Kris Tiner: Improvise Something Every Day. Ep. 160

This episode of The Other Side of the Bell, featuring trumpet educator, improviser and composer Kris Tiner, is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass.

This episode also appears as a video episode on our YouTube channel, you can find it here:

"Kris Tiner Trumpet Interview"

And, find the expanded show notes, transcript and more photos here

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How do you turn improvisation into an album, without taking forever to finish? How do you know when it's ready and complete?

Kris Tiner has been improvising his whole life, in fact, he would point out that we all are:  "We're all improvising right now. You get up and walk to the door, and which room do you go into next? That's an improvisation. What are you going to have for dinner?  You get in your car and you drive down the highway, that's an improvisation."

Improvisation is a natural state of being for musicians, just witness when kids pick up an instrument and start exploring.

But as adults (and professional recording musicians), well, time is money, the album's gotta get released, and you've got to decide when to stamp that recording and send it out into the zeitgeist.

Kris shares some of the fascinating mindset of recording improvisational jazz pieces, as reflected on his brand new album, "Sung," a collaboration with pianist Cathlene Pineda.

We also talk about the experience of providing music education in a small city, not a big urban hub, and the connections and community that can be found therein. Kris teaches trumpet, jazz, composition and improvisation as Professor of Music at Bakersfield College in California, helping students gain access to music and opportunities that they may not receive otherwise.

Of whom one of those students was himself, having embarked on his musical education at CSU Bakersfield in the 1990s. A full circle journey, indeed.

About Kris Tiner:

KRIS TINER is a California-based trumpet artist, composer, and educator.

His music has been performed on five continents, his 100+ recordings have been enthusiastically reviewed in the international jazz press, and he has performance credits on MTV, NBC, PBS and Comedy Central.

Tiner has received awards from ASCAP, the American Composers Forum, Chamber Music America, Montalvo Arts Center, and in 2023 was recognized as the CMEA statewide jazz educator of the year. He is a member of the Empty Cage Quartet with recordings on Portugal’s Clean Feed label, and he collaborates with guitarist Mike Baggetta in the duo Tin/Bag.

Tiner also performs with the Cathlene Pineda Quartet, Psychic Temple, the Industrial Jazz Group, and the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra.

He is the Director of Jazz Studies at Bakersfield College, and has also taught at CalArts and CSU Bakersfield. Tiner is the founder of Epigraph Records, an independent label dedicated to new creative music recorded in Bakersfield.

Episode Links:

• Sung, the new album: https://orendarecords.bandcamp.com/album/sung
• Website: www.kristiner.com
• Bandcamp: https://epigraph.bandcamp.com
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/kctiner
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/kctiner
• Instagram: @kris.tiner

Bob Reeves Brass Events and Appearances:

• William Adam Trumpet Festival
  July 9-12, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Ill.
  Book your trumpet alignment here: https://trumpetmouthpiece.com/products/william-adam-trumpet-festival-valve-alignment-presale

Podcast Credits:

• “A Room with a View“ - composed and performed by Howie Shear
• Podcast Host - John Snell
• Photo Credits - AJ Rodriguez, Aviva Diamond, Talley Sherwood, Corey Stock
• Audio Engineer - Ted Cragg