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Chris Madsen

Chris Madsen is a tenor saxophonist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator whose work centers on Chicago groups and jazz pedagogy.

Tenor saxophoneComposerArrangerEducator7 current shows

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Photo source · Official artist media

Career Overview

About Chris Madsen

Madsen’s official biography traces his training at DePaul and Juilliard and his return to Chicago in 2006. It identifies tenor saxophone, composition, arranging, ensemble leadership, and education as the continuing strands of his work in the city.[1]

His artist-run catalog documents three recent leader releases, while the biography places them within five albums under his name. The same history distinguishes his acoustic groups from Kings of the Lobby, a jazz-funk ensemble Madsen founded in 2015.[1][2]

Ensembles and Career Threads

Bands & Projects

Leader, tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger

Chris Madsen leader groups

Madsen’s leader catalog uses trios and larger small groups as settings for his saxophone voice and original writing.[1][2]

Founder, saxophonist, and composer

Kings of the Lobby

Founded 2015

The official biography identifies Kings of the Lobby as Madsen’s jazz-funk project and records its first album in 2017.[1]

Jazz-program coordinator and educator

Loyola University Chicago

Madsen coordinates Loyola’s jazz program after earlier teaching appointments and ongoing work as a clinician, adjudicator, and ensemble director.[1][3]

Selected, Not Exhaustive

Recordings to Know

Bonfire

Leader, tenor saxophonist, and composer

The artist-authorized edition documents Madsen’s original small-group writing in a complete leader-album stream.[2]

Release details

The Trio Book

Trio leader, tenor saxophonist, and composer

The Trio Book pares Madsen’s leader setting to saxophone, bass, and drums and preserves the session on his Bandcamp catalog.[2]

Release details

Threefold

Leader, tenor saxophonist, and composer

Threefold continues Madsen’s leader discography with a complete artist-authorized stream and release credits.[2]

Release details

Artist-Authorized Destinations

Start Listening

Official Bandcamp catalog

Stream Madsen’s recent leader albums with complete artist-authorized track lists and credits.

Official music page

Explore recordings and performance material selected on Madsen’s artist site.

Connections below come from shared current Jazz DateBook bills or normalized documented performance roles—not subjective similarity.

Clark SommersDouble bass · Composer2 shared current shows

Allison AuAlto saxophone · ComposerShared documented roles: Saxophonist · Composer · Arranger

Chris ByarsSaxophones · Clarinet and fluteShared documented roles: Saxophonist · Composer · Arranger

Dennis MitcheltreeTenor saxophone · ComposerShared documented roles: Saxophonist · Composer · Educator

Elias HaslangerTenor saxophone · ComposerShared documented roles: Saxophonist · Composer · Educator

Geof BradfieldTenor saxophone · Bass clarinetShared documented roles: Saxophonist · Composer · Educator

Sources

Career copy is original synthesis from the artist, label, and project sources below. Current dates come from Jazz DateBook event inventory.

[1] Official biography, ensembles, and recording history
Chris Madsen
[2] Artist-authorized leader recording catalog
Chris Madsen
[3] Faculty biography and current teaching role
Loyola University Chicago