Chris Jentsch

Ivan Rod [Danish blog] 
ROUGH TRANSLATION 

MUSIC MESSAGE The American jazz guitarist, Chris Jentsch, is quite peculiar. Not just because he is a skilled guitarist with a sense of jazz character and scope, but also because he 1) has the ability to compose and arrange larger suites for larger orchestras and 2) has an extraordinary interest in history that he is trying to translate into music. Thus also in this case, where he has tried to ‘translate' events in American history into conceptual pieces of music that each have the character of suites within themselves. With Topics in American History he has created a coherent work of unusual dimensions - an album that consists of a form of chamber music (for string and wind instruments as well as drums), but which includes touches of classical music, but also world music and jazz. The work is performed by a nonet, in which Jentsch himself plays the guitar, and the work is presented with virtuosity and lyricism. The music is airy, many faceted and constructed as small stories that are believable in all cases.