Born and raised in northern Denmark, Sørensen moved to New York in 2018 after studying at Skurups Folkhögskola in Sweden and receiving a full-tuition scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music. During his time there, he was mentored by musicians including Buster Williams, Phil Markowitz, Stefon Harris, Dayna Stephens, John Riley and Ingrid Jensen, while establishing himself on the New York jazz scene and performing at venues including The Jazz Gallery, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Smalls and Mezzrow. He began releasing his own music in 2022, with his 2024 album Balancing Act earning him the Danish Music Award for Musician of the Year.

The origins of You Live and You Learn stretch back six years, as Sørensen accumulated voice memos, videos, scores and handwritten notes containing ideas that no longer fitted comfortably within his long-beloved trio setup. From this archive, he selected 16 compositions and considered which instrumentation would best bring each one to life. The album features some of his favourite Scandinavian musicians and closest friends, including drummer Steinar Heide Bø, double bassist Jon Henriksson, electric bassist Matthias Petri, flautist Oilly Wallace, guitarist Pelle von Bülow, trumpeter Ari Bragi Kárason and chromatic harmonica player Mathias Heise.

The project also marks a deeper engagement with music production. Working with producer Rasmus Juncker, Sørensen was able to spend more time in the studio developing the individual tracks, rather than recording all the instruments simultaneously as is customary in much jazz. The result reflects his interest in allowing each composition to determine its own instrumentation, sound and approach.

At the heart of the album is Sørensen’s questioning of familiar ideas around composition, form, melody and improvisation. Having spent years working within jazz, he describes You Live and You Learn as a conscious move away from the need to prove himself within the expectations of the genre, instead embracing the freedom to explore other musical territories. For Sørensen, the album represents what he has learned through writing and playing music about himself, life and nature – and an ongoing belief in music’s ability to change how we understand and experience the world around us.