WINTER 2014

JAZZ LINES

Hal Galper is the Yoda of jazz, and he says, “When music resonates with you, pay attention: it’s telling you something about yourself!” The music of Christine and Ingrid Jensen resonates with the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble, and we’re paying a lot of attention.

The music of Christine and Ingrid Jensen is honest and direct. Whether composed or improvised, everything they do tells a story—with a beginning, middle and end —and takes you on a journey. Their music is always about something—often the natural world—and afterwards, the melodies linger on.

Ingrid and Christine Jensen grew up in Nanaimo, a port city on Central Victoria Island, British Columbia, surrounded by the incredible beauty of the Northwest and raised by a mother who was classically trained on piano and encouraged her daughters to, as Ingrid says, “explore musical instruments with no limitations.” Ingrid began on piano before switching to trumpet, playing in the school music program started by her mother and stepfather.

Inspired by the talent of another young female musician in Nanaimo, Diana Krall, and

encouraged by Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer and Bobby Shew, Ingrid headed east to Berklee College of Music. Graduating in 1989, her life since has been a whirlwind of musical activities. Ingrid Jensen has made her mark, performing as a leader and featured soloist around the world in a wide array of musical genres.

Ingrid is a featured soloist with the Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra and also appears frequently with Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society and the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra. She’s played and recorded with Dr. Lonnie Smith, Geri Allen, Clark Terry, Mulgrew Miller, Ron Carter, Terri-Lynn Carrington and many others. Consistently in the top five in Downbeat’s Critics’ polls for Talent Deserving Wider Recognition, Jensen is highly praised and widely respected as one of the best jazz trumpet and flugelhorn players in jazz and an outstanding jazz composer and educator.

Christine Jensen also started with piano—and stuck with it—before learning alto and soprano saxophones and heading east to McGill (Montreal), getting her first degree in jazz performance in 1994 and completing her Master’s in Jazz Performance in 2006.

Composing constantly since McGill, Christine was writing commissions for other large ensembles before starting her own Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra in Montreal. Over a three-year period, she wrote the music for their first album, Treelines, which won the 2011 Juno Award for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year and Quebec’s Opus Award for Jazz Recording of the Year. Their latest recording, Habitat, just received a five-star

review in Downbeat Magazine. Christine has also established a reputation as a first-rate alto and soprano saxophonist and improviser and was chosen as a 2013 Downbeat Rising Star (Critics’ Poll) in Composer, Big Band and Soprano Sax categories.

We’re pleased and honored to have Christine and Ingrid Jensen, along with Montreal’s very talented Joel Miller on tenor sax and clarinet, as our guest artists for our 38th Annual Winter Carnival concert on Saturday, February 8, at 8 pm in Spaulding. We’ll be performing some of Christine’s beautiful music from Treelines and Habitat with Christine and Ingrid Jensen and Joel Miller. Please join us for what promises to be a wonderful evening.

Don Glasgo

Sources: Jason Crane. “The Jazz Session #227: Christine Jensen.” Podcast. Originally broadcast 12/23/2010.

Jason Crane. “Ingrid Jensen: Viking Spirit.” Allaboutjazz.com. Interview published 9/24/2007.

Bravo (Canada). “Ingrid Jensen Arts and Minds.” Uploaded 6/16/2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjaUvw0iC8A

”In Person with Jazz Times: Ingrid Jensen on Working with Christine Jensen and Maria Schneider.” Lee Mergner, interviewer. Published 10/7/2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_ZlV8PK-Ko

Artists’ Websites: http://www.christinejensenmusic.com/ http://www.ingridjensen.com/ http://www.joelmillermusic.com/

NORTHERN LIGHTS/RISING STARSCHRISTINE & INGRID JENSEN

“ For me, when I play, I’m not really thinking of myself as a jazz musician, or even a trumpet player. It’s just ‘I’m in this moment with these people and we have this music, let’s see what we can do here. This is exciting!’” Ingrid Jensen

“ Ingrid’s been someone who has taken my music out to the world through her own playing…I hear her voice on so much of my music…We’re coming from the same space, it’s so innate.”

Christine Jensen

“ Christine is amazing…I play with a lot of great, very intuitive players…(but) with Christine it’s another level…playing and ‘tightness’ and freedom at the same time.” Ingrid Jensen

“ A large part of my process as a composer has included orchestrating stories from my life.” Christine Jensen