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Denin Slage-Koch

Having been praised as possessing “pristine playing, meticulous composing” and “a very personal voice deserving of attention,” award-winning guitarist, composer, and educator Denin Slage-Koch has done a lot. He’s played and recorded with artists like Ryan Keberle, Shane Endsley, Carmen Bradford, Clay Jenkins, Brad Goode, Wycliffe Gordon, and the Colorado Symphony, written music for artists like Melissa Aldana and Carmen Bradford, recorded three albums of original music and served as sideman for many more, published a book, and is a full-time member of the jazz faculty at the University of Tennessee Knoxville - and he’s not even 30 years old yet. Put simply, he is one of the most exciting and unique rising musicians on the scene today.

As a guitarist, Slage-Koch's accolades include a multiple Downbeat Student Music Awards, a 2022 Pathways to Jazz grant award, and performances at venues including the national Jazz Education Network conference, Vail Jazz, Boettcher Concert Hall, and Dazzle Denver, among many others. His debut album, “re: manhattan project,” is a ten-movement suite for jazz quintet that reimagines the story of the Manhattan Project, which Slage-Koch’s hometown of Richland, WA was deeply involved in. “re: manhattan project,” received a four-star rating on AllAboutJazz.com and has been praised as “remarkable,” “extraordinary, “moving” and containing “beautiful interplay.” His third album, "It Comes in Waves," featuring trombonist Ryan Keberle and trumpeter Shane Endsley, will be released in Fall 2023.

Slage-Koch is also frequently in-demand as a composer and arranger for artists and ensembles across the United States. In 2023, he received a Herb Alpert Young Composer's award for his piece "It Comes in Waves," and in 2022 his composition "One for Honey" was recognized as an honorable mention at the Ithaca College Jazz Composition Contest against entries from 15 countries. Slage-Koch has written and arranged for artists including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Melissa Aldana, Carmen Bradford, and the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra, among others, and maintains a consistent workload of commissions.

Slage-Koch holds a Doctor of Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado, and has also received a Master of Music in Jazz and Contemporary Media from the Eastman School of Music and a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Studies from Whitworth University. He has over a decade of experience as an educator. Slage-Koch's major teachers include many of the greatest musicians and educators in the world, including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Gary Versace, Steve Kovalcheck, Bob Sneider, Dave Rivello, Bill Dobbins, Dan Keberle and Brent Edstrom.

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Album Review

Denin Koch: It Comes in Waves

Read "It Comes in Waves" reviewed by Geannine Reid


Guitarist Denin Slage-Koch's third album, It Comes in Waves, is a contemporary jazz outing featuring eight original compositions and a reimagined pop classic. Known for his exceptional technique and thoughtful compositions, Slage-Koch has assembled a group of highly skilled musicians to bring his vision to life. Slage-Koch's skill as a composer is evident in tracks like “The Road Home" and “The Philosopher (for Wayne Shorter)." In “The Road Home" one can hear beautiful harmonic progressions and tension/resolution patterns developed throughout ...

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Album Review

Zach Rich: Solidarity

Read "Solidarity" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Solidarity consists for the most part of warm, gentle chamber jazz ably performed by Denver-based trombonist Zach Rich, his quintet, a four-piece string section and half a dozen invited guests. Besides playing elegant trombone, Rich, who teaches at Denver's Lamont School of Music, wrote and arranged all of the album's eight handsome songs. The strings are present on the first six numbers; the seventh, “What Is America Rated?," features Julian Carey's spoken word, while the last, “The ...

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Take Five With...

Take Five with Denin Koch

Read "Take Five with Denin Koch" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Meet Denin Koch Hailed as possessing “pristine playing, meticulous composing" and “a very personal voice deserving of attention," guitarist and composer Denin Koch has synthesized his wide and varied influences into a unique approach to jazz improvisation. He has performed with Arturo Sandoval, Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Dee Daniels, Ryan Keberle, and the Spokane Symphony (as a soloist), published a book, graduated from the Eastman School of Music, and released an album of original music—all before ...

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Album Review

Denin Koch: re: manhattan project

Read "re: manhattan project" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann


The conceptual scope of guitarist Denin Koch's debut recording could not be much more ambitious. With Re: Manhattan Project, the young Eastman School of Music graduate contemplates the impact nuclear inventions have had on the world and delivers a powerful ten-composition suite. Each piece is either inspired by an element of the infamous Manhattan Project story or his own experience growing up in Richland, Washington, only a few miles from the first large-scale nuclear reactor, known as the b reactor. ...

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Solidarity

OA2 Records
2024

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It Comes in Waves

Self Produced
2023

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Temporary Songs

Self Produced
2022

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re: manhattan project

Self Produced
2020

buy

Seraph

From: Solidarity
By Denin Slage-Koch

The Einstein-Szilard Letter

From: re: manhattan project
By Denin Slage-Koch

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