Old and New World traditions meld in "Cool Yule," a studio album released by two-time Grammy Award-Winning Violinist Mads Tolling. In the spirit of Yule, Mads shares the Christmas celebrations of his youth in Copenhagen, Denmark, blending the authentic customs and sounds of the Nordic countries with the joy and spirit of American jazz. The Mads Men band members joining him on his Christmas journey are the dynamic pianist Colin Hogan, soulful bassist Gary Brown, and the ever-exuberant drummer Eric Garland. 

"Cool Yule" gives a special nod to Denmark’s beloved fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen with “Let it Go” from "Frozen," based on The Snow Queen. The album includes a salute to Julemanden (Santa Claus), Nordic Yuletide traditional classics, and jazz renditions of your favorite American holiday songs, including “Santa Baby,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “My Favorite Things,” and “The Christmas Song.” Pagan mischief can be enjoyed on the Danish “På Loftet Sidder Nissen” (The Gnome’s Attic) and the Icelandic “Jólakötturinn” (The Christmas Cat). Danish TV personality and vocalist Sonny Fredie-Pedersen brings “Cool” to the classic Louis Armstrong title track. 

Mads Tolling is a Danish-American violinist and composer living in the SF Bay Area. He is the 2016 winner of the DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star Award for the violin and SF Classical Voice 2023 Best Jazz Instrumentalist. Mads is a former longtime member of bassist Stanley Clarke’s Band and the Turtle Island Quartet, and he currently tours and appears on three albums with Bob Weir & Wolf Bros. He leads his group, Mads Tolling & The Mads Men, with several international tours. He has been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition and in the Washington Post and performed with Chick Corea, Kenny Barron, Ramsey Lewis, Paquito D’Rivera, and Leo Kottke. 

"Cool Yule" offers a one-of-a-kind holiday package, providing a firsthand glimpse into A Nordic Christmas. Tying it all together are thoughtful and melodic arrangements of well-known holiday songs.

My Favorite Things

The Christmas Song

Cool Yule [Single]

Cool Yule (feat. Sonny Fredie-Pedersen)

Mads Tolling, internationally renowned violinist, violist and composer, is a two
time Grammy Award-Winner. Tolling is a long time member of Turtle Island
Quartet, and he has recorded and performed hundreds of concerts with bassist
Stanley Clarke over the past decade. Born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark,
Tolling moved to Boston to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. He
soon spent most his time touring with some of the greatest musicians in the US,
including Paquito D’Rivera, Leo Kottke & Kenny Barron.
“Celebrating Jean-Luc Ponty – Live at Yoshi’s” is Tolling’s third CD release. A few
years back he released the critically acclaimed “The Playmaker,” which features
Stanley Clarke, Russell Ferrante & Stefon Harris. This time Tolling pays homage
to one of his mentors, the great French jazz violinist, Jean-Luc Ponty. Tolling does
so with his own quartet in an electric atmosphere at the famed Bay Area jazz club,
Yoshi’s.

Tolling explains that “It was my goal with this album to have a wide range
of material that was closely related to Ponty – I didn’t want to recreate his
compositions, but instead offer my take on them and also show the great
range of projects he has done through the years, including Frank Zappa’s band,
Mahavishnu Orchestra, Rite of Strings and even the swing and bebop stuff he
did early on in his career.” The set list includes some of Ponty’s greatest hits,
“New Country” & “Enigmatic Ocean” along with music by Ponty’s cohorts: John
McLaughlin’s “Lila’s Dance,” Stanley Clarke’s “Song to John” & Zappa’s “King
Kong.” Closing the CD is Tolling’s own tribute to Ponty: “Pontyfication.”
The comment most folks had after the Tolling Tolling Quartet show at Yoshi’s was:
“I wish someone had recorded that….” Someone did – and now it’s available – in
high fidelity!

“With Tolling’s honed technique, vigorous attack and engaging brand of
swing…”
-Washington Post

“The album is marked with virtuosic moments of sublime, genre-busting string
work by Tolling….”
-San Francisco Chronicle

“The music has a warmth and intensity somehow amplified by the in-the-
moment liveness of the occasion. The fiery moments are fierier and the tender
moments more moving….”
-Joe Woodard (Contributor to Downbeat & Jazz Times)

“A wonderful new voice on the violin --- very refreshing!"
-Chick Corea

Celebrating Jean-Luc Ponty

Last Memories Of Her

Beatrice

Bowing Bowing

13 Pontyfication

King Kong

Struggle Of The Turtle To The Sea (Outro)

12 Intro To Pontyfication

Struggle Of The Turtle To The Sea (Intro)

Lila's Dance

Song To John

Enigmatic Ocean

New Country

Old Country

Masters Of Jazz Violin

Embraceable You

Swing 39

Moon River

Karleksvals

Droemmen er Alt

Souvenir De Villingen [single]

Souvenir de Villingen

La Fontaine Blues

Autumn Leaves

Armando's Rumba

Stardust

Sermon for Stuff

Two-time Grammy Award-winning violinist Mads Tolling releases Masters of Jazz Violin, a heartfelt tribute to the jazz violinists who shaped his musical journey. This album features compositions written or associated with jazz greats Stéphane Grappelli, Jean-Luc Ponty, Svend Asmussen, Stuff Smith, and others. Joining Tolling on this recording are fellow world-class Danish musicians Jacob Fischer on guitar and Matthias Petri on bass, delivering a dynamic and expressive performance that honors jazz violin’s rich legacy.

Mads Tolling is a two-time Grammy Award-winner and the recipient of the 2016 DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star Award for violin. A former long-time member of Stanley Clarke’s band and the Turtle Island Quartet, Mads is currently touring with Bob Weir & Wolf Bros. He also leads his own ensembles, Mads Tolling & The Mads Men and the Mads Tolling Quartet. His work has been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition and in The Washington Post, and he has performed with musical legends such as Kenny Barron, Ramsey Lewis, Paquito D’Rivera, and Leo Kottke.


Armando's Rhumba

After You've Gone

Mads Tolling is two-time Grammy Award-winning violinist and composer from Copenhagen, Denmark, now based in the San Francisco Bay Area. A former member of both Stanley Clarke's band and the Turtle Island Quartet, Mads has performed with renowned artists like Chick Corea, Ramsey Lewis, Paquito D’Rivera, and Leo Kottke. He is currently a member of Bob Weir & Wolf Bros and leads his own ensembles.

After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2003, Mads joined Stanley Clarke's band on the recommendation of Jean-Luc Ponty. He has been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition and received praise from the Washington Post and The San Francisco Chronicle. In 2016, Mads won DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star Violin Award. Mads has performed for King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark at the 50th Anniversary for the Danish Embassy in Washington D.C. 

Mads has written violin concertos for The Oakland Symphony and Pacific Chamber Orchestra and has performed them around the U.S. and Japan, including with The Hawaii Symphony and Orchestra Kanazawa. As a member of Bob Weir & Wolf Bros, Mads has recorded three albums and toured extensively, playing venues like Red Rocks and Radio City Music Hall. With hundreds of concerts worldwide, he leads Mads Tolling & The Mads Men and recorded the album Playing the 60s, which reimagines songs from 1960’s TV, film and radio. The release topped US jazz radio charts and peaked at #5. 

Mads is a featured Yamaha Artist, offering clinics and masterclasses globally.

Popular tracks by Mads Tolling