Issue No. 17: Review of Joseph Herbst's This Is Our Environment

Over the past few years Joseph Herbst has busied himself with a variety of projects including his sextet’s debut album, This is Our Environment - a fourteen-track LP combining original compositions, spoken word, and an acute awareness of one’s social/global environment. The album is in turns joyful, fiery, heartfelt, fun, and moral, but above all it is a celebration of creativity. Read on!

ReviewAlan TheisenFebruary 10, 2021jazz, music, review, saxophone, sextet, trumpet, voice, bass, piano, drums, spoken word, environment Comment

Issue No. 10: Review of Quinsin Nachoff's Pivotal Arc (for Sybaritic Singer)

This week my review of Quinsin Nachoff’s album Pivotal Arc was published through Megan Ihnen’s Sybaritic Singer. You’ll definitely want to go over and read my review and, while you’re there, explore all of the other musical goodies that Sybaritic Singer has to offer!

ReviewAlan TheisenDecember 9, 2020classical, jazz, music, review, saxophone, ensemble, violin, string quartet Comment

Issue No. 3: David Byrne's American Utopia (A Spike Lee Joint)

The filmed version (directed by Spike Lee) of David Byrne's concert/stage show American Utopia debuted on HBO this past Saturday October 17. Here are my thoughts...

The Theisen Journal is an online periodical exploring both 1) happenings in the broader New Music community and 2) my personal creative work as composer/saxophonist/theorist.

Issues contain news, noteworthy performances, thoughts on the craft of composition, reviews, essays, analysis, interviews, listening suggestions, and more - all through a positive and fundamentally optimistic lens.