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Dennis Mitcheltree

Jazz saxophonist and composer Dennis Mitcheltree will release his 8th album as a leader, "Seeing Red", in Fall 2026.

A mainstay of the tenor saxophone, based in NYC & LA, he is on Janelle Monáe's 2024 Grammy nominated "The Age Of Pleasure".

Mitcheltree has performed and recorded with masters of the jazz world: Clark Terry, Billy Taylor, George Cables, Bill Holman, Bob Moses, Jim McNeely, Howard Johnson, Gary Bartz, Kenny Werner, James Williams, Don Sickler, Charli Persip, Ronnie Matthews, Pete Yellin, Richie Cole, Bill Holman, Pete Christlieb, Doug Webb, Carl Saunders, Joe Labarbera, John Clayton, Christian Jacob and Bruce Forman along with contemporaries Uri Caine, Ingrid Jensen, Johannes Wallmann, Andy Milne and David Binney.

The saxophonist and composer was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Starting on oboe at the age of 12 and picking up the baritone sax for his school jazz band, Mitcheltree was interested in music from the outset. By the time he was in high school he concentrated exclusively on the tenor saxophone and discovering the rich history of jazz.

Turning down a scholarship to the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music's Jazz Program, Mitcheltree headed to the East Coast, choosing to enroll at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. There he met like-minded students and could be found in the ensemble rooms of the college working on his music on a daily basis. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a major in performance in 1987, and then made the move to New York.

Mitcheltree organized his own group that continues to perform at clubs, concerts and jazz festivals throughout North America and Europe. A prolific composer, his work for jazz sextet and string quartet, "Suite No.1", was presented at Carnegie Hall in 1995. His quartet has been featured on televised jazz specials and live radio performance and interview programs worldwide. Dennis is Artistic Director of the American Music Group, widely known for it’s INFLUENCES series, presenting original arrangements of compositions by jazz masters including Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Thelonious Monk, Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell, John Coltrane and Miles Davis.

A former student of Joe Lovano, Billy Pierce, George Garzone, Joe Viola and Ralph Lalama, Mitcheltree teaches private jazz improv lessons and conducts jazz clinics for colleges and jazz organizations. He’s been a panelist for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Jazz Fellowship program and the Brooklyn Arts Council Regrant Program. He has twice been a recipient of the Eubie Blake Award, a Meet The Composer award winner, a New York State Council on the Arts and NYC Dept of Cultural Affairs grant recipient and a finalist for the Evansville International Jazz Saxophone Competition.

Awards

Brooklyn Arts Council Regrant Program Award Eubie Blake Award Meet The Composer Award New York State Council on the Arts Grant Recipient NYC Dept of Cultural Affairs Grant Recipient Evansville International Jazz Saxophone Competition Finalist

Gear

Selmer Mark VI tenor saxophone(76,XXX &156,XXX), Yamaha YS62 soprano(21XX), Otto Link NY10 & Alexander Superial Jazz 9* tenor sax mouthpieces, Rigotti 4 & Boston Sax Shop 3.5 reeds

Dennis Mitcheltree and Johannes Wallmann: Holding Space

Read "Holding Space" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
February 21, 2025

Tenor saxophonist Dennis Mitcheltree and pianist Johannes Wallmann team up for a full program of enticing music on Holding Space. Encompassing a range of idioms and compositional parameters, the duo charts a lot of territory on the album's eighteen cuts, and it is terrain well worth exploring. Mitcheltree has been recording since the 1990s, with his debut release, Brooklyn (Dengor Music), released in 1996. He has a warm, ingratiating tone, amply demonstrated on the album's opener, “Annus Mirabilis," ...

Radio & Podcasts

Bobby Watson, Clifford Lamb & Dennis Mitcheltree

by Joe Dimino
October 23, 2022

The 773rd Episode begins with Los Angeles-based saxophonist Dennis Mitcheltree with a song off his latest album Golden Rule. We also hear from some other veterans including Don Sickler, Marshall Gilkes, Clifford Lamb and Kansas City legend Bobby Watson. Speaking of Kansas City, we present a track from up-and-coming pianist Brant Jester. Finally, we say thank you and good-bye to Pharoah Sanders. Keep on digging the jazz, my friends.Playlist Dennis Mitcheltree “Waltz for Tai" Golden Rule (254 Records) ...

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Album Review

Dennis Mitcheltree: Brooklyn

Read "Brooklyn" reviewed by Jim Santella

by Jim Santella
May 1, 1997

This, Mitcheltree's third release as a leader, shows the tenor saxophonist in fine form with a voice of his own. After graduation from the Berklee School of Music in Boston ten years ago and studying with Joe Lovano, Billy Pierce, and Ralph Lalama, Mitcheltree has grown, of course, but his first influence from listening to John Coltrane recordings still shines through. Based in Brooklyn and performing regularly in the downtown club scene, Mitcheltree's sphere of exposure seems to be due ...

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Recording

Downloadable Jazz MP3s and Sheet Music at dennismitcheltree.com

Source: All About Jazz
May 29, 2007

The Dennis Mitcheltree's MusicStore is now offering downloadable MP3s and composition sheet music of recordings by saxophonist Dennis Mitcheltree for purchase with any major credit card through ClickAndBuy. It's easy to do, safe and secure and the sound files can be used on your iPod or ANY mp3 player and in iTunes or other music playing software on your computer. If you purchase the entire MP3 album you will also receive JPGs with complete printable CD artwork for burning your ...
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Music Industry

DENNIS MITCHELTREE U.S. TOUR

Source: All About Jazz

DENNIS MITCHELTREE QUARTET UPCOMING PERFORMANCES Dennis Mitcheltree-tenor saxophone Jesse Crawford-bass Andy Sanesi-drums Johannes Wallmann-piano

NEW YORK NY Friday, May 19, 2000, 8pm, RENEE WEILER CONCERT HALL, Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street, NYC (212) 242-4770

CHICAGO IL Wednesday, May 31, 2000, 10:30pm, THE EMPTY BOTTLE, 1035 N. Western, Chicago IL (773) 276-3600

IOWA CITY IA Thursday, June 1, 2000, 9:30pm, THE SANCTUARY, 405 S. Gilbert ...
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"Mitcheltree's tenor is soulful, swinging, and street smart." Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide

"Inside you'll find discipline, history, and a whole lot of heart."John Barrett, JazzUSA.com

" ...Mitcheltree's performance was a triumph..." Chuck Berg, Topeka Capital- Journal

"He is a master storyteller with the tenor sax..." Jared Donze, Iowa City Icon

"...the saxophonist is aggressively adventurous and most expressive...Mitcheltree evokes hearty tones from his instrument as he masterfully interweaves unexpected lines to create fascinating sound tapestries at any tempo." Nancy Ann Lee, Jazz Times

"Mitcheltree's tenor is soulful, swinging, and street smart." Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide

"Inside you'll find discipline, history, and a whole lot of heart."John Barrett, JazzUSA.com

" ...Mitcheltree's performance was a triumph..." Chuck Berg, Topeka Capital- Journal

"He is a master storyteller with the tenor sax..." Jared Donze, Iowa City Icon

"...one of the area's best young tenor players...His album "Brooklyn" (Dengor) is one of the better records of the last two years." Martin Johnson, Newsday(NYC)

"Dennis Mitcheltree plays the tenor saxophone with steady self-assurance." Deni Kasrel, Jazz Times

"Mitcheltree's quartet is definitely hard-core NYC: tough sounding, aggressive, and complex. They swing hard, even at midtempo, as though all of them were percussionists, which infectiously pulls the listener into their complex conversations." Dave McElfresh, Jazz Now

"If you like your jazz virile, vital and post-bop, remember his name. To the names of Milwaukee's rising national jazz stars - including David Hazeltine, Brian Lynch, Carl Allen and Arriale - add Dennis Mitcheltree." Mike Drew, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Mitcheltree is a strong player and equally talented composer." Michael J. Renner, St. Louis Post- Dispatch

"...an awesome recording that every jazz enthusiast should become familiar with. This should be on your must get list; I have become a fan with the first listening - you will too." Michael L. Bolden, Brooklyn Advocate

"...he possesses a very tuneful melodic voice. Mitcheltree's tone is quite lovely...He's a solid player, all the way around." Chris Kelsey, Cadence

"He strolls with an elegant sound through the history of jazz in the classic saxophone trio format, and on a few tracks in a quartet setting with piano. Along with his reverence for the jazz masters he has an enthusiastically fresh approach to his music." Volker Marquardt, German daily newspaper, TAZ Hamburg

"He's a player whose appeal resides in his effortless textural patterns and unbroken tone..." The Jazz Report

"...an exquisitely new sound..." Leo Tignini, Brooklyn Advocate

"...talent like this will rejuvenate jazz for another generation." Chico Jazz Radio

"The music is beautiful." Shlomo Israeli, Israel Broadcasting

"...the spirit of the new jazz tradition." New York Post

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Primary Instrument

Saxophone, tenor

Location

Los Angeles

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Credentials/Background

30 years as a teacher/clinician worldwide...Saxophone & woodwinds, any instrument for jazz improvisation/composition lessons, a New York City resident for 20 years, now based in the Los Angeles area. Video lessons also available via Skype. Available hours vary, contact [email protected] or 213-373-4729 for latest info. $95/hour lesson, discounts for weekly lessons paid by the month in advance. Berklee College of Music Magna Cum Laude graduate, Professional Performance Major, 1987. Studied with Joe Viola, Joe Lovano, Billy Pierce, George Garzone, Ralph Lalama and Jim McNeely.