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Steve Treseler

Jazz Review calls Seattle-based saxophonist and composer Steve Treseler “a bona fide big player in the arena of straight-ahead jazz who provides just enough other ingredients to keep it all fascinating and fresh.” Treseler’s music draws from the traditions of classic and contemporary jazz, impressionism, minimalism, and indie rock.

In addition to leading his own band, Treseler is a regular member of the Jim Knapp Orchestra, Wayne Horvitz’s Washington Composers Orchestra (WACO), and the Tom Varner Nonet. He has performed with jazz greats Kenny Wheeler, Bill Frisell, Bob Brookmeyer, Dave Douglas, George Russell, George Garzone, Ingrid Jensen, John Medeski, Pete Christlieb, Darcy James Argue, Terri Lyne Carrington, Donny McCaslin, and Kobie Watkins.

Growing up in Edmonds, WA, Steve began playing the clarinet in school band at age ten and picked up tenor saxophone in middle school. He got serious about playing jazz in high school, and he immersed himself in the classic recordings of Lester Young, Clifford Brown, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk. He began to compose original music and joined a youth New Orleans jazz band that performed in festivals up and down the west coast.

Steve continued his education on scholarship at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he studied with jazz legends Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Brookmeyer, George Garzone and Steve Lacy. He graduated with distinction in performance and was named “Outstanding Soloist” in the college division by DownBeat magazine.

In 2003 Steve returned to Seattle to perform, teach, and work on new projects. His debut album Resonance (2008) received critical acclaim and international radio airplay, and his 2013 release Center Song features renowned trumpeter Ingrid Jensen.

Steve is an in-demand educator in Seattle. He has a large studio of private students, and he presents workshops on jazz and improvisation throughout the Pacific Northwest. Treseler’s new textbook The Living Jazz Tradition: A Creative Guide to Improvisation and Harmony has been used in classes at Berklee, University of Idaho, and Central Washington University. Steve is currently working toward a master’s degree in jazz studies at the University of Washington as Cuong Vu’s teaching assistant.

Awards

Outstanding Soloist in College Division, DownBeat Magazine 2003 Tenor Saxophone Soloist Winner in High School Division, Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, 1999 1st Place, WMEA State Solo Competition, Tenor Saxophone, 1999


Tags

25
Album Review

Jim Knapp Orchestra: It's Not Business, It's Personal

Read "It's Not Business, It's Personal" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The Jim Knapp Orchestra's CD It's Not Business, It's Personal, recorded in February 2009, was set to be released on November 19, 2021—six days after Knapp died at age eighty-two in Kirkland, Washington. Apart from his role as bandleader, Knapp was a trumpeter, composer, arranger and longtime faculty member at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. Described by Grammy-winning composer/pianist Jim McNeely as “a brilliant musician, great teacher and a humble, sweet [and] generous man," Knapp was widely recognized ...

20
Album Review

Phil Parisot: Inventions

Read "Inventions" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Even at a time when jazz has broadened its horizons to encompass music from a wide variety of sources, it is not often that one happens upon a jazz album inspired by the life and music of Johann Sebastian Bach. However, that is the premise animating drummer Phil Parisot's sunlit Inventions, an astute post-bop session wherein Bach's muse may be present but whose point of view, exemplified by Parisot's stylish compositions, is decidedly contemporary. The truth is, if ...

4
Album Review

Ryan Burns: Postponed Parade

Read "Postponed Parade" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Keyboardist Ryan Burns' Postponed Parade happened, in large part, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The vexing virus that hit us in 2020 made getting together difficult and dangerous--for music-making or anything else. So here is what Burns did: During Covid-19 times he recorded and released a single tune each month, from May to October 2020. These sessions took place in his contributing musicians' houses, with the exception of “Shoreline," recorded in a studio, but with everyone in a separate room. ...

2
Album Review

Steve Treseler Group: Center Song

Read "Center Song" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


Sono due direzioni molto diverse tra loro a contrassegnare (in base alle intenzioni espresse dall'autore nelle note di copertina) Center Song, secondo album a proprio nome del sassofonista e clarinettista Steve Treseler. Da una parte la scena alternative rock e grunge di Seattle--città nella quale il leader di questo gruppo è cresciuto--omaggiata con il brano dei Sunny Day Real Estate “Days Were Golden," dall'altra la frequentazione del New England Conservatory con infatuazione per la musica di Lennie Tristano, Warne Marsh ...

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2

Recording

Saxophonist Steve Treseler Releases Center Song Featuring Ingrid Jensen

Saxophonist Steve Treseler Releases Center Song Featuring Ingrid Jensen

Source: Fully Altered Media

Saxophonist Steve Treseler's new release, Center Song, is a portrait of the Pacific Northwest cultural scene. Joined by B.C.-born, New York-based trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, Center Song reunites the rhythm section of Treseler's 2008 album, Resonance — pianist Dawn Clement, guitarist Chris Spencer, bassists Jon Hamar (on double bass) and Dean Schmidt (electric) and drummer Steve Korn — with guests Dan Kramlich on piano and cellist Meg Risso. Treseler grew up in the midst of Seattle's grunge and alternative rock scene ...

"Treseler is a bona fide big player in the arena of straight-ahead jazz who provides just enough other ingredients to keep it all fascinating and fresh." -Jazz Review

"Steve Treseler is a nuanced, controlled, and compelling saxophonist." -Earshot Jazz

"His tenor playing is assured, big-toned, and creative." -Jazz Now! Seattle

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Inventions

OA2 Records
2021

buy

It's Not Business,...

Origin Records
2021

buy

Postponed Parade

Odd Bird Records
2020

buy

Center Song

Self Produced
2014

buy

Gray Skies

From: It's Not Business, It's Personal
By Steve Treseler

From the Ancestors

From: Inventions
By Steve Treseler

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