CHRISTINE JENSEN

	CHRISINE JENSEN

BIO Christine Jensen • ALTO & SOPRANO SAXOPHONE, COMPOSITION • Christine Jensen has built a reputation as an original voice on both the Canadian and International jazz scene. In May 2000 she released her debut recording featuring her sextet entitled Collage on Effendi Records, which went on to receive rave reviews internationally. "Jensen has arrived with a beautiful bang, making spirited, positive music" -Ottawa Citizen "Collage is a carefully layered work that reveals new musical vistas with each listening" -JazzTimes Magazine Since Jensen graduated from McGill in 1994 she has been busy performing on the international jazz scene, while based out of Montréal. She is active as a composer, arranger and clinician. Recent highlights have included a Canadian tour with her sextet, performing a headline showcase at the International Association of Jazz Educators 2002 Conference, as well as The Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She has frequently recorded projects for the CBC as well as Radio Canada, and made numerous festival appearances at the Montréal Jazz Festival with both her big band and small ensembles. Born in Sechelt, British Columbia, Jensen spent her formative years in Nanaimo, gaining a firm footing in the jazz and classical tradition. Her mother, an accomplished pianist and music teacher, had her taking piano lessons starting at age seven. Subsequently, Jensen picked up the alto saxophone in order to participate in the city's award winning school music program. Her teachers, as well as her mother's record collection turned her in the direction of jazz, garnering her accolades for her saxophone playing at a national level. Jensen's works have been transported all over the world, in part due to her sister, jazz trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. Her composition skills gained attention when Ingrid's debut jazz album Vernal Fields went on to win the 1996 Juno Award. This album contained three of her compositions, including the title track. She has had her big band works played and recorded by the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, The Banff Jazz Orchestra, The McGill Jazz Orchestra, as well as numerous University bands throughout North America. A Shorter Distance has given Jensen the chance to arrange her music for quintet, sextet, and septet formations. Adding the texture of guitar opened up a whole new spectrum of sound to explore, as it created a rich palette when combined with the piano. She was also able to further the development of the three-horn sound which she has spent a decade working on with her counterparts, Ingrid on trumpet and Joel Miller on tenor saxophone. The presence of Jon Wikan on drums gave her the "New York drive" that she was exploring over the last few years, as she has spent considerable amounts of time studying and sessioning her music there. Jensen has received numerous awards from both the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des Arts et Lettres du Québec. This has led her to have the opportunity to study with composers and saxophone teachers Jim McNeely, Dick Oatts, Kenny Werner, and Steve Wilson. Currently she resides in Paris as the recipient of the Québec Studio at the Cité Internationale des Arts untill January 2003. She is also a member of the BMI Composer's Workshop in New York, where she is able to study and have her large ensemble works played under the direction of Mr. McNeely.

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