Brent Jensen

Nancy Erickson Lamont: Through the Passages

by Nicholas F. Mondello
May 16, 2024

On occasion with so many artists presenting recordings, a reviewer may innocently fall into the trap of bypassing a jewel by an unfamiliar singer. Such was the case here. The subsequent discovery was fortuitous. Seattle-based vocalist and composer, Nancy Erickson Lamont's Through the Passages is a thoroughly fascinating, absorbing 12-original-track session with the artist surrounded by an A-1 crew of the Pacific Northwest's best. It is undoubtedly a pearl of a find. “Tick Tock" opens the date ...

Bill Anschell / Brent Jensen: We Couldn't Agree More

by Thomas Conrad
April 6, 2024

Wynton Marsalis recently said, “The hallmark of a first-class jazz musician is the ability to adapt." It is a paradoxical statement. But Marsalis is not using the term “adapt" in the Darwinian context of adaptation and natural selection. He does not mean adapting to, say, bad food on the road. He is referring to listening skills and lightning reflexes. Jazz improvisation is a moment-to-moment creative process of real-time interaction and discovery. It would be hard to find a ...

Brent Jensen: More Sounds of a Dry Martini

by Jack Bowers
May 27, 2021

Two decades have passed since alto saxophonist Brent Jensen recorded his debut album for Origin Records, Sounds of a Dry Martini: A Tribute to Paul Desmond, in 2001. To Jensen's surprise, the album became so enormously popular that the possibility of a sequel was envisioned. There was, however, one large stumbling block—by 2007, Jensen had sold his alto sax and switched to soprano. It was not until 2017, after he had moved to Seattle, Washington, and bought another alto, that ...

Wellstone Conspiracy: Motives

by John Barron
April 24, 2010

The Wellstone Conspiracy is a collective venture for four of the more prolific jazz musicians residing in the Northwest region of the United States. The group consists of Idaho-based saxophonist Brent Jensen and from Seattle, pianist Bill Anschell, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop. The quartet, previously heard together on Jensen's One More Mile (Origin, 2008), hits the mark with Motives, a disc full of stunning interplay and individual showmanship. A highlight of the recording is the ...

Bill Anschell/Brett Jensen: We Couldn't Agree More

by John Barron
July 13, 2009

We Couldn't Agree More is a great example of what happens when two like-minded musicians gather for an impromptu session, playing through a list of well-worn standards. Pianist Bill Anschell and soprano saxophonist Brent Jensen deliver a relaxed, humorously inventive duo recording that happily swings from beginning to end. Recorded in Boise, Idaho, during a break from a tour of the state (Jensen is an Assistant Professor of Music at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls), ...

Bill Anschell / Brent Jensen: We Couldn't Agree More

by C. Michael Bailey
July 10, 2009

By definition, the classical or jazz duo is the most intimate performance format. Intimacy requires two parties sharing with a base empathy. An example is Eddie Daniels and Roger Kellaway's A Duet of One (2008, IPO), where the two principles shared a great love for the mainstream and its sensitive presentation.

Enter west coasters, pianist Bill Anschell and soprano saxophonist Brent Jensen, with We Couldn't Agree More. This instrument combination instantly recalls the Steve Lacy and Mal Waldron recordings of ...

Brent Jensen: One More Mile

by John Barron
December 1, 2007

Idaho-based saxophonist Brent Jensen seems to have found his musical soul-mates in the Pacific Northwest. For One More Mile, the College of Southern Idaho professor teams up with three of Seattle, Washington's finest--pianist Bill Anschell, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop--for an intriguing straight-ahead set of standards and originals.

Jensen is a well-rounded improviser who can get things cooking in a variety of styles and tempos. With his warm-toned soprano saxophone front and center, he moves easily from a ...

Jazz Musician of the Day: Brent Jensen

Source: Michael Ricci
February 12, 2023

All About Jazz is celebrating Brent Jensen's birthday today!

Now making his home in Seattle, saxophonist Brent Jensen was the Director of Jazz Studies at the College of Southern Idaho for many years. As the artistic director for the CSI Jazz Summit and the Jazz Saturdays workshop series, Jensen was a major force in cultivating new performers and bringing world-class jazz events to Idaho, creating a climate of rich cultural pursuit that remains since his departure. Raised in Boise, Brent ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Brent Jensen

Source: Michael Ricci
February 12, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Brent Jensen's birthday today!

Now making his home in Seattle, saxophonist Brent Jensen was the Director of Jazz Studies at the College of Southern Idaho for many years. As the artistic director for the CSI Jazz Summit and the Jazz Saturdays workshop series, Jensen was a major force in cultivating new performers and bringing world-class jazz events to Idaho, creating a climate of rich cultural pursuit that remains since his departure. Raised in Boise, Brent ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Brent Jensen

Source: Michael Ricci
February 12, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Brent Jensen's birthday today!

Now making his home in Seattle, saxophonist Brent Jensen was the Director of Jazz Studies at the College of Southern Idaho for eighteen years. As the artistic director for the CSI Jazz Summit and the Jazz Saturdays workshop series, Jensen was a major force in cultivating new performers and bringing world-class jazz events to Idaho, creating a climate of rich cultural pursuit that remains since his departure. Brent Jensen studied in ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Brent Jensen

Source: Michael Ricci
February 12, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Brent Jensen's birthday today!

Now making his home in Seattle, saxophonist Brent Jensen was the Director of Jazz Studies at the College of Southern Idaho for eighteen years. As the artistic director for the CSI Jazz Summit and the Jazz Saturdays workshop series, Jensen was a major force in cultivating new performers and bringing world-class jazz events to Idaho, creating a climate of rich cultural pursuit that remains since his departure. Brent Jensen studied in ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Brent Jensen

Source: Michael Ricci
February 12, 2019

All About Jazz is celebrating Brent Jensen's birthday today!

In 1986-87, Brent studied in New York City with jazz legend Lee Konitz on a grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts. He was a featured winner of the Woodwinds on Fire international talent search conducted by Jazziz magazine (August 1996). Brent has performed with a wide variety of jazz artists including Gene Harris, Bobby Shew, Gary Foster, Dave Peck, Joe LaBarbera, John Clayton, Wycliffe Gordon, Warren Vache, Curtis Stigers... ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Brent Jensen

Source: Michael Ricci
February 12, 2018

All About Jazz is celebrating Brent Jensen's birthday today!

In 1986-87, Brent studied in New York City with jazz legend Lee Konitz on a grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts. He was a featured winner of the Woodwinds on Fire international talent search conducted by Jazziz magazine (August 1996). Brent has performed with a wide variety of jazz artists including Gene Harris, Bobby Shew, Gary Foster, Dave Peck, Joe LaBarbera, John Clayton, Wycliffe Gordon, Warren Vache, Curtis Stigers... ...
read more

Weekend Listening (And Viewing) Tip: Brent Jensen

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
February 12, 2018

Bassist Bren Plummer’s live radio broadcast a couple of days ago (scroll down two items) prompted me to check out the KNKX-FM website. There, I found a post about another Pacific Northwest jazz luminary, alto saxophonist Brent Jensen, who was recently video-recorded in one of the station’s live sessions. (Jensen and bassist Jeff Johnson are pictured left.) KNKX host Abe Beeson put together an entry that includes four pieces by Jensen and his quartet with Johnson, guitarist Jamie Findlay and ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Brent Jensen

Source: Michael Ricci
February 12, 2017

All About Jazz is celebrating Brent Jensen's birthday today!

In 1986-87, Brent studied in New York City with jazz legend Lee Konitz on a grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts. He was a featured winner of the Woodwinds on Fire international talent search conducted by Jazziz magazine (August 1996). Brent has performed with a wide variety of jazz artists including Gene Harris, Bobby Shew, Gary Foster, Dave Peck, Joe LaBarbera, John Clayton, Wycliffe Gordon, Warren Vache, Curtis Stigers... ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Brent Jensen

Source: Michael Ricci
February 12, 2016

All About Jazz is celebrating Brent Jensen's birthday today!

In 1986-87, Brent studied in New York City with jazz legend Lee Konitz on a grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts. He was a featured winner of the Woodwinds on Fire international talent search conducted by Jazziz magazine (August 1996). Brent has performed with a wide variety of jazz artists including Gene Harris, Bobby Shew, Gary Foster, Dave Peck, Joe LaBarbera, John Clayton, Wycliffe Gordon, Warren Vache, Curtis Stigers... ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Brent Jensen

Source: Michael Ricci
February 12, 2015

All About Jazz is celebrating Brent Jensen's birthday today! In 1986-87, Brent studied in New York City with jazz legend Lee Konitz on a grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts. He was a featured winner of the Woodwinds on Fire international talent search conducted by Jazziz magazine (August 1996). Brent has performed with a wide variety of jazz artists including Gene Harris, Bobby Shew, Gary Foster, Dave Peck, Joe LaBarbera, John Clayton, Wycliffe Gordon, Warren Vache, Curtis Stigers... ...
read more