"Music in the Gallery" continues with the Chris Madsen trio, featuring jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator Christopher Madsen. Chris serves as Assistant Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Jazz Program Director at Midwest Young Artists in Highwood, IL, and served as Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Northwestern University from 2008-2014. Madsen is an in-demand figure in the Chicago jazz world as a composer, performer, and pedagogue.
After graduating from DePaul University in Chicago with a B.M. in Jazz Studies and studying with the likes of Mark Colby and Dr. Bob Lark, Madsen was accepted into the jazz program at the Juilliard School in 2003. He spent three years in New York, performing with and writing for such jazz masters as Wynton Marsalis, Victor Goines, Loren Schoenberg, Wycliffe Gordon, Kenny Washington, Bobby Short, and many others. After graduating from Juilliard, Madsen relocated to Chicago in 2006 and has since been involved with much of the local talent, including the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, the Rob Parton, Bob Lark, Joe Clark, and Tom Matta Big Bands, the Mulligan Mosaics Big Band, the Ron Perrillo Quartet, and many others.
As a leader and sideman, Madsen’s discography is extensive. He has released five albums as a leader since 2004 and can be heard as a player and composer on countless additional releases with artists such as Michael Dease, Aaron Diehl, and Jeff Hamilton. His saxophone playing and arrangements can be found on the Loren Schoenberg Big Band’s 2006 release “Black Butterfly” featuring the vocal stylings of jazz legend Barbara Lea.