Podcast 959: A Conversation with Christine Jensen

Straight No Chaser - A Jazz Show

One of the few positives of the horrid COVID pandemic that shook the music world to its core has been the release of musci composed during those uncertain days. Alton and soprano saxophonist Christine Jensen's lastest album, Day Moon (Justin Time Records) stands as a shining example of how a great musician turns struggle into art.

Recorded with her quartet of pianist Steve Amirault and her long-time collaborators bassist Adrian Vedady and drummer Jim Doxas, Day Moon is highlighted by the four-song suite Quiescence. Written for a commission from New York’s Jazz Coalition that had raised funds for composers. Jensen sketched compositions including the Brazilian clave-feel “Tolos d’Abril,” her April Fool’s birthday song.

Ms. Jensen is the two-time winner of Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year at the Juno Awards, the Canadian version of the Grammys. She's released eleven albums as a leader, from her CODE Quartet to the large scale Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra, She's collaborated with her sister, the noted trumper Ingrid Jensen, as well as Ben Monder, Donny McCaslin and Geoffrey Keezer.

Podcast 959 is my conversation with Christine, as she discusses how she writes music, how she plays to the strengths of her collaborators, and where she is headed musically. Musical selections include “Tolos d’Abril.”