Home » Jazz Articles » Tim Jensen: A Mind for the Scenery

Tim Jensen: A Mind for the Scenery

By Dan McClenaghan
March 9, 2004
Sign in to view read count

Red flags flare up when a disc comes in with the tag "eclectic" lurking in the press material. The New Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word as "selecting or made up of what seems best of varied sources." But the word sometimes serves as a shorthand for—in the world of music assessment—unfocused or lacking continuity of vision. Fortunately, multiple reedman Tim Jensen's A Mind for the Scenery holds to the true definition.

The Portland, Oregon-based arranger/composer does combine a dizzying array of varied styles here, as he switches lineup on every track, using everything from the quartet mode—himself on one of his many reeds in front of the rhythm section—to a nine horn front line. The mix of styles in the stew ranges from the tangy grooves of the opener, "Sausage," to a Stan Kenton-ish big band sound on "Rusty Rayburn and Piggy Lee," a song that swings smooth in a sea of muted brass and cool reeds; amd on into the edgy, slightly discordant (in the beginning), dark- toned "Fiasco."

Jensen composed seven of the nine tunes here and added the classic "Green Dolphin Street" and Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages" (the "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now" song). The reedman's takes on both these covers bristle with originality. The former features Jensen on piccolo with just the rhythm section; and the latter opens with a drunken horn intro that melds into the disc's loveliest moment, pianist Randy Porter's lush but straightforward introduction of one of Dylan's prettiest melodies.

It may seem a niggling complaint on a disc that covers so much ground so successfully, but I'd like to have heard Jensen's reed work featured front and center more. He plays alto, baritone, tenor and soprano saxophones here, plus flute, piccolo and bass clarinet. But on A Mind for the Scenery it's compositions and arrangements with five or six horns that hold sway. His one small ensemble piece, "Green Dolphin Street," whetted my appetite for more quartet sounds. With all the reeds he plays, he could still pull off the eclectic thing.

Visit Origin Records on the web.

Track Listing

Sausage, Rusty Rayburn and Piggy Lee, Green Dolphin Street, My Back Pages, Carson City, Lament for Larry, Fiasco, Mambrino Flats, Felpham's Vale

Personnel

Tim Jensen--soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, flute, piccolo, bass clarinet; Randy Porter--piano; Gary Hobbs--drums; Phil Baker and Dave Captein--bass; Rob Scheps--soprano saxophone; Paul Mazzio--flugelhorn and trumpet; Jeff Uusitalo--trombone; Reinhardt Meiz--percussion; Kirk Peterson--tenor sax, vocal; Rich Cooper--trumpet; Dic Titterington--trumpet, vocal; Stan Beck--trombone, vocal; Doug Peebles--bass trombone

Album information

Title: A Mind for the Scenery | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Unknown label

Post a comment about this album

FOR THE LOVE OF JAZZ

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.