UNC Jazz Press

(8 Brass) This is an engaging contemporary co-feature for your bass trombone and your bass player. There is solo space and an extended written melody arranged more or less in unison for bass and bass trombone. The piece alternates between three different recurring sections and calls for a half-time funk and a reggae-hybrid feel. Improvised orginally in a rehearsal by the Christopher Jentsch Trio, the last page is one of the composer's most satisfying. Additional solo space is arranged for tenor or guitar. Reed I plays soprano sax throughout. Recorded by the University of Miami's Concert Jazz Band on Jentsch's Miami Suite CD. A trio version is available on Jentsch's Media Event CD (jentsch@earthlink.net)

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CHRISTOPHER JENTSCH is a recording and performing artist working primarily in jazz and contemporary improvisational forms. He is also a composer of jazz and concert music having written for ensembles such as various chamber groups, large jazz ensembles, soprano with studio orchestra, concert band, percussion ensemble, guitar ensemble, jazz vocal ensemble and acoustic/electric MIDI ensemble. In 1995, Jentsch received commissions from the Penfield Commission Project and the Maelstrom Percussion Ensemble. The following year, he was guest artist and composer in residence at Fairport High School on a grant from Meet the Composer and the Commission Project. In 1997, he performed four days of clinics and concerts at one of his alma maters, Gettysburg College. In the past fifteen years, Mr. Jentsch has also worked with such diverse musical personalities as Ira Sullivan, Harvie Swartz, Chris Wood, George Russell, Chris Speed, John Cage, Maria Schneider, Vince Mendoza and Frank Carlberg. Mr. Jentsch holds bachelor's degrees from Gettysburg College (History and Liberal Arts) and the New England Conservatory (Jazz Studies). His group Planet X performed numerous concerts and radio broadcasts in Boston. Jentsch also earned a master's degree in Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media from the Eastman School of Music where he taught improvisaton, small group jazz performance and jazz history. Having completed his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Jazz Composition at the University of Miami, Jentsch has also been active as a published scholar. A book of John Abercrombie jazz guitar solo transcriptions is available worldwide through Advance Music; and an article on Django Reinhardt is to be published in the Jazz Educators Journal. Jentsch's first CD, Media Event, was released in 1998. His second CD, Miami Suite (1999), presents original works for large jazz ensemble. Scheduled for a future chamber music CD is a recently completed string quartet and songs for piano and soprano voice. Now based in Brooklyn, Jentsch has been composing and developing a new small group. The CD, Miami Suite, is available for sale through UNC Jazz Press. Check the Other Media Section for Recordings.