By Dave Monette

We first started working with Ingrid Jensen in 2007, when she became a Monette mouthpiece client. From her first visit here, everyone in the shop LOVES it when Ingrid visits so we were all really excited at the prospect of making her own new model of Monette trumpet.

For those of you who do not know her personally, Ingrid is funny, smart, great to hang with, and she works outrageously hard at being a consummate musician! She constantly travels, doing clinics and concerts all over the world. Her husband, Jon Wikan, is also a fabulous jazz musician. Jon often performs with Ingrid, but has also worked regularly with players such as John Fedchock, Geoff Keezer and Kurt Elling. Ingrid and Jon are like magnets for a fun time, and we have had great times in the past here with Adam Rapa, Ingrid, Rashawn, Natalie and her family and others when they visit.

The goal in designing a new horn for Ingrid was to come up with something that would be extremely easy to play, easy to hear both up close and at a distance, with superior intonation and a much greater range of shapes and timbre than she had playing her previous instrument. Here's how we accomplished that...

DETAILS ON INGRID'S NEW TRUMPET

Ingrid's new trumpet is a PRANA XLTJ STC. It is a very light horn - about the same weight as our original MF PRANA Bb. It has a 5 1/4" bell flare with an unusually wide bell throat. The bell was made on the same mandrel as ADAM RAPA's new 4-VALVE TANTRA Bb. One could almost say this horn is a very lightweight, three-valve version of the TANTRA. The large throat bell helps give the horn a huge, broad sound with an unusually wide range of timbre and dynamics. It has Maynard's bell construction to keep the upper register and double C range easy, with a sizzling sound when you lay into it. This unusual bell shape requires a completely new length and shank size of mouthpiece to keep the pitch center consistent all through the register high to low and loud to soft. Ingrid's conscious knowledge of body use and Chi Gong made working with her extremely easy - and her acclimation to this unique design was almost instantaneous! Check out the video on this page of Ingrid playing her first few notes on the horn here in our shop! Then when you see how easy she plays and how good she sounds, visit her website for contact info and her tour information.

www.ingridjensen.com

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY MONETTE THAT I JUST DIDN'T EVER GET ON MY OLD SET UP - NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRIED!

Ingrid Jensen Playing Her New PRANA XLTJ STC

By Ingrid Jensen

PITCH CENTER

The ease of centering on a consistent pitch center and not having to worry about being flat in one area and sharp in another is such a relief for me. My previous trumpet served me well over the years, but I also have realized that my sense of pitch made me obsessive over long tones in a way that was borderline unhealthy. Since there was never a chance to really play it in tune (although Monette mouthpieces helped considerably), I was never able to really let go and trust my entire range.

EXPRESSIVE QUALITIES

I always thought that my previous trumpet was "it" as far as exploring and expressing my ideas goes. But with Dave's horn - even when I'm not feeling my strongest, as long as I'm listening to what is around me the horn almost magically responds and speaks my ideas for (with) me.

SHEER VOLUME AND PRESENCE OF SOUND

The design of this horn allows me to really hear my sound, as opposed to my previous horn, which often got lost in the room/mix. It's so much more open, warm, but alive. With either trumpet mouthpiece Dave has set me up with, I can hear myself at a soft whisper or over top of a screaming loud big band on the occasions that I play lead or am soloing.

CONSISTENCY

What a relief from my old horn! The valves were a problem, and I constantly had to mess with them onstage - an issue that made me feel unsettled and fidgety. Now with Dave's horn I can relax and focus on my music.

CREATIVITY

Without a doubt I am able to get into the flow and head for the magic immediately. With both my old trumpet and my flugel, I was often tentative in my approach to playing - having to find myself in the mix of things. No more. I just realized this new freedom again recently while doing a video shoot with no monitors. The pianist was behind me and on a stage. The room was pretty dead, but he could not only hear me, but feel where my ideas were going. It felt and sounded as if we were right next to each other.

EVOLVING-NESS

I had definitely hit a wall with my old set up... but now I find myself constantly inspired by both my new set up and by Dave and his team, all of whom are so supportive in my crazy adventures in music making.

Thanks Dave!
Ingrid Jensen

Ingrid's recent activities include a double jazz DVD for jazzheaven.com, and a new CD, “Spirals (with Nordic Connect)" - available NOW on iTunes and on her website. She is about to do a new project on ArtistShare called “Trail Stories." This will involve a new fan-funded CD and numerous educational offers as well as an in depth biographical journey through her early inspirations (stories, photos, interviews, etc).

Ingrid can be contacted through her website: www.ingridjensen.com