Dave Ihlenfeld

Dave Ihlenfeld grew up in St. Louis, where at age 3 he started picking out bass lines to Motown tunes on the family piano. Lessons followed, to be abandoned in favor of viola, euphonium, and finally the tuba, but a piano opening in his high school jazz band provided the musical outlet he was seeking. Gigs followed, but fame and fortune did not, so he attended DePauw and Indiana Universities, and then worked out of Indianapolis as a music teacher and performing musician. Since 1996 he has resided in Arizona, where he is in demand as a jazz pianist and tuba player. He also writes the odd tune, usually employing an odd time signature. He has performed with a diverse range of musicians, from Clark Terry to Rich Matteson to the St. Louis Symphony; taught at Vincennes, Indiana, and Northern Arizona universities, and has had compositions featured on NPR's All Things Considered. His CD Ocean View is a collection of original jazz tunes that feature, and often combine, Bebop, Brazilian, African, and other diverse rhythms and styles. His music paints aural pictures of schooners, swaying palms, or even a simple sandwich. Dave formed his band, Dave Ihlenfeld and the NuWrld Jazz Project, as a palette for realizing his musical ideas. The band, a stellar cast of Phoenix-based musicians and long-time friends, bring their energy and creativity to his eclectic arrangements. They are well-versed in the music's styles and stories, and display everything from a prowess with traditional bebop harmonies to the raw energy of a Spanish bullfight. Dave serves with his church in a variety of capacities. He enjoys a good tiki drink, a smooth cigar, and a long nap—preferably in a shaded hammock—and aspires to spend an entire summer reading (and writing music!) by the ocean.

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