About Me
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John Gentry Tennyson was born in Houston, Texas in 1965 into a royal heritage of music. Realizing an immediate affinity for music and the piano, John developed rapidly under the tutelage of his well-known musical father, Hal Tennyson, alto saxophonist and clarinetist on Glenn Millers original 1939 classic hit, In The Mood. While the elder Tennyson can be found on countless hit records from the big band swing era with Jack Teagarden, Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Spivak, Claude Thornhill and the NBC orchestra under Toscanini, the young Tennyson began piano lessons with Patricio Gutierrez at age four, and following in the footsteps of his father, made his professional debut with the University of Houston Symphony at the age of eleven. John was further exposed musically to the regular guests of the Tennyson household, jazz icons-Stan Getz and Nelson Riddle. Most notably, Nelson Riddle taught young Tennyson his first standards, Misty, Body & Soul and Stardust.
Upon moving to New York City, John immersed himself in the local jazz scene, studied jazz harmony with Richie Beirach and landed the gig with guitar legend, Al Di Meola. Performing with Richie Morales, Gumbi Ortiz, Arto Tunboycin, Rachel Z and Barry Miles while developing the Di Meola release, Kiss My Axe, Tennyson established himself and began developing his own sound. He began composing and recording original music that culminated in his first piano trio CD, John Tennyson's, Real World Trio, featuring guest artists, Randy Brecker and Dewey Redman alongside New York musical mainstays, drummer, Terry Silverlight and bassist, Tony Scherr. Following this release, Tennyson toured with Sarah Brightman on the Music of the Night symphonic concert tour, Sophie B. Hawkins-as her Musical Director on the Tongues and Tails tour and Pop icon, Martika on Martika's Kitchen. Soon after, Les Paul learned of Tennyson and he became a featured performer with Les at the Iridium Jazz Club for seven years. The list of artists after that gig grew to include many jazz legends-Mel Lewis, Grady Tate, Joe Morello, Jeff Hirshfield, Buddy Williams, Terri Lyne Carrington, Joel Rosenblatt, Bucky Pizarelli, Howard Alden, Monty Alexander, Tom Harrell, Hiram Bullock, Will Lee, Chuck Rainey, Matt 'Guitar' Murphy, Rodney Jones, Chuck Loeb, Mark O'Connor, Mark Feldman, Todd Reynolds, Chip Jackson, Kermit Driscoll, Lonnie Plaxico, Marc Johnson, John Patitucci and Eddie Gomez.
As Tennyson's musical interests developed, he began composing more and realized his dream of returning to the classical form of piano and string quartet in the recording of Europa, an Angel/EMI crossover release. On his Angel Records debut, pianist/composer, John Gentry Tennyson, weaves together an eclectic collection of musical vignettes, sonic postcards which convey the story of a three month stay in Monte-Carlo and the way the journey led to his own spiritual transformation. Combining his lifelong affinities for jazz and classical music with authentic European touches and a wide range of moods and rhythms, Europa, plays like a travelogue which draws upon the language, religion, music and art that has inspired countless generations of creative endeavors. If it's true that a picture is worth a thousand words, then the rich musical landscapes of John Gentry Tennyson's music works wonders in conveying the essence of his sensory and emotional experiences. Seen through Tennyson's eyes, the world can look nothing but spiritual and beautiful.
In the past few years, Tennyson has branched out to other endeavors on Broadway in musical theater. Tennyson has worked extensively as Musical Director and Associate Conductor for Broadway Directors; Andre De Shields (Harlem Nocturne), George Faison (Monte-Carlo Starshow), George C. Wolfe (Harlem Song at the Apollo Theatre) and Otis Salid (Jazzical/Opera Noir). Other credits include, Keyboardist for Diana Ross, Musical Director for Grammy Award-winning vocalist from "Smokey Joe's Cafe", BJ Crosby and Musical Director for the legendary Jennifer Holiday.
During frequent European tours with various jazz and pop artists, Tennyson met Zurich's #1 bassist/producer, Peter Keiser (bassist with Andreas Vollenweider). After fifteen years of friendship and work backing headliner artists as a core rhythm section, Tennyson and Keiser decided to create a multi-cultural collaboration between the musicians of NYC and Europe, forming the group, Tennyson & Keiser, combining the form of Pop music and the spirit of Jazz. Two years of night flights back and forth from New York City to Zurich and four European tours later, Tennyson & Keiser-POPJAZZ, was born.
Currently several projects are in focus-the 2005 fall release of an ambient/electronica CD entitled, Jazz Lounge, Vol.1, featuring solos by trumpeter, Stanton Davis, tenor saxophonist, Bill Easley and vocals by BJ Crosby, Aisha de Haas, and Queen Esther. This project was recorded entirely in Tennysons new Manhattan recording studio, QMasterMusic Studios (www.qmastermusic.com). Farragine, a multimedia art installation conceived by Roman artist, Carlo Arcesi, consisting of eight programmatic solo piano works, composed by Tennyson, and eight poems by the late Italian poetess, Caterina Nagliatti. The installation premiere is scheduled for late 2005 in Rome, Italy. Mi Rojita, a new Latin-jazz piano trio CD of several new Tennyson originals and re-worked standards is scheduled for recording in the beginning of 2006.
