Take Five with Guitarist Johannes Ravn Hagmund-Hansen

Meet Johannes Ravn Hagmund-Hansen

Johannes Ravn Hagmund-Hansen is an award-winning guitarist and composer from Faaborg, Denmark, now based in Brooklyn, New York, after having completed his masters degree at the Manhattan School of Music on a scholarship. He is an in-demand player as both a bandleader and sideman, and has performed his own music at renowned venues such as Nublu, Threes Brewing, Fiction (Brooklyn), Le Baiser Sallé (Paris), Blue Note Dresden, as well as major jazz festivals such as Copenhagen Jazz Festival and Aarhus Jazz Festival, among others. He is a proficient bandleader and has released albums with the avant-garde duo Sultenmand, the jazz trio Force Majeure, and has appeared on numerous other recordings, among them the acclaimed debut album of South Korean bassist, Seungmin Jung. Johannes' work, which draws from a plethora of musical styles and genres—American jazz, Danish folk music, and more, and focuses on creating a sonic environment that invites listeners to reflect on the empathy that they give and receive on this earth.

Instrument:

Guitar

Teachers and/or influences?

So so many—favorite guitarist of all time has to be Bill Frisell. I went through a huge period of being obsessed with Kurt Rosenwinkel in my teens, was and still is, really fond of the music of Pat Metheny, and a lot of other types of music too—I'm a huge indie-rock/pop fan and have spent outrageous amounts of time listening to Bon Iver, Adrienne Lenker and other songwriters. I've had some really important teachers too; again too many to mention all, but Chris Rosenberg whom I studied with at Manhattan School of Music, comes to mind.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when...

I was finishing primary school at 15-16 years old in Denmark and went to a year-long boarding school. This was the first time I came in touch with people my age with the same obsessive, adjacent fascination with music.

Your sound and approach to music.

My whole approach revolves around a desire to create heartfelt music that puts listeners in touch with their emotions in some way or another—this does not mean that the music can't be loud/angular/harmonically adventurous/out of tune or anything else that might not be perceived as conventionally beautiful, but it has to be evident that the music is coming from a place of empathy of shared humanity for it to stick with me.

Your teaching approach

I think one of the beautiful things about studying any kind of art form is that the process reflects the output, meaning that you have to discover the process of how you need to work on your art in the most meaningful way to you in the same way that you discover what it is you truly love about the art form itself.

Your dream band

My dream band consists of the people I am already fortunate to play with—friends that I've gotten to know in my time in NYC, as well people in Denmark I've known and played with for 10+ years.

Road story: Your best or worst experience

I kind of messed up my travel planning in the summer of 2025 when I was traveling and playing in Germany and France, and ended up having to take a 14+ hour night train the day leading up to a show in Paris, so I evidently pulled up to the gig very sleep-deprived and confused.

Favorite venue

I have thoroughly enjoyed playing at Nublu 151 in NYC.

Your favorite recording in your discography and why?

The self-titled duo recording with my project Sultenmand with drummer Jesper Lørup.

What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically?

What I hope to contribute with is, more than directly musical attributes, empathy, care and kindness.

Did you know...

I very delusionally thought I was gonna be a pro soccer player for a while around the ages of 10-11.

The first jazz album I bought was:

Pat Metheny's Question and Answer.

Music you are listening to now:

More Eaze: sentence structure in the country (more eaze, 2026)
John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Kenny Wollesen, Carol Emanuel, Ikue Mori: Sing Me Now Asleep (Tzadik, 2026)
Leif Berger: Secret, Normalization (Copyright Control, 2025)
Haley Heynderickx, Max García Conover: What of Our Nature (Fat Possum Records, 2025)
underscores: U (Mom+Pop, 2026)

How would you describe the state of jazz today?

I'm not the right person to ask on jazz specifically, but I think music is in an amazing period—I think there's a huge generation of musicians my age that reject norms about what you are "supposed" to do in certain musical situations, and are creating a new kind of sincere music that the world needs more than ever.

What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing?

Empathy.

What is in the near future?

I am currently working on my first full album in my own name.

What is your greatest fear when you perform?

I have so many pedals, I always fear that one cable is messed up, and I have to go through the whole signal chain to figure out which one it might be.

By Day:

I thankfully teach guitar to a sweet group of people ranging in age from 7-65.

If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a:

Nothing! I have no other skills!

If I could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be and why?

This person is alive, but I would like to hang out with Bernie Sanders.

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