Personnel on Departures/Arrivals includes Richard Boulger - trumpet. Steve Davis - trombone. Randy Johnston or Tom Dempsey - guitar. David Hazeltine or Rick Germanson - piano. Dwayne Burno, Nat Reeves - bass. Tony Jefferson - drums.
Influences
Traditional church hymns, '70's AM radio, '70's/early 80's FM radio, rock n' roll, classic jazz, soul, r&b, folk and blues roots, Afro-Caribbean/Latin diasporic, and classical elements --------Louis Armstrong, Johnny Cash, Nat King Cole, Leroy "Slam" Stewart, The Beatles, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Eckstein, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, Hank, Thad, Elvin Jones, Papa Joe, Philly Joe Jones, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Don Byas, Gene Ammons, Frank Wess, Johnny Hodges, Miles Davis, Jackie McLean, James Moody, Jimmy Heath (Percy, Tootie) Benny Golson, Art Farmer, Art Pepper, Lee Konitz, Cannonball & Nat Adderly, Nancy Wilson, Phil Woods, Johnny Griffin, Hank Mobley, Junior Cook, George Coleman, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Clifford Jordan, Booker Earvin, Warne Marsh, Stanley Turrentine, Pharoah Sanders, Lee Morgan, Blue Mitchell, Kenny Dorham, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Maynard Ferguson, Clifford Brown, Horace Silver/Art Blakey Jazz Messengers, Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Charlie Persip, "Tootsie" Bean, Tito Puente, Pete Escovedo, Bud Powell, Wynton Kelly, McCoy Tyner, Jaki Byard, Walter Bishop Jr., Barry Harris, Herbie Hancock, Hotep Galeta (Cecil Barnard), Nat Reeves, Steve Davis, Brad Mehldau, J.J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Eddie Bert, Steve Turre, Michael & Randy Brecker, Bob Berg, Bob Mintzer, Joe Lovano, Dick Oatts, Kenny Garrett, Rene McLean, Wallace & Antoine Roney, Branford & Wynton Marsalis, Victor Jones, Vincent Herring, Bill Saxton, David Schnitter, Ralph Lalama, Paul Brown, Sue Terry, Dave Hazeltine, Brian Lynch, Sam Newsome, Gil Brown, Javon Jackson, Kenny Rampton, Andy Gravish, Joe Magnarelli, Jim Rotondi, Tony Kadleck, Mike Holober, Mike LeDonne, Peter Washington, Bob Mover, Stephen Hall, Jesse Davis, Jerry Weldon, Doug Lawrence, Marshall McDonald, Tony Jefferson, Rudy Petschauer, Pete Brainin, Ugonna Okegwo, Mark Turner, Mike Karn, Ron Sutton Jr., Saadi Zane, Abe Burton, E MAC Eric MacPherson, Ahmed Alan Palmer, James, John, Joe Farnsworth, John Webber, Eric Alexander, Grant Stewart, Joel Frahm, Sascha Perry, Mike "Spike" Wilner, Mike Bank, Mike Mulllins, Kelly Friesen, Mike Amendola, Jimmy Greene, Richard Boulger, Tom Dempsey, John Hollenbeck, Rick Germanson, Joe Strasser, Ian "spliff" Smith, Dave Gibson, Tom Pietrycha, Tony Leone, Mike DiRubbo, Wayne Escoffery, Julius Tolentino, Grant Langford, Kris Allen, Dezron Douglas, Josh Evans, Mike Rodriguez, Zaccai & Luques Curtis, FELIX SWING, Chicago (pre 1980) Blood Sweat & Tears, Grover Washington, Chuck Mangione, The Crusaders, David Sanborn, Gato Barbieri, Hugh Masakela, Ray Charles, BB King, Jimi Hendrix, Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, Isley Bros., Temptations, Bob Marley & the Wailers, King Curtis, The Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts, Jaimoe) Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, The Meters, STONES, WHO, DOORS, Doobie Brothers, Eric Clapton, STING, Springsteen/Clarence Clemons,, .....The LESSONS and more visionaries: Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Ruth, Job, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, The Apostles, Muhammed, Buddha, Mark Twain, Ghandi, MLK, JFK, RFK, Malcolm X, The Da Avatara, Einstein, Jung, Kahlil Gibran, Reinhold Neibuhr, Rod Serling, Joseph Campbell, George Michael Evika, Bill Moyers..........
Having established himself as one of the premier voices on his instrument today, saxophonist/composer Kris Jensen has forged a career that spans over 20 years in nearly as many professional settings. A native of Binghamton, NY, Jensen received excellent training as a young student in both the Binghamton Public Schools and at The State University of New York at Binghamton. Upon graduating Binghamton High School, Jensen enrolled at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT where he began what would turn out to be a 15-year apprenticeship with the late great jazz saxophonist and composer Jackie McLean. While working as an associate professor alongside McLean, Jensen helped to develop some of the finest young saxophone talents on the scene today including Connecticut saxophonists Jimmy Greene, Kris Allen, Wayne Escoffery, Lummie Spann, Ray McMorrin, Andy Breskin and Nicholas Biello. Jensen also worked as a teacher at The Artists' Collective Inc. teaching woodwinds and jazz studies in Hartford's inner city. As a performer, Jensen's first major professional experience was as lead alto saxophonist for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines' Division of Entertainment. Jensen had the opportunity to play the lead alto saxophone chair for Ben Vereen, Red Buttons, Patti Page, Bob Florence, Frank Gorshin, Al Martino and many other famous entertainers. Since then, Jensen has recorded or performed with a plethora of well established and emerging artists, including percussionists Jesse Hameen, Pete Escovedo and Giovanni Hidalgo, trumpeters Eddie Henderson, Valery Ponamarev, Richard Boulger, saxophonists Jackie McLean, Phil Woods and George Coleman, trombonists Eddie Bert and Steve Davis pianists John Hicks, Hotep Idris Galeta, David Hazeltine and Brad Mehldau guitarists Melvin Sparks, Randy Johnston, Rodney Jones, Rohn Lawrence and Tom Dempsey bassists Paul Brown, Nat Reeves, Dennis Irwin and Dwayne Burno and pianists/vocalists Michael Feinstein, Dena DeRose and Kevin Mahogany. In 1996, Jensen received a great honor, being selected as a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition in Washington, D.C. Kris played alongside 12 of the world's best young saxophonist before a panel of some of jazz's greatest saxophone legends. From 1999-2004, Jensen toured North America with both Dickey Betts and Great Southern and Maynard Ferguson and Big Bop Nouveau. Betts, the classic-rock guitar legend and composer of such hits as Ramblin' Man and In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, recorded the albums Let's Get Together and The Collector's Vol. I which prominently feature Kris's sax. While with Betts, Jensen also had the opportunity to perform with the Charlie Daniels Band and in August 2003 with the Dave Matthews Band. With the blazing trumpet virtouso Maynard Ferguson, Kris was a prominently featured soloist. In January 2004, Kris joined the trumpet legend on a tour which included a week in Bangkok, Thailand performing the compositions of the king of Thailand, His Majesty Bhumipol Adulyadej. Currently, Jensen stays busy as an active freelance musician and woodwinds instructor throughout New England and the New York Tri-State area. Kris Jensen and Eklektik bands are also available for public and private functions of all sizes. Contact Eklektik Productions at (203) 691 6227 for bookings.
Hello Kris, Thanks so much for the Add–and your friendship. We enjoyed your music very much. Thanks for sharing it with all of us. It's a pleasure having you among our friends! We've added two blogs about Umano, plus four more new compositions, making ten on our page. We hope you and your friends visit us and enjoy our music, too. We wake up every morning and play the music of the new MySpace friends who have arrived at our site during the night. It occurred to us that these friends (you are among them) are almost universally positive, whether they be novices or legends, and without regard to their station in life or the country they occupy. Although it's not an original thought, it also occurred to us that we couldn’t hold a verbal conversation with most of these friends, but we have bridged that gap by expressing our art honestly with each other. We all have been filling the world with our music and art, in the hope that our messages of love and human understanding will have an impact on the world at large. What a gift and what an opportunity we have received from this technology! Thom & Lorry Gambino New York, New York
There is one record where he plays all over the horn, low and high- "The Music from The Connection". It may be hard to find, but it's out there. Howard McGee is on it, and I think Al McKibbon. Very good record
I just listened to it last night!! All of us drooled over your solos!! You are a monster!! It's awesome to hear what they did with all the vocals... thanks for the compliment!!
Thundering Toad Spit!!! Always great to hear from you Kris!! Hope all is well. Check out my bands myspace when you get the chance: Pan & the Goddamns ~~~M www.myspace.com/panandthegoddamns
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