When Sven Asmussen was a young man in his native Denmark.....

When Sven Asmussen was a young man in his native Denmark, he worked on cruise ships with musicians such as Josephine Baker and Fats Waller. Now, that was one hip cruise ship! He worked largely in Europe, but his jazz cred was acknowledged when he was invited by Duke Ellington to participate in the 1963 Jazz Violin Session with Ray Nance and Stephane Grappelli.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126285452&sc=nl&cc=jn-20100502