ITG 2003 Jens Lindemann

James Olcott, reporter

Jens Lindemann is a trumpet player’s trumpet player.

With flair and obvious and infectious joy, the former member of the Canadian Brass showed consummate control in technique, tone, and style, as he performed five diverse and unusual works for piano and trumpet.

After being introduced by ITG Vice-President/President-Elect Stephen Chenette, Mr. Lindemann entered the auditorium from the rear of the hall – “An old habit is hard to break,” he said, referring to his days with Canadian Brass – performing an arrangement of Debussy’s Girl with the Flaxen Hair, beautifully performed on piccolo trumpet, accompanied on piano by his wife, Jennifer Snow (who was superb throughout the performance), already on stage.

The concert continued with the three-movement Sonata by Allan Gillaland, Three Spanish Songs by Fernando Obradors, Slavische Fantasie by Carl Hoehne, and Three Preludes by George Gershwin. Between each work, Mr. Lindemann spoke with the audience, introducing friends, colleagues and mentors in the audience, talking of mutes – “Only at a trumpet conference would anyone understand or even care,” – and introducing each of the works he was about to play.

All of the selections exhibited a control of sound and a natural and relaxed sense of phrase that displayed his mastery of the instrument. It was also apparent that his musicality is an extension of his lively personality. The considerable technical demands of the performance seemed easy, and the varied styles, from Spanish rhythms and sensuality to the amazing demands of the Hoene, performed on E-flat cornet, were executed with aplomb.

After the Gershwin, which demonstrated Mr. Lindemann’s understanding of the jazz idiom, including some exquisite plunger work in the second movement, he brought out the McNeese State University (LA) Trumpet Ensemble to join him for the first of two encores. The large audience had given Mr. Lindemann and his wife an immediate standing ovation, and while an encore was expected, was surprised to see the soloist reenter the stage – with a euphonium! The eight-piece ensemble, joined by its director, David Scott, performed Lindemann’s arrangement of Play that Funky Music White Boy, with Lindemann playing the “funky” bass line. In the middle of the work he exchanged the euphonium for his piccolo trumpet, played the first four bars of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 and jumped right back to the euphonium (a sight you had to see to believe!).

Lindemann, with his wife, offered to do one more piece, this time on flugelhorn. With a heartfelt performance of George Gershwin’s Someone to Watch Over Me, he closed what was considered by many in the audience to be one of the most impressive, interesting, and fun concerts heard at any ITG conference.

It was clear that Mr. Lindemann was having a wonderful time on stage and felt at home with his audience. This was made clear when he conceded that the extremely high notes played at the ends of several of the compositions were originally written down an octave. “I can get away with that only at a trumpet conference – and everyone in the audience understands,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye.