#18 - Interview: Jessica Jensen & Paul Dietrich, Musicians, Composer; Jazz & Classical

Unconventional Dyad Podcast

Today, we have Jessica Jensen and Paul Dietrich on the podcast. Topics of discussion include: music transcending language, music deriving meaning through empathy, importance of music education, and cross-cultural music performances.

The two musical pieces in this episode:

“The Fool” is the 3rd movement of a larger work called Major Arcana. In 2012, V3NTO Brass Trio, commissioned Chicago composer Joe Clark to write this piece for the group. The tarot card inspired Major Arcana is an exploration of the intertwining forces of human nature. Each card of the tarot deck contains a pictogram representing an archetypical character. The Major Arcana are the twenty-two trump cards of the tarot deck. The Fool is the first card in the deck and represents man's creative impulse, naivety, and desire to explore. The word "fool" derives from the Latin word meaning "windbag", making brass a perfect medium for this work.

“Perennial”: This is the first part of a four-part suite called “Forward” that was part of a grant to write music that was about Wisconsin in some way. “Perennial” was written while thinking about how you can leave a place (like your hometown) for years at a time, but when you come back it will often feel very familiar.

Paul, a composer, trumpet player and educator based in the Midwest, has been the leader of the Paul Dietrich Quintet since 2012 and the Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble since 2016. The Chicago-based Quintet has released two albums: Focus (2017, ears&eyes) and We Always Get There (2014, Blujazz). The Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble’s 2019 album Forward features guest artist & world-renowned drummer Clarence Penn (Dave Douglas, Maria Schneider) alongside many of the Midwest’s best jazz musicians, including Greg Ward, Russ Johnson, Dustin Laurenzi, Matt Gold, & Andy Baker. Paul has twice been the recipient of the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium’s Artistic Development Grant. In 2017, he wrote the four-part suite “Forward,” inspired by the sights and sounds of his home state, which became the core of his 2019 album of the same name. In 2020, Paul received a grant to write and perform a project for a nine-piece ensemble including a string quartet which will debut in 2020 or 2021, depending on the public health situation. Paul holds a Bachelor’s degree in trumpet and jazz studies from Lawrence University (2010) and a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from DePaul University (2012). While at DePaul, Dietrich wrote several pieces that were performed by the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble, including an arrangement of Phil Woods’ “Pairing Off,” which was recorded on the Jazzed Media release Right to Swing (2013) and featured Woods and the composer. Of this recording, All About Jazz called it “the sizzler of the disc, with a pronounced performance by the trumpeter.”

Jessica began playing trumpet at the age of 10 in her hometown of Hortonville, WI. She went on to earn her Bachelor's degree from the nearby Lawrence University in Appleton & later completed her Master's and Doctorate in Trumpet Performance from UW-Madison. While at Madison, she was a member of UW's faculty-ensemble-in-residence, the Wisconsin Brass Quintet. Currently, Jessica instructs a private studio of area music students and is a member of V3NTO, an award-winning, Chicago-based brass trio in addition to other various regional ensembles. Outside her musical activities, she enjoys spending time with her fellow trumpet-playing husband & their overly-enthusiastic golden retriever.

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