Christine Jensen Quartet
Thursday July 17, 2025
The Carleton
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Canadian Saxophonist and composer Christine Jensen has led a distinct voice to the creative jazz scene for the last twenty-five years with her large and small ensembles. She is set to release her third jazz orchestra album Harbour (2024) on Justin-Time Records. It features her Montreal-based orchestra, along with guest soloists NY-based Ingrid Jensen on trumpet and electronics, Gary Versace on piano, Chet Doxas on tenor saxophone, Jon Wikan on drums, and and Montreal-based Steve Raegele on guitar. This album captures over a decade of her compositions and commissions, with her sister’s improvisations infused throughout.
“Always a compelling writer, capable of strong lyricism combined with harmonic invention and plenty of narrative twists and turns, Jensen's music not only impresses on a first encounter, but reveals more with each and every listen.” -All About Jazz As a Downbeat Critic’s Poll winner for Rising Star Big Band, Arranger, and Soprano Saxophonist, she is constantly in motion as an improviser, composer and bandleader. Her jazz orchestra recordings have gone on to win Juno awards, including Habitat (2014) and Treelines (2011). She is nominated for a 2024 Juno
for her latest pandemic-inspired quartet album Day Moon (2023). She has been honoured as a two-time recipient of SOCAN’s Hagood Hardy Jazz Composer Award. Habitat received the coveted 5 stars in Downbeat, along with Jazz Album of the Year. In 2017, Jensen was awarded The Prix Oscar Peterson from the Montreal International Jazz Festival for her exceptional contributions to jazz in Canada. Jensen’s latest Montreal quartet released the Juno-nominated album Day Moon in 2023 to rave reviews.
She also works with the quartet collective CODE with Montreal-based Jim Doxas-drums, Adrian Vedady-bass, and Lex French-trumpet. They released Genealogy in 2020 and are set to release CODE-Red in fall 2024 on Justin-Time Records. She continues to collaborate in quintet settings with her sister and their ensembles Infinitude featuring Ben Monder, along with Swedish composer and pianist Maggi Olin. Jensen’s music has taken her all over the world through commissioning, performance and conducting opportunities. In 2023 she was honoured to conduct and arrange for the HR Big band-Frankfurt with Mark Turner and his music. The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra released the suite East Meets West in 2024, where Jensen was commissioned to compose as well as being featured on saxophone, along with Vancouver composer and conductor Jill Townsend. Over the past decade she has been invited guest artist with Frost School of Music, The New School, University of Michigan, UMO Jazz Orchestra-Finland, Stockholm Jazz Orchestra, and Luxembourg Jazz Orchestra.
Jensen has performed with Jeremy Pelt, Phil Dwyer, Ben Monder, Gary Smuylan, Geoffrey Keezer, Lenny Pickett, and Donny McCaslin, Helen Sung, as well as directing Terrence Blanchard with the Orchestre National Jazz de Montreal. She is founding artistic director and conductor of the Canadian National Jazz Orchestra, as well as the past artistic director of Orchestre National Jazz de Montreal (ONJ), who commissioned and recorded her suite Under The Influence (2017) as well as her ever evolving project equal=orchestra (2022).
In 2022 Jensen joined the Eastman faculty as professor of jazz studies, where she teaches jazz composition and arranging, along with directing the award-winning Eastman Jazz Ensemble. She continues to work between Montreal and New York, where she has previously been on faculty at McGill University, Purchase College (NY), University of Sherbrooke, Université de Montreal. Teachers and mentors include Kenny Werner, Jim McNeely, Dick Oatts, Remi Bolduc and John Hollenbeck.
Important information regarding Minor's attending the TD Main Stage:
This show is 19+ / Minors will permitted if accompanied and supervised by a parent or legal guardian and the appropriate documentation provided. For more information click here.