America, Ann Arbor-based trumpeter Mark Kirschenmann is known for his pioneering live electric trumpet performances and as a scholar who explores the confluence of composition and improvisation at the University of Michigan. He has published articles on Messiaen’s use of improvisation as a compositional technique and on new approaches to melodic jazz improvisation. His debut solo album The Bionic Trumpet (Block M, 2010) focused on his interest in improvisation, timbre, and technology and took his Bb trumpet “where it cannot, will not, and should not go”, deconstructing its sound via pedals, MIDI software, and plugins.
Kirschenmann’s new solo album, Tonics, deepens his ongoing search for the timbral spectrum of the trumpet, but into a
