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bio:

Pianist, Composer, and Improvisor, Jesse Stacken has been making waves in the music world since he arrived in New York City in 2002. He began studying piano at the age of ten and quickly developed a passion for jazz improvisation. As a recipient of various scholarships, he received his bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2001. At UWEC, Jesse studied classical piano with Penelope Cecchini, from whom he continues to draw musical inspiration. He also performed and recorded with the Downbeat Award-winning Jazz Ensemble I, which gave him the experience of performing with respected musicians Christian McBride, Lewis Nash, Slide Hampton, Jon Faddis, Ingrid Jensen, and Chris Botti. While attending UWEC, Jesse was selected as the pianist and the assistant director for the Disney Collegiate All-Star Band where he performed with top Los Angeles studio musicians including Rick Baptist, Gregg Field, Alex Iles, and Wayne Bergeron, as well as prominent jazz musicians including John Clayton, Bob Florence, Steve Houghton, and Jiggs Wigham.

In search of greater musical opportunities, Jesse moved to New York City in 2002. As a recipient of the George MacDonald Scholarship, he attended the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, where he studied piano with Garry Dial and composition with Ludmilla Ulehla. During his two years at MSM, Jesse began to seriously explore composition and amalgamate his wide range of influences into a unique and sincere voice.

“Composition has had a profound effect on my music.” says Jesse. “It slows down the musical process and forces me to make choices about what sounds, melodic motives, harmony and textures I like. It sounds simple, but in that process I am continuing to discover what I truly feel and what I want to say through music.”

Jesse quickly became one of the busiest pianists at the Manhattan School of Music, performing with Bobby Sanabria’s Afro-Cuban Band, the Concert Jazz Band directed by Justin DiCioccio, and several small groups. He worked with well-known musicians including Chris Potter, David Sanchez, and Dave Valentin, and played over a dozen student recitals. Jesse Graduated in 2004 with a Master’s degree in jazz piano performance.

Since graduating, Jesse has been active on the creative music scene, recording and touring with rising artists including Michael Blake, Peter Van Huffel, Sherisse Rogers, Kirk Knuffke, Liam Sillery and Erica Von Kleist. He performs regularly in New York City and has appeared at top venues such as The Jazz Standard, Smoke, Dizzy's Club, 55bar, Jazz Gallery, Cornelia Street Cafe, Barbes, The Bowery Poetry Club, and Detour, and has toured in North and South America and Japan. He has continued to explore the full spectrum of music, drawing inspiration not only from jazz musicians and improvisors, but also experimental composers such as John Cage and Morton Feldman.

Jesse appears on Sherisse Rogers’ debut CD “Sleight of Hand” which features saxophonists Dave Liebman, Donny McCaslin, and Joel Frahm. The album received a 4.5 star rave review in Downbeat Magazine, and Jack Bowers (All About Jazz) writes, “Stacken helps to make the haunting Time Remembered the album’s most rewarding track.”

The Peter Van Huffel Quintet, of which Jesse is a founding member, has been a mainstay of New York City's "Downtown" jazz scene for over four years. The group recently released the album "Sylvester Battlefield" on Fresh Sound records, which features the composition "Good Mornings" by Jesse, and has received rave reviews from All About Jazz and Time Out NY. Elliot Sharp of All About Jazz - New York writes, "[Stacken's composition] "Good Mornings" is the album's most touching moment and the vehicle for Van Huffel's most tender tone."

Since spring 2005, Jesse has led and composed music for the Jesse Stacken Trio, which features bassist Eivind Opsvik, and drummer Jeff Davis. The group recorded the brief, but rich "Current" in May 2005, and over the past three years, Jesse has continued to develop the group's sound and taylor his compositions to the strengths of the band members. The group performs regularly in New York City and Brooklyn at venues such as the Cornelia Street Cafe, Rose Live Music, The Center for Improvisational Music, and Biscuit BBQ.

In January 2008, the Jesse Stacken Trio released "That That" on Fresh Sound New Talent Records (FSNT 308). The album features the Jesse Stacken Trio peforming ten compositions by Jesse as well as two improvisations by the trio. Bruce Lee Gallanter of the Downtown Music Gallery writes, "What amazes me is how tight this trio is and how they change direction, tempo, and dynamics mid-flow. Without a doubt, ["That That" is] one of the best piano dates we've heard so far this year."