A creative legend of 75+ years – Part 1 of 3
Although Audio Group Denmark’s design advisor and founder of Gryphon Audio Designs, Flemming E. Rasmussen, has turned 75, his life is still full of creativity and curiosity. Two characteristics that unfolded in childhood – nurtured by a little boy’s imagination.
“Hello my friend”
Flemming E. Rasmussen and his dog Coco greet me at the garden gate outside his summer cabin, beautifully situated on the shore of Mossø west of Skanderborg.
Some people say that dogs and their owners resemble each other. That does not apply in this case. While the small two-year-old attention-seeking, barking and eagerly jumping Jack Russell Terrier does what she can to make sure that I have seen her, Flemming stands still, smiling and welcomes me with a hug.
I have known Flemming for 42 years. Once we were married, and I am the mother of his only child, Mark. We have been divorced for 36 years, but fortunately we have kept a mutual respect and maintained our friendship. Today, Flemming invites me into the house for a cup of coffee and a chat about his lifelong companions: Creativity and curiosity.
In the world of hi-fi, many call him a legend. Others see him as a pioneer. He himself is more modest. And looking back, part of his success undoubtedly stems from a genuine wish to be a decent person and an interesting blend of the two personal qualities we are going to talk about.
Inside, we settle down at the dining table and while Flemming brews the coffee, I immerse myself in the breathtaking view. It seems as if the lake is large enough to encompass both wildness and tranquility – even at the same time.
Magical summer nights
We turn back the clock. Back to Rosenkrantzgade in the heart of Aarhus. It is bedtime for the 9-year-old Flemming, who has just started school after the summer holidays. It is a warm night, so the window is open. He can hear everything that’s going on in the city night. He can’t fall asleep. The Panam Jazz Club is located just across the street, where the house band Papa Bue’s Viking Jazz Band several nights a week, plays traditional New Orleans jazz.
– Lying in bed, I could hear music flowing from across the street and into my room. It was magical. When I closed my eyes, I could distinguish each instrument from the others. Everyone had their own character and sound. But I had no idea what they looked like as I had never seen live music. The sounds sparked my imagination, and before sleep finally took over, I pictured what instruments might look like that could create such amazing sounds.
One day, curiosity took over. Flemming went across the road, sneaked up the stairs and stood very quietly in the doorway – listening and not the least watching. It was a mesmerizing and life-changing experience for the 9-year-old and went on for weeks, until the afternoon when the band noticed him.
– They were not used to children being curious about their music, but they were nice and showed me what the different instruments sounded and looked like. I don’t think they’ve ever had such a young fan, Flemming smiles.
The meeting led to Flemming’s first job. He was given the task of placing info leaflets about the concerts in the windshield wipers of all the cars parked in the area.
Papa Bue’s Viking Jazz Band later became a major international name, playing all over the world with guest appearances from such as Ben Webster, Chris Barber and Acker Bilk.
Whist is boring
There were no instruments in Flemming’s childhood home. And no radio. The only musical memory that Flemming recalls is his mother singing long-forgotten, sad local songs while working in the kitchen.
– My mother was a beautiful woman who came from a sociable family. She was creative and lively. My father though, was a complex and silent man whom we basically only saw in weekends. I’m probably a good mix of the two, Flemming ponders.
Every Saturday, his parents played whist with three other couples, and Flemming always had to come along.
– I was bored to death. There were no other children, television had not been invented, and there were no toys at all. To keep me busy, the adults gave me some paper and some pencils to make drawings. So instead of playing with tin soldiers, I drew them. I drew all the toys I didn’t have.
A lot of cartoons were also drawn during school hours – especially in math classes.
– Math wasn’t my thing. I have a visual memory so when 2 + 2 become 5 I’m all ears. As a child, I also remembered numbers visually. For example, that the number 3 has three dots, and the number 4 has four. My teacher Miss Jeppesen thought I was incapacitated, so she just let me do my drawings.
The adult Flemming wishes he had given mathematics more attention and tried harder to crack the math code, as it is a skill that he would have benefitted from in many situations. And he’s pretty sure that he would still have found time to draw.
Anyway, Flemming found his own way to figure it out.
– German reminded me too much of math, so I skipped the classes and consequently I was sent to religion classes instead, which I found much more interesting with all the cool stories.
Did you know that Flemming….
In his teenage years, dreamed of becoming a bush pilot, flying mail around Alaska.
If he was to choose an education today, he would want to attend the music conservatory to learn how to play the cello.
