Jazz Review describes Steve Treseler, a Seattle-based composer and saxophonist, as “a bona fide major player in the realm of straight-ahead Jazz who provides just enough other elements to keep it all exciting and fresh.” His music draws from the traditions and minimalism, classic and contemporary jazz, jazz impressionism, minimalism and indie rock. He has performed with jazz legends Kenny Wheeler and Bill Frisell, Bob Brookmeyer. Ingrid Jensen. John Medeski. Darcy James Argue. Terri Lyne Carrington. Donny McCaslin. And Kobie Watkins. Steve grew up in Edmonds WA and began his musical career at the age of ten with his school band. He then took up tenor saxophone during middle school. In high school, he began to play jazz and began to listen to the great recordings of Clifford Brown and John Coltrane. He started to compose original music, and he joined a youth jazz band in New Orleans that performed at festivals all over the west coast. Steve studied scholarship at the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, where he was influenced by jazz legends Jerry Bergonzi and Bob Brookmeyer. He was awarded a distinction in performance and was named DownBeat magazine’s “Outstanding Soloist” college division. Treseler, who returned to Seattle in 2003, has released two albums with his band as a leader. The most recent was Center Song featuring Ingrid Jensen, a renowned NYC trumpeter. Center Song received a four-star review from DownBeat magazine. It was called “a diverse collection of beautifully crafted ensemble works–free, through-composed, or somewhere in-between.” Steve’s music has also been featured on Jazz After Hours and NPR. Treseler leads his own band and is a regular member Wayne Horvitz’s Washington Composers Orchestra, the Tom Varner Nonet as well as Andy Clausen’s Split Stream Big Band and the Jim Knapp Orchestra. Treseler is a sought-after educator who presents workshops on jazz improvisation in the Pacific Northwest. The Living Jazz Tradition: a Creative Guide to Improvisation and harmony, published by CMA Press, has been used in jazz classes at Berklee University, University of Washington, University of Idaho and Central Washington University. Steve is currently Cuong Vu’s graduate teaching assistant at Washington University where he teaches a course on jazz pedagogy. From http://stevetres.com
