By JAZZFM.91 | 2024/05/02

Fresh off her JUNO win back in March for Jazz Album of the Year: Solo for the album Day Moon, acclaimed saxophonist, conductor and composer Christine Jensen announces her new album, Harbour, her first jazz orchestra album in over a decade.

Slated for release on June 28 via Nettwerk/Justin Time Records, Harbour features a searing set of originals penned by Jensen over the last decade. Featuring some of New York and Montreal’s top improvisers, Harbour represents a departure point from leaving shelter and emerging into the new world, with the ensemble playing with acoustic and electric elements from Jensen’s compositions. Fantasy On Blue, the first single from the album, features NYC-based Ingrid Jensen on trumpets and electronics, commissioned in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Miles Davis’ seminal work, Kind of Blue.

Here’s what Christine had to say about this album:

“I think of this collection of songs as my commissioning series, with each piece marking time since the beginnings of life for my daughter. I chose the title Harbour because I think its place of shelter on the water, a respite before the new migrations that await on land. This ensemble of family and friends represents that feeling to me, as we all came out of so much turbulence to land together in a room, where my music could take flight. The musicians that I had the privilege to perform and record with took all this to another level and brought their own characters in through their masterful sounds and improvisations. This time around, I can’t be more thrilled with the magic that has surfaced, from the sculpting of forms to the performances that are so lovingly interpreted.”

In addition to Ingrid Jensen, the album also features her Montreal-based 19-piece jazz orchestra, along with guest soloists Gary Versace on piano, Chet Doxas on tenor saxophone, Jon Wikan on drums 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.

Christine Jensen will join Walter Venafro live in studio on Saturday Afternoon Jazz on May 18 at 1pm. Stay tuned to our socials for more updates.

Harbour by Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra comes out June 28, 2024.