As a classic work of feminist theory once observed, sisterhood is powerful. But it's also kind of magical, as Ingrid Jensen is regularly reminded.
Jensen and her sister are both Canadian jazz musicians. She plays trumpet, while Christine performs on saxophone. Although each has her own career in a separate city - Christine has both a combo and a big band in Montreal, while Ingrid, based in Manhattan, works widely as a leader and in-demand soloist - they play together quite often, either in each others' groups or as part of the international jazz quintet Nordic Connect.
Whatever the circumstances, the music is amazing. "There's an incredibly insane amount of psychic conversation going on when we start playing together," says Ingrid, over the phone from Germany, where she's touring with teen saxophonist Grace Kelly. "We aren't talking, we aren't using words, but all of a sudden we're using this energy. ... There's so much trust there, it's almost like nothing can go wrong."
The Jensens will be showing off that sororal connection on several fronts this month. Treelines, the debut release by the Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra, has just been released, and the group - with, as on the album, Ingrid as featured soloist - will be playing shows in Montreal and Sherbrooke this Friday and Saturday.
Then, on Feb. 23, the Ingrid Jensen Quintet (featuring Christine) will perform at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto.
In some ways, the two ensembles - Christine's orchestra and Ingrid's five-piece - couldn't be more dissimilar. "With the big band, there's just so much advance preparation," Christine says in a phone interview from her Montreal home. "First I have to write the song, then I have to arrange it, then I have to rehearse it and edit it, then I go back and arrange it some more. ... It takes three or four months of work for me to do a properly executed [score]"
With the quintet, by contrast, the writing is generally little more than a sketch, although Ingrid points out the key to the smaller ensemble is "knowing that you also have a huge toolbox full of things you can pull from to create more from that sketch than just the chords and the melody."
Christine, for her part, adds that the brass-heavy sound of her Jazz Orchestra is, at least in part, a product of her childhood.
"I'm a bit of a trumpet geek, having grown up with my sister," she says. "Ingrid being older than me, I think I heard more trumpet than saxophone."
Born in Vancouver, the Jensens spent a fairly idyllic childhood in Nanaimo, B.C., immersed in the joys of music and nature.
"There was always someone on the piano, because both my mom and Christine were playing," recalls Ingrid.
"The music I would hear in the house was so incredible. Really swinging. ... It got in my bones, and then I'd go out in nature and I'd be riding my horse around, and that would be in my head. I don't think every kid gets to experience that."
The Ingrid Jensen Quintet performs at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto on Tuesday.