By Johnny Petersen
For almost four decades, the Danish bluesman Hans-Peter Lange, called H.P. by his friends, has been a travelling blues man who ranks as one of the primary Danish blues veterans. He was born in 1963 just outside Denmark’s second largest city Aarhus as the son of a minister.
On stage, he delivers an energetic mix of delta blues, gospel and old timey folk music. All songs are performed acoustically, either on his antique National Resonator or on his Martin 00028EC – sometimes solo, but often backed by his incredibly tight band, Big Gumbo, with banjo, fiddle, double bass and drums. Lange also plays the banjo. Big Gumbo consists of Jens Christian Dam on the drums, Niels Bonefas on fiddle and banjo and Dave Stevens, who replaced another American, Paul Junior, on double bass. All of them are quite exceptionally good musicians!
He writes many of his songs, but many were also collected from the traditional blues repertoire during his stay in Louisiana in 1994, when he accompanyied his wife Mette who went on a scholarship to New Orleans. “I made the choice of university for her, so I could travel around and listen to the music I loved so much,” he says with a broad smile. While traveling to Mississippi he befriended Kenny Brown who introduced him to Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside and he performed some concerts with them. Later he met John Mooney in New Orleans, among others, and he invited both Mooney and Kenny Brown to Denmark where he introduced them to his Danish music friends and toured Scandinavia with them on different occasions. Kenny Brown has since visited both Denmark and Sweden a few times. These friends have remained his main inspirations during his career. When asked who among the living blues-legends he would like to play with, his quick response is, “Clearly John Mooney. But Kenny Brown also means a lot to me. We have discussed getting him over here again. We make it work together.” When one listens to H.P.’s music one can clearly hear the connection to the Mississippi Hill Country Blues. The old Mojo Blues Bar in Copenhagen, well knowns among many foreign musicians, has become his “Home Stage” and it’s always packed to the brim with people dancing when he is playing there. “I love playing there”, he says, “it feels like all of the audience are my personal friends!”
He was first inspired by the Chicago Blues when he was sixteen, singing in the boys choir in his father’s country side Church in Jylland (Jutland). His first guitar teacher in school knew a few acoustic blues songs and after listening to an acoustic recording with Sonny Boy Williamson he was hooked. He then studied music for three years at the conservatory in Aarhus.
H.P. Lange has received a number of awards and recorded twelve CDs (2020). When he’s not on the road he is helping his wife run a small farm with horses, lambs and 6.000 Christmas trees. – “A bad idea” he says with a grin.
During the years he has played in a number of constellations like “Blues Jamboree”, “The 29 Songs of Robert Johnson”, “H.P. Lange Trio”, “The Delta Connection” and others. When he can find the time, he gives workshops, both in schools as well as private lessons for older fans. He has so far produced 16 CDs. The 2016 album, Traveling Man Blues, received the Danish Music Award for being the Best Blues Record of the Year. On the last one I Feel Fine from late 2019, he brings in some of mystic feel of traditional Scandinavian folk music into a magic blend with the mystics of the North Mississippi Hills.
H.P. Lange, whether live or on a record, makes one happy and to want to sing along. Excellent music for driving a car in the countryside.
CDs:
Stop breaking Down – 1995
Ain’t Jivin – 2000
Alongside The Blues – 2004
The Delta Connection – 2006 (With Truls Jensen)
Change Sometime – 2007
Saturday Night, Sunday Morning – 2010
Copenhagen Blues Sessions Vol. 1 – 5 – 2013 (Various Artists)
Motorblues – 2013
Blues Jamboree Vol 1-2 – 2014 (Various Artists)
Traveling Man Blues – 2016
Tracking My Blues – 2018
I Feel Fine – 2019