Statement
Jonathan graduated from Plymouth State College in 1998 with a Bachelors of Arts in Music degree. He soon found his way to New York City where he continued his studies at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. In 2000 he completed a Masters of Arts in Composition with a focus on Jazz and Contemporary Music. The same year he joined NYU’s Theory faculty, and in 2001 Jon was accepted to the PhD program.
As a New Yorker Jon performed in a variety of venues and with a diverse roster of artists, including performances at: Radio City Music Hall with Grammy Award Winning Artist Hezekiah Walker; the Love Fellowship Tabernacle with Sean “Puffy” Combs; the Blue Note Jazz Club with Saturday Night Live bandleader Lenny Pickett; as well as at CBGB’s, Smalls, the Cutting Room, and the Bitter End. In 2004 Jon’s NYC jazz trio was selected to represent the USA on an ambassadorial concert tour of Costa Rica.
Later that year Lorentz accepted a temporary full-time teaching position at Castleton State College in Vermont, where he served for three years as head of Instrumental Music, Theory, Composition and Jazz Studies. At Castleton, Jon founded the A-Cappella singing group “Vocal Unrest” which was titled as a tip-of-the-hat to his alma mater’s “Vocal Order,” (a Plymouth State A-Cappella group that he co-founded in 1994). In 2006 Jon was commissioned by Castleton State to compose the work that would become “Sin Palabras” a classical composition premiered by the world-renowned Manhattan Piano Trio (piano, violin and cello) with soprano Suzanne Kantorski. While a Castleton faculty member Jon produced several recruiting tours and regular public performances with his students, resulting in a music department growth from eight to 33 music majors during his three year appointment.
In 2007 Jon returned to NYU full-time to write his dissertation: The Improvisational Process of Saxophonist George Garzone with Analysis of Selected Jazz Solos from 1995-1999, a work which focused on the current state of jazz while considering a dichotomy of product-vs-process (which Jon would later dub: entertainment-vs-art). The following year he successfully defended his dissertation, and graduated with a PhD in Performance with a concentration in Jazz and Contemporary Music. His dissertation was published by VDM Verlag in book form as George Garzone and Improvisation: A Study of a Jazz Musician and His Process.
In 2008 Jon started working for Jazz Lines Publications in Saratoga Springs NY, where he served as a staff arranger and transcriber. While he has worked on several titles, a few of his projects include transcriptions of popular Big Band recordings by the Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby and Count Basie. Jon’s Big Band arrangements are currently sold world-wide through the publishing company’s website eJazzLines.com.
In 2009 Jon formed a regular working jazz trio in upstate NY with bassist John Menegon (an alum of the Dewey Redman, Fathead Newman, and Pat Metheny bands); and with drummer David Calarco (known for his work with Nick Brignola, Randy Brecker and Joe Lovano). The trio found regional success through tours of the Northeast and in 2010 Jonathan was signed to the United Kingdom’s Métier Jazz label. Jon’s album Borderlands has received airplay on radio stations throughout the world and has collected praise from several sources. Fanfare Magazine’s Lynn René Bayley remarked that “Jonathan Lorentz has really got it: a great style, an explorative mind, and a concept that goes beyond the usual fare you hear from jazz groups.” Berklee College of Music Professor John Funkhouser celebrates Jonathan for having an “unbelievably solid sense of time- all the time.” And recently, NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman simply said that Jonathan has that “real big sound on tenor sax!”
Jon relocated back to New Hampshire in 2011 and immediately founded the NH Jazz initiative, dedicated to the preservation and further evolution of jazz music. With a mission to both educate audiences and develop new venues for jazz listening, Jon produced over 200 concerts in 10 locations from 2011-2013. The NH Jazz productions included well-attended performances by jazz artists Kenny Werner, Harry Allen, Dave Liebman, Delfeayo Marsalis, Ken Peplowski, George Garzone, Jerry Bergonzi, Ray Vega, Judi Silvano John Abercrombie, and many more. Jon’s efforts earned him recognition from the legendary Downbeat Magazine, as well as NH Magazine, the Hippo Press & New Hampshire Public Radio.
Today, Jon’s company Lorentz Music Services regularly provides music for public and private events, as well as consulting for venues, schools, and professional artists throughout the Northeast. He stays active as a saxophonist and currently leads the Jonathan Lorentz Quartet, the Soul Revival, and plays with the experimental band 7oddSeven. Jon also stays active with his own 18 piece big band, a 10 piece little big band, as well as the very novel Dueling Pianos of NH where he has been seen doubling as a pianist, vocalist, and accordionist. Jon resides in the Belknap Mountains with his wife Carmen and son Julius.
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