entrance formed in 1976 in Copenhagen when trumpeter-composer Palle Mikkelborg reshaped the Riel-Mikkelborg V8 circle into a smaller group with saxophonist Jesper Nehammer, pianist Thomas Clausen, bassist Bo Stief, and drummer Kasper Winding.

Mikkelborg took up trumpet in 1956 and joined Knud Rath’s orchestra in 1959. He entered Radiojazzgruppen in 1963 and joined Radioens Big Band the following year. His partnership with drummer Alex Riel produced the Riel-Mikkelborg Quintet, which won first prize at the 1968 Montreux Jazz Festival ensemble competition. Mikkelborg and Riel expanded their band to the eight-piece V8. 

Nehammer began clarinet in 1961 and embraced tenor saxophone with Jens Thillerup’s Sextet. In 1965, he graduated from the Aurehøj Gymnasium music line and later completed Danish Dental College. He did stints with V8 and Radiojazzgruppen. In 1971, he cut a Metronome album with Thors Hammer.

Clausen met Mikkelborg at the 1969 Vallekilde jazz and joined the trumpeter’s new quintet. He later played in V8 and accompanied visiting soloists at Jazzhus Montmartre.

Stief entered Jazzhus Montmartre as a working bassist at age seventeen. He joined Mikkelborg through the Riel-Mikkelborg Quintet in 1965 and continued with the later octet. Winding emerged at fourteen under Mikkelborg at Danish Radio. He co-founded Buki-Yamaz in 1973 and appeared on the group’s first two albums.

Mikkelborg introduced Entrance at Jazzhus Montmartre in February 1976, within weeks of the Store Regnegade venue closure. Months later, they added keyboardist Kenneth Knudsen, who studied architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. A pianist since 1961, Knudsen emerged in Coronarias Dans and made four albums with Secret Oyster.

By spring 1977, Knudsen occupied the keyboard chair alongside Mikkelborg, Nehammer, Stief, and Winding. The quintet recorded eight pieces in Copenhagen in April and May for the sessions that became the self-titled Metronome debut.

Discography:

• Entrance (1977)
• Live as Well (1978)
• Palle Mikkelborgs Journey To… (1984)

Sources

• Erik Wiedemann, “The Montmartre, 1959–76”, Musik & Forskning: places Mikkelborg’s presentation of Entrance at Jazzhus Montmartre in February 1976 and identifies the early Clausen/Stief/Winding/Nehammer configuration. The printed article contains the apparent name error “Palle Nehammer (tenor)”; the surrounding sentence identifies Palle Mikkelborg as leader, while independent personnel records identify Jesper Nehammer as the tenor saxophonist.
• Danske Jazzorkestre / All That Jazz: states that V8 developed into Entrance and identifies Mikkelborg as the Entrance founder; it also gives the first-LP personnel as Mikkelborg, Knudsen, Nehammer, Stief, and Winding. (All That Jazz)
• Dansk Jazz Discography 1945–2000: dates the debut sessions to Copenhagen, April–May 1977, and gives the five-man recording lineup. (Squarespace)
• Dansk Biografisk Leksikon / Lex — Palle Mikkelborg: documents trumpet uptake, first professional work, Radiojazzgruppen, Radioens Big Band, the Riel-Mikkelborg Quintet, and Entrance. (Dansk Biografisk Leksikon | Lex)
• Bo Stief — official biography and Lex: documents Stief’s Montmartre start, collaboration with Mikkelborg from 1965, the Riel-Mikkelborg Quintet, V8, and Entrance. (Bo Stief)
• Danish jazz musician reference — Jesper Nehammer: supplies Nehammer’s 1946 Copenhagen birth, 1961 clarinet start, 1964 tenor move, early groups, dental studies, and V8 connection. (Squarespace)
• Jazzstævnerne — Vallekilde 1969: includes Thomas Clausen’s first-person account of meeting Mikkelborg and receiving the invitation into a new quintet. (Jazzstævnerne)
• Kasper Winding official biography, Lex/BibZoom: establishes Winding’s teenage professional work under Mikkelborg and the Buki-Yamaz chronology. (Kasper Winding)
• Dacapo Records / Lex — Kenneth Knudsen: documents his 1961 jazz-piano start, 1974 architecture qualification, and work with Coronarias Dans, Secret Oyster, and Entrance. A separate biography places his Entrance entry in 1976. (Dacapo Records)
• MusicBrainz: dates the Danish Metronome release of Entrance to November 1977. (MusicBrainz)